Sad moment for Pallitsch: narrowly missed the European Indoor Championships final!

Sad moment for Pallitsch: narrowly missed the European Indoor Championships final!

Embarrassing moment for Raphael Pallitsch! At the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn on Friday, the athlete narrowly missed the final. He took fourth place in the 1500 meter heat with a time of 3:40.96 minutes. That meant the end for the Burgenlander; only the top 3 of the heats qualified for the final. “Now I'm close to tears!” said the 35-year-old, disappointed after he showed a strong run but his strength was exhausted at the crucial moment. At the beginning of the race, Pallitsch was even able to come in second, but in the end the energy was gone. Despite the elimination, he set a new Austrian indoor record with his time, being the fastest Austrian in the history of this championship. Only Robert Nemeth had done less quickly 40 years ago with 3:43.28 minutes.

Before Pallitsch stepped onto the track, the Norwegian superstar Jakob Ingebrigtsen made people sit up and take notice in the first heat. In his typical manner, he watched the action from behind and then easily took the lead in the last 600 meters. With a time of 3:37.49 minutes he took victory and took another step towards his third title at a European Indoor Championships. How hdsports.at reported, the pressure has not increased for Pallitsch, as he recently shattered his own Austrian record by over a second at the Metz Moselle Athlelor meeting with 3:36.34 minutes and thus secured the European Championship ticket for Apeldoorn. In this competition he also managed to take third place and collect 70 valuable points for the world rankings. “It makes me really proud – personal best means Austrian record, European Championship limit and a huge step towards the Indoor World Championships,” said the athlete happily after the race while recovering from exhaustion.

Despite the mishap, Pallitsch remains optimistic and looks to the future: his goal is the upcoming World Indoor Championships and the Outdoor World Championships in Tokyo. “I knew I had to persevere,” said Pallitsch about his experience at the indoor competitions. It was a competition at the limit of what was possible, and every step showed the irrepressible will that was within him.