by Larry Eder
PATIENT APPROACH BRINGS 800M EUROPEAN TITLE TO KSZCZOT
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2014 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, used with permission.
ZÃœRICH (15-Aug) — When Europe’s fastest man this season at 800 meters, France’s Pierre-Ambroise Bosse, took out the pace hard at the 21st European Championships here this evening at the Stadion Letzigrund, Poland’s Adam Kszczot kept his distance. The two-time European indoor 800m champion expected Bosse’s move, and he was ready.
“I’m pretty sure he would start the way he did,” Kszczot told reporters in English.
Despite cold and wet conditions, Bosse clipped through 400 meters in 50.97, followed by Kszczot’s Polish teammate, Marcin Lewandowski and Slovakia’s Jozef Repcik. Bosse continued on the front through 600 meters (1:17:24), while Kszczot continued to hold back. Full of confidence, he was saving his energy for the final drive for the finish.
“I was pretty sure I was ready before, but now I know it,” he said.
Bosse began to tie up, Kszczot bolted past him, and was never challenged down the homestretch. He ran a quick 1:44.15, a season’s best, and finally had a gold medal from a major outdoor championships.
“It’s a great feeling,” said the 24 year-old runner from Lodz. “As I said, I knew I was able to win, but it’s not enough if you know it. It’s not enough at all.”
Behind him, a fierce sprint for silver and bronze was playing out between four athletes. Bosse quickly faded out of contention –he would finish last in 1:46.55– while little known Artur Kuciapski of Poland was mounting a ferocious charge from the back of the pack.
“When I started sprinting I was seventh,” he said in Polish with Kszczot translating for him to English. “It was pretty far from the main group. When I was catching them, I was just believing that I could beat them.”
He did. Kuciapski managed to roll-up the rest of the field to finish an astonishing second in a personal best 1:44.89. He was as surprised as the rest of the field.
“I wasn’t sure I was able to get into the final,” Kuciapski admitted. “No one was suspecting, even me, that I could run so well in the final. I’m really surprised.”
Ireland’s Mark English was in second place inside of the final ten meters, when Kuciapski came past him on the outside to take the silver. Nonetheless, the Irishman said he was pleased with how he executed his race and his bronze medal performance of 1:45.03.
“I was thinking, I’ve got a medal here,” English told reporters. I knew I had it. I had so much energy left.”
Andreas Bube of Denmark, the silver medalist from these championships two years ago in Helsinki, finished fourth in a season’s best 1:45.21.
The other middle distance gold medal handed out tonight was won by the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan. In a race which played out as many had predicted, Hassan battled Sweden’s Abeba Aregawi in a last lap sprint which saw the Dutchwoman take full command of the lead in the middle of the homestretch to win in 4:04.18 to Aregawi’s 4:05.08. Hassan, who will also run the 5000m at these championships, clocked 60.8 seconds for the last lap.
“I went from the last 400 meters,” a smiling Hassan said. “I win the competition.”
Taking third in 4:06.32 was Laura Weightman of Great Britain who backed up her silver medal performance at the Commonwealth Games last month.
“I’m really pleased with the bronze,” Weightman told Race Results Weekly. She said she followed the advice of her coach, Steve Cram. “He said, just take it easy the first couple of laps, and they as you get to 600 to go, just make sure you’re in a position to attack.”
