Winner will be disqualified because the guide wheel was turned incorrectly
Magnus Ditlev, here at a race in Denmark, had a sporting nightmare over the weekend
Quelle: pa/BEAUTIFUL SPO/BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/Hilger
Professional triathlete Magnus Ditlev wins the Budva-Montenegro Challenge. The Dane is later disqualified because he took a wrong turn while running. But only because the guide wheel made a mistake. The response from its competitors is remarkable.
EBesides that, professional triathlete Magnus Ditlev was still jubilant after an impressive race and crossed the finish line by a large margin, accepted the congratulations from Hawaii Champion Patrick Lange and celebrated on the podium – this actually so successful day turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments of his sports life. He was disqualified. Because, as they say, he “accidentally shortened” while running. But the story is even more complicated. And damn annoying for the actual winner.
After the young Dane had just digested the disappointment about eighth place at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships recently, now the next blow in the neck. The joy of his supposed victory in the professional race of the Challenge Budva-Montenegro was quickly taken away from him. “What a roller coaster ride,” he wrote on Instagram on Monday. “Yesterday showed by far my best performance in a race – at least that’s what I thought.”
The Germans were not happy that Patrick Lange slipped to first place due to Ditlev’s disqualification. On the contrary – he paid tribute to the disqualified. “What a day. Incredible performance by Magnus Elbaek Ditlev – he was the outstanding athlete today! ”Wrote Lange on Facebook after the race. “An unfortunate disqualification for him means victory for me, but it doesn’t feel like a win.”
“Disqualified with a heavy heart”
What happened? Ditlev, known as a strong cyclist, fought for the lead in this race over the middle distance (1.9 – 90 – 21) in the saddle. After 90 kilometers in 2:06:00 hours he got off his bike almost five minutes ahead of Lange, Nils Frommhold and Matti Ceccarelli. Lange couldn’t get close to him on the half marathon either – Ditlev crossed the finish line after 3:41:29 hours, Long after 3:48:21 hours and thus well behind. Ditlev thought he was the winner.
In retrospect, however, he was disqualified: he had followed the lead bike on the running route, which had taken a wrong turn. “It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce the disqualification of Magnus Ditlev after his victory at the Challenge Budva-Montenegro”, wrote the organizer. “This disqualification is due to an inadvertent course cutting process after following the leading bike. Everyone involved regrets this decision. ”The organizer refers to the rules of the international umbrella organization World Triathlon, which must be adhered to.
From Ditlev’s point of view, it was like this: “I was leading by more than four minutes when I took a wrong turn because of the lead wheel,” says the 24-year-old. When he passed the place again on the second lap, there was a barrier that should have been there earlier: “I didn’t even notice the mistake when it happened because there was no barrier or a marker . “When Ditev was the first to cross the finish line, he celebrated his supposed victory. After an hour the disenchantment: “I was told that I would be given a five-minute penalty. Two hours after the race I found out that I had even been disqualified. “
Competitors share prize money with Ditlev
The reactions in the triathlon world were not lacking. Ditlev himself wrote rather cautiously on Monday: “I am sure that what happened there will still be discussed in the next few days.”
In the social networks there was predominantly incomprehension and outrage because of the Dane’s huge lead. “A stupid decision”, “a joke”, “unfair,” a time penalty would have been appropriate “or:” How can you disqualify someone who is misdirected by the guide bike? “There was only very occasional understanding for compliance with the rules or Voices that said that despite all the trouble, in the end it is the responsibility of every athlete to take the right route.
Another wrote: “You stole the victory and the prize money from an athlete.” Ditlev’s competitors also thought of the latter. As the organizer announced, they decided to share their prize money from the race in recognition of Ditlev’s performance. Ditlev appreciates that, but also Lange’s sentences and the encouraging reactions from other athletes. “I would like to thank the other professional athletes for their great sporting spirit, their great support and friendliness after this incident,” wrote the Dane. And: “I’ll be back.”
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