100 meters from the finish, Hanna Klein had had enough of chasing. The track and field athlete from Tübingen passed Konstanze Klosterhalfen, defended her lead to the finish and can now quite surprisingly call herself the European indoor champion over 3000 meters. “I’m overwhelmed. I’m happy that we performed so well as a team,” said Klein. The 29-year-old track and field athlete from Tübingen beat the favorite Klosterhalfen (8:36.50) with a fast final lap and a personal best of 8:35.87 minutes.
Your tactic worked perfectly, said Klein. “We said: We have to take all the risks, I have to run at the front to keep the chance. I said to myself: Don’t let any gaps arise, run with them,” said Klein. After lurking in Klosterhalfen’s slipstream for a long time, the 29-year-old finally started to sprint successfully in the last corner. “A double win is cool, even if the disappointment still outweighs it a bit,” Klosterhalfen complained on lichtathletik.de: “Hanna was just super strong from behind.”
As second on the entry list, Klein wanted to “defend her chances of winning a medal. The fact that it has now become gold is all the more awesome,” said the surprise European champion. “I hope that I’ve prepared well for the summer and that I can continue with this calmness and self-confidence.” Klosterhalfen told ARD: “I showed a good race and I take that with me as motivation for the outdoor season.”
The high point of the year is the Outdoor World Championships in Budapest in August. After last year’s World Cup disappointment in the USA and the exhilarating European Championships in Munich, the title fights in Hungary a year before the Olympics in Paris are an important indicator for the association.
Hanna Klein pulls Konstanze Klosterhalfen away
(Photo: Yasin Akgul/AFP)
Klein enjoyed the national anthem in the hall but only once on Friday evening in Istanbul did she grab her first big win. In addition, there had never been a German double success in this discipline – neither with the victory of Brigitte Kraus in 1984 or that of Ines Bibernell-Obst two years later. While Klein was celebrating as the winner after EM bronze over 1500 meters in the hall from 2021, Klosterhalfen won EM silver in the hall for the third time. “I think we’re on the right track,” said Klosterhalfen.
That was different for shot putter Sara Gambetta after her surprising second place. “I’ve always missed a medal like that. It’s really pushing me now,” said the 30-year-old from SV Halle/Saale. “I look forward to the summer.” This also applied to triple jumper Max Hess after triple jump bronze. “I’ll take my speed with me and can start the summer positively,” said the 26-year-old from Chemnitz.