A false start was seen in the women’s 10,000 meters EC final, which confused ‘s commentary. Camilla Richardsson was not confused by this, but ran her new record and finished ninth.
Riku Porvari,
Joska Saarinen
The European Championship week in Munich can be seen on channels from August 11 to 21. You can find live broadcasts, highlights, the competition schedule, interesting news and topics on ‘s competition page.
Finnish runner Camilla Richardson ran his record in the European 10,000m final in Munich on Monday. Richardsson’s new record time of 32:19.27 was enough for ninth place.
Richardsson’s previous record was 32:27.65 from this summer.
– Feels good. This was the first time I’ve done well in the adult competition. It felt really easy and it was a smart move to run in this direction that I ran hard at the end. Came against the backs, Richardsson said.
Turkey Yasemin Can returned as European champion when he crossed the finish line in 30:32.57. of Great Britain Eilish McColgan settled for silver on the back straight of the last lap and left the champion of the previous European Championships, Israel Lonah Chemtai Salpeterin for bronze.
Richardsson, 28, ran a tactically sound run and improved his pace as the race progressed. Richardsson was around 13th in the middle stages of the race, but he started to pick up the pace after about 7 kilometers. Thanks to this, the Finn entered the top ten.
– I kept wanting to go harder, but I didn’t want to pull the whole time alone. The girls in front froze badly and it was nice to catch them. I am very happy with my ranking, said Richardsson.
– The competition split into two groups and Camilla ran smartly from the position. It would probably have been possible to run a little harder, but in terms of ranking it was probably better this way, Richardsson’s coach Jukka Keskisalo praised.
The false start was confusing at the beginning of the final
A rare sight in the women’s 10,000 meters final, when the start had to be restarted due to a false start.
– You don’t see these every day. Let’s take the 10,000 meter strat again, ‘s narrator Simo Leinonen amazed.
‘s expert Tuomas Raja said that the Finnish runner Lasse Virén has once taken a hunch. He remembered this happening at the Montreal Olympics in 1976, but was not 100% sure of the venue.
None of the women in the Munich race received a penalty for the situation and the next start was successful.
Next, the 5,000m final
Richardsson, a former 3000 meter hurdler, changed his main sport for this season. Richardsson is focused on the smooth track distances of 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, where he will compete in the European Championships.
The reason for changing the main sport is that Richardsson has not been able to practice his obstacle technique due to injuries. In the future, he may aim for a marathon.
At the European Championships, the next challenge is just a few days away, as the 5,000-meter final is scheduled for Thursday.
– Probably this is a fight against recovery. The preparation is by no means optimal, but fortunately this main trip was first, coach Keskisalo said.
– Now you can happily go to 5,000 meters. Whatever the results will be.