Defeat right before victory and then what happened on Friday.
Jake O’Day-Jordan, a 16-year-old British sprinter, took a commanding lead in the men’s 200 metres at the European Athletics U-18 Championships and looked certain to win, and certainly would have done so if he had just kept going.
But he didn’t.
Valuable lessons #BanskaBystrica2024! ⚠
Please don’t rest so early…! 😬 pic.twitter.com/eOlcLFtA3S
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 19, 2024
“He’s slackening off? What happened?” asked an astonished announcer as O’Day Jordan appeared to give up on the race. “What happened?”
Another announcer added: “It was an absolute disaster. He slowed down too soon and allowed half the runners to pass him before the finish line. He had a great sprint in the 150 metres but he will learn his lesson in a very harsh way in this race.”
The defeat was not without repercussions: Jake O’Day-Jordan was eliminated after 200 metres, and after the race the Briton acknowledged his mistake but sounded optimistic.
“It’s okay. It’s my fault, so I can’t be sad about anything but myself,” he said. Said“Sure, it could have been under 21 seconds, but that’s a good thing.”
O’Day Jordan didn’t even break 21 seconds, finishing in 22.12 seconds.
