Laura García Caro runs out of bronze at the finish during the celebration! | Relief

It hurts as much as possible. Can you imagine celebrating the medal you’ve been aiming for after overcoming the challenges of stubborn COVID, just meters away from crossing the finish line with your fist raised? You see yourself as a competitor ahead of you and your dream turns into a nightmare.? This happened to the Spaniards Laura Garcia Caro V 20 km march European Women’s Athletics Championships. The face of the woman from Huelva said it all.

In one of the new products compared to other championships, The departure took place not in the morning, but at 18:35. on a hot afternoon with a temperature of 30 degrees.

Athletes looked for water hoses placed along the course and a few shades on their circular path around the historic Marmee Stadium, surrounded by 4m-tall sports statues.

It didn’t take long for the favorites to break away from the group heading into the first third of the race. led by the Spanish Laura García Caro and Cristina Montesinos, as well as the great favorite Italian Parmisano and the French Beretta. Raquel Gonzalez was the first Spaniard to lose touch with her medals.

Halfway through the race, a group of seven walkers set off in search of medals, with Montesinos doing better and better, and García Caro takes cover in the group after receiving his first red card for loss of contact. Behind them, Stay and Moutard went from strength to strength, returning to the leading group and completing France’s push for the podium less than 50 days before their Paris Games.

After 10 kilometers, Palmisano could not stand it and decided to go alone to the gold with the support of the fans. The other two medals were up for grabs from six candidates, while the two Spanish medals went unchallenged.

After several kilometers of trial and error and when the decisive moments arrived at the 17th kilometer, Laura García Caro took control of the pursuit group and, with increasing tempo, whittled it down to three contenders for two places along with Italy’s Trapetti and Ukraine’s Olyanovskaya. Another jerk, this time from a local walker, threw the Ukrainian off, closing the podium.

The Huelva native gritted her teeth, trying to maintain the pace, but ultimately decided to let Trapetti go and take bronze. When Olyanovskaya was left behind, no one could have imagined that the most difficult moment awaited her.

. The Ukrainian raced at the finish line and, to the surprise of the Spaniard, who was already celebrating her medal, she saw how she overtook her across the squares, snatching her onto the podium.