The European Athletics Championships in Munich went without a sense of sporting success for Markus Fuchs, who had previously been classified as a potential final candidate. Since he was set because of his ÖLV record time of 10.15 seconds, he did not have to run a preliminary run over 100 m, in the semifinals on Tuesday evening he was only 23rd in a meager 10.42 seconds. Full of adrenaline because of the scenery in the Olympic Stadium, he said: “I sucked up the energy, I was just a little surprised.”
It’s a shame, because he felt really horny during the warm-up. He knows he can do better. “It just happened too fast that I can really say anything now. I didn’t even realize it. It was fine up to 50 or 60 m, then I got a little tight and got slight cramps. It was just too much energy,” said the 26-year-old.
It was a new experience for him, he was certainly one of the few in the semifinals who didn’t know this atmosphere. “But now I’ve already made it to the semifinals, at some point I’ll make it even further. It’s a learning process and I’m still working through an incredible season.” Even though he’s only 23rd, he’s one of the 23 fastest people in Europe. “No champion is born overnight. My big goal remains to be in the final. I will do it.”
For Susanne Walli, the 400 m semi-final was the end of the line. The Upper Austrian, who the previous evening had run the second-best career time of 51.73 seconds, finished seventh in the third semi-final with a time of 52.58, making her 20th overall. At the World Championships in Eugene (USA) in July she was ranked 23rd.
The time between the pre-run on Monday evening and the semi-final was too short for Walli to be in top form at the start. Twelve athletes were spared the first round. “I felt okay, not super good, but I wasn’t completely tired either. All in all you can be satisfied, I mightn’t do more, I accept it like that,” explained the 26-year-old, who was also drawn to the unfavorable lane one.
The heat over 200 m awaits them on Thursday and the 4 × 100 m relay on Friday. “I’ve almost run a hundred four hundred and always have a queasy feeling because it’s really tough. It’s completely different with the two hundred. It’s a short distance for me, easy to enjoy, I’m looking forward to it,” said Walli.
(WHAT)
Image: GEPA