June 7th 2024.
Laura Garcia-Caro, a Spanish athlete, was competing in the 20km race walk at the European Athletics Championships. As she approached the finish line, she appeared to be on track for a third-place finish. With the Spanish flag draped around her neck, the 29-year-old couldn't contain her excitement and started celebrating prematurely by sticking out her tongue and raising her fist in the air.
Unfortunately, in the final five meters, she was overtaken by Ukraine's Lyudmila Olyanovska, who sprinted past her and took the third spot on the podium. Laura was left stunned and disappointed as she had to settle for fourth place. "On the last lap, I was quite exhausted and I tried to sprint with what I had left because I wanted to get as much advantage as possible to the last few meters," she explained.
Laura's facial expression in the photo captured the moment perfectly - the disappointment and frustration of missing out on a medal just moments away from the finish line. "It is true that with 300 and 200 meters to go, I was looking back because I knew that it was relatively close, but at 100 meters, I looked again and I saw that I was 40 or 50 meters ahead and I already thought that she wouldn't catch me," she said, reflecting on the race.
However, Laura admitted that she made a mistake by celebrating too early and not noticing her competitor catching up to her. "I was already focused on getting there and although I know that you see me celebrating, in reality, I was giving everything. I don't know if I trusted myself, but in the last 400 meters, I was giving everything and looking back," she said.
Despite her disappointment, Laura acknowledged that she had a great season and competed well. She also mentioned that she had a tough year and a half, but she managed to overcome it and turn things around. "I hope to learn from this mistake and continue working to come back stronger," she said, determined to learn from her experience and improve for future races.
Laura will now shift her focus to the upcoming Olympics in Paris, where she will once again compete for gold in the 20km race walk. As she looks ahead, she knows that she has to stay focused and avoid any premature celebrations if she wants to achieve her goal. With her determination and hard work, Laura hopes to redeem herself and finish on top of the podium at the Olympics.
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