The 3,000-meter final was a significant disappointment for Hesse’s steeplechaser Gesa Krause – yet she is proud of her accomplishments. She is also making plans for the future.
Gesa Krause had a bad final day in Paris.
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With moist eyes, Gesa Krause reflected on a remarkable Olympic return. “If you ask me now if I am proud of what I have achieved in my career, and that I am here for the fourth time in an Olympic final, I would definitely answer yes,” said the 32-year-old after a disappointing final in the 3,000 meters steeplechase, finishing in 14th place.
But it was all about the moment, Krause said. And in that moment, she could not keep up after three thrilling Olympic performances. “I am of course absolutely not happy or satisfied with this result in any way, but today is just the day that produced this result, and I just have to live with that,” said the two-time European champion from Dillenburg.
Krause runs well below season best
Just over 15 months after the birth of her daughter Lola, Krause’s performance was still remarkable, even without her fourth top-8 finish at the Summer Games. The 9:26.96 minutes time did not change that, as she was clearly above her personal best for the season. Former European Championships runner-up Lea Meyer from Leverkusen finished in 10th place with a personal best of 9:09.59 minutes.
She hinted that she could challenge Krause’s German record someday. “I don’t know how it looked from the outside, but until the end, I definitely had a smile on my face,” said Meyer, expressing great respect for Krause.
“When you have a child and come back like this, you can be really proud to be in the fourth Olympic final. That is just a huge achievement,” Meyer said. Gold in the race at the Olympic Games in Paris was won by world champion Winfred Yavi from Bahrain in an Olympic record time of 8:52.76 minutes.
Switch to the roads? Quite possible!
Krause gave birth to her daughter Lola about 15 months ago. The comeback journey was rapid; at the European Championships two months ago, she celebrated silver, but she was not satisfied with the Olympic result. Coach, family, partner – so many people have supported her, said the two-time world champion. “That is particularly bitter because they have all invested a lot and one is the person who can give something back when things go well.”
Three years ago in Tokyo, Krause finished fifth at the Olympics, sixth in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and seventh in London in 2012. This time, she could not keep up with the pace of the leading group in the final. As for the future of steeplechasing, she left it open: “I will first finish this season, and then I think I need to sort things out and set new goals,” said Krause, who is considering a switch to road racing and longer distances. “Let’s just say, if I do, it will definitely be significantly longer than what I have done so far.”
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Source: dpa