Former European Champion Arthur Abele escaped a nightmare career ending. A botched start nearly wiped out his chances of qualifying for the farewell race.
German decathlete Abele, 36, after his home out at the European Athletics Championships in Munich I plan to retire. However, after bidding farewell in front of his home crowd, he nearly suffered tragedy when he was kicked out after a false start at the 110m hurdles.
The veteran struggled to hold back tears trackside after learning of his fate and was unable to prevent his punishment after being shown a red flag. The call seemed incredibly close from a layman's perspective, and a successful appeal gave Abele another chance to run the hurdles himself.
The crowd at the Olympiastadion cheered the former champion in cacophony for his second challenge. It obviously affected the runners as well, as he was glowing brightly as he crossed his line at the finish.
The positive procession continued online, with one Twitter user calling the incident "a wonderful story only life could write." Others, on the other hand, were more puzzled by the spectacle itself, as another wrote.
Abele's final time of 14.51 seconds was good enough to place him eighth among the other competitors, but retains the crown he first won four years ago in Berlin. was not enough to However, his decathlon title remained in German possession as his successor Niklas Kaul robbed his compatriot of gold.
Kaur, 24, jumped onto the senior circuit with a surprise gold medal at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. He failed to complete the decathlon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and finished sixth in his world title defense earlier this year, but his European victory marks his return to the top.
But even in Kaul's moment of glory, Abel was the center of attention when the decathlon finished at 1,500 meters. It was there that his fellow competitors, including his two Olympic appearances in 2008 and 2016, formed a Guard of Honor for the departing star in recognition of his contributions. At least a unique opportunity, made even better by the fact that it happened in his hometown.Though last shaved tight, his illustrious career has been marked by tears and smiles and one of Germany's greatest contemporary athletes. It ended with his standing ovation for one of his.
