Gesa Felicitas Krause fails to secure gold at European Championships.
Just for a brief moment, Gesa Felicitas Krause was crowned the European champion in the 3000-meter hurdles. However, a dispute over the winner led to some confusion - resulting in a revised list of winners. Through a long and restless night, all seems to have been resolved - leaving Krause content with the outcome.
As far as the French Athletics Federation was concerned, they had a new European champion in the 3000-meter hurdles: Alice Finot. At 0.25 am, the 33-year-old was announced as the winner across various platforms, even though she had been disqualified for stepping on and over the white line that defines the track with both feet after the water jump. Earlier during the evening, Finot was also declared the winner in the stadium. The German Federation confirmed this in their report on the race, and the European Athletics Federation had her listed at the top as well.
Before this, she had been disqualified due to stepping on and over the white line that shows the track with both feet after the water jump. During the final sprint, Finot was the quickest, with a time of 9:16.22 minutes, ahead of two-time European champion, Krause, who completed the race in 9:18.06 minutes as the second-placed finisher. From this moment on, there was a lot of going back and forth. The French federation's challenge against the disqualification was accepted, and there was no official awards ceremony conducted earlier as a result.
Krause admitted that Finot was the fastest runner in the race, even before she was temporarily labelled as the winner. "I knew how fast she ran on the last lap, I had already taken that into account. I hoped I could at least keep up. She had a 1-pound advantage, and she truly deserved it," noted the 31-year-old.
Krause further displayed her impressive return to form after her maternity leave in Rome. "I aimed to win a medal here. It is silver, and I'm incredibly pleased about that," the athlete expressed. At the Paris Olympics in a couple of months, an even faster time will be necessary to be prominent.
Krause's unique perspective on sport emerged following her new family situation, making her acknowledge other more significant responsibilities in daily life. "However, when you have a child, you also recognize that there are many more significant activities in everyday life," said Krause, wrapped in a German flag.
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Despite the confusion and dispute over the winners, the European Athletics Federation eventually changed the results of the 3000-meter hurdles at the European Championships. Despite her initial victory being revoked due to stepping on the white line after the water jump, Alice Finot was eventually confirmed as the winner by both the German Federation (DLV) and the European Athletics Federation. It's important to note that Krause still secured a silver medal in the event, following her impressive return to form after her maternity leave.
