Hummingbird feels "fucked" and can cheer
The Olympic Games are the most prestigious sporting event in the world - yet they are not immune to glitches. Hammer thrower Merlin Hummel found this out the hard way. After his throw, his result couldn't be found. In the end, the "confused" German could celebrate nonetheless.
The atmosphere was electric at the opening of the athletics competitions at the Stade de France, with 66,500 spectators, but there was a moment of panic for Merlin Hummel: The hammer thrower had to wait around 30 minutes to find out if he had qualified for the final. After his first attempt, there was confusion among the officials, with four of them discussing the matter at one point, and the distance was not displayed. It seemed there were problems with the electronic measuring device.
It took half an hour for Hummel's performance to appear in the official results, and his 75.25 meters just scraped him into the final of the top 12 hammer throwers on Sunday evening. Sorin Klose, however, failed to qualify with his 71.20 meters. "I thought, 'Are they taking the piss out of me or what'," Hummel said, but "then they sorted it out professionally and said, 'Either you'll get another throw or it'll be found through video analysis. And they found it, and I'm through, and I'm really grateful for that."
At one point, Hummel wasn't sure everything would be okay. "I honestly didn't think they'd find it, because it seemed a bit unprofessional," he said of the officials: "Also, generally, how they handled the competition, especially those measuring and everything. It wasn't quite what I expected, but you have to deal with it. I thought I'd have to throw again, and that threw me off a bit, even though it shouldn't have."
High jumper Christina Honsel set a season best of 1.95 meters in qualifying and made it to the final on Sunday (7:50 PM). Imke Onnen's 1.92 meters wasn't enough to progress, as the 29-year-old only cleared the height on her third attempt. Over 1500 meters, gold favorite and Tokyo Olympics champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen cruised through his heat, finishing third in 3:37.04 minutes.
Robert Farken also advanced to the semi-finals on Sunday after finishing sixth in his heat in 3:36.62 minutes, and celebrated loudly in the stadium. "I'm very proud. The dream is to be in the final," he said on ARD. Marius Probst will get another chance in the repechage after finishing seventh in his race (3:35.65).
Despite the initial confusion and delayed results, Merlin Hummel managed to secure a spot in the hammer throw final, showcasing his resilience in athletics. The prestigious event at the Olympic Games once again demonstrated its ability to present challenges, even for experienced athletes like Hummel.
