On the opening day of the European Athletics Championships, unbridled joy turned to despair for Spanish race walker Laura Garcia Caro when premature celebration cost her her first major medal.
Five metres from the finish line in the women’s 20-kilometer race walk in Rome, Garcia Caro let out a triumphant roar and stuck out her tongue, knowing she’d secure the bronze medal.
But she was left red-faced as Lyudmila Olyanovska of Ukraine closed the gap by 50 metres and overtook her with just one step to the finish line.
Garcia Caro was confident of a medal and grabbed the Spanish flag in the final stages of the race at the Stadio Olimpico, but she looked up at the big screen and didn’t notice the Ukrainian approaching. When she turned to her right, sensing her rival approaching, she looked terrified as she realized her dreams of glory had suddenly been dashed.
To make matters worse, Oljanovska served a four-year ban from 2015 to 2019 after testing positive for doping. “I was really tired in the last lap,” Garcia Caro said. “I did my best.”
Oljanovska, meanwhile, dedicated her medal to her country: “It’s a very emotional moment for me,” she said. “Of course, I was tired in the last kilometres and metres, but I had a strong desire to win this medal for my country.”
“Right now there is a war going on in Ukraine. We were training under very tough conditions and the preparation was hard, but I’m very happy to bring home a medal. This is the biggest factor that motivated me until the end.”
It’s a disaster!
Rule number 1: Don’t celebrate too early! 😬#Rome2024 #LetsLightTheFire pic.twitter.com/nequXoEz3
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) June 7, 2024
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“I have a five-year-old son waiting for me at home in Ukraine. I pushed myself so hard for him. I don’t know if he saw me compete today because the infrastructure in Ukraine is broken. There is no electricity, no internet, no light. So I don’t know if he saw me on TV.”
The race walk, which took place around the Stadio dei Marmi in the Olympic Stadium complex, was won by Italy’s Olympic gold medallist Antonella Palmisano.
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The 32-year-old, wearing woollen flowers in the colours of the Italian flag in her hair, crossed the finish line in one hour, 28 minutes and eight seconds to cheers.
Compatriot Valentina Trapuletti then finished 29 seconds behind to complete an Italian one-two finish, giving the hosts their first medal of the championships.
Oljanovska and Garcia Caro finished in the same time, one hour, 28 minutes and 48 seconds, but that was little consolation to the Spaniard, who looked stunned as the world began to process what had happened to her.
