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The European Athletics Championships saw Laura Garcia-Caro’s elation at the finish line quickly turn to horror, as the athlete was overtaken at the last second for bronze. Competing in the 20km race-walk, the Spaniard started celebrating a few steps before the finish, only for Ukraine’s Lyudmila Olyanovska to outdo her in the final stretch.
The women's 20 km race walk was a triumphant event for the audiences of the Foro Italic and Stadio Olimpico, as defending Olympic champion and home favorite Antonella Palmisano stormed to the victory in a time of 1:28:08. The audience of Rome got another chance to cheer when Palmisano’s compatriot, Valentina Trapletti, took silver after a late push, giving the hosts a 1-2 finish.
The fan of the European Athletics Championships were also dealt quite the dramatic treat in the battle for bronze. For a minute it looked as if Laura Garcia-Caro would take the medal, and the Spaniard certainly thought so, beginning to celebrate ahead of the finish line. However, Lyudmila Olyanovska overtook Garcia-Caro in the last second, turning the latter's joy to dread.
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Reaction to this finish-line drama, fans on X (formerly Twitter) were quick to join the conversation with choice witticisms, with one writing,
“Mini-karma.”
Another fan lent their humor to the situation, stating:
“The walker got walked.”
Here are some more fan reactions to Lyudmila Olyanovska overtaking Laura Garcia-Caro at the European Athletics Championships:
“Wooo boy, I'm howling,” one fan wrote.
“The reign of Spain was all in vain,” another joined in.
“It’s the face that gets me,” one track and field enthusiast commented.
“How does anyone take racewalking seriously,” one X user said.
European Athletics Championships: Lyudmila Olyanovska on on her bronze medal finish
While the European Athletics Championships might have brought heartbreak for Spaniard Laura Garcia-Caro, the race will go down as a memorable one for her Ukrainian counterpart.
Speaking to the press, Lyudmila Olyanovska said that despite being drained in the last leg of the race, she found the energy to push through, fueled by wanting to win for Ukraine.
“I was tired in the last kilometer and last meters, but I wanted to win this medal for my country so much.”
Olyanovska went on to add that she is unsure if her son back home even got to watch the medal winning performance due to the war in Ukraine.
“Nowadays, there is a war in Ukraine. We train under very difficult conditions. I do not know even if my five-year-old son saw me competing today because in Ukraine the infrastructure is broken. They do not have electricity, there is no internet, no light, so I do not know if he saw me on the TV.”
With her bronze-medal winning performance at the European Athletics Championships, Lyudmila Olyanovska has also unlocked a greater feat. The 1:28:48 she clocked to finish on the podium is well under the Olympic qualification mark of 1:29:20, which means she has successfully put her hat in the ring for the Games in Paris.
