by Stuart Weir
Stuart Weir wrote this piece on the epidemic of falling this season in major races in 2024.
Falling!
Falling may seem an odd subject for an article, but it was a running theme for British athletes during a strange 24-hour period. And ironically, all involve athletes with an exciting back story.
At the UK Championship selection trials, Alistair Chalmers needed both to finish in the top two. I’ve also run the Olympic qualifying time to make the GB team for Paris in the 400-meter hurdles. He was not running against anyone else, so the top two were guaranteed. It was all about the time. Dramatically, Chalmers ultimately started but protested vehemently that he had reacted to a noise in the stadium, was allowed to “run under protest,” secured the Olympic standard, and then won his appeal against the disqualification for the false start.
In Paris, he progressed through the prelim and made the semi-final but then caught the hurdle with his foot and crashed to the ground. He expressed his frustration: “I just lost a bit of concentration on hurdle six to seven, which is a bit frustrating, I guess, but I am happy with how I set up the race, and I really attacked it. It’s always tough in lane nine. I’m honestly not that upset and disappointed. I just didn’t go long enough off hurdle six, which is stupid, but that happens when you get caught up trying to leg it down the back straight and keep with these guys when I probably should have been concentrating on my lane more. That was the plan, but when you are in the heat of the moment, it is so difficult. I’m glad I got up and crossed the line. It is frustrating that I couldn’t have crossed the line with the guys”.
In the women’s 400 hurdles, Lina Nielsen had to overcome serious illness To fulfill her ambition of becoming an Olympian. She ran well in the prelim, and then in the semi, she pushed too hard and caught a hurdle. Lina summed up her race: “I’m really disappointed. I risked it, and the risk didn’t pay off today. However, I can be proud that I fought to try and get to that final.
To be honest, there’s no time to think. I saw the last hurdle coming, and I was in a lot of pain. That’s the 400m hurdles, it’s lactic central. And then the next thing I knew, I was on the floor. I was just really, really confused. But I know it happens in the 400m hurdles; it’s just the nature of the event”.
George Mills, who ran heat, repechage, and semi of 1500, was in action again in the 5000 heat. He was in a great position when he appeared to be tripped by a French athlete, whom Mills confronted angrily – the authorities agreed, and Mills was placed in the final. His initial reaction to the incident was: “Going into the home straight on the last lap, I was tucked in on the inside, where I wanted to be because I knew some sort of gap would open up. It did, and I was ready to put my foot down, and suddenly, boom, I hit the deck”.
Then Elliot Giles was in a qualifying position in the GB trials when he was tripped. Then, the sad injury to Jake Wightman created a slot, and Giles is in Paris. So, it was a happy ending for him.
Mishaps are just part of the sport.
