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- Ieuan Thomas Has The Berlin Blues As He Fails To Seize Steeplechase Chance
By Owen Morgan
Welsh athlete Ieuan Thomas has spoken of his disappointment after missing out on a place in the European Championships 3000m steeplechase final in Berlin on Tuesday morning.
The Cardiff AAC man finished 10th in his heat in a time of 8:40.87, which wasn’t quick enough to give him a fastest qualifiers’ route to the final.
Thomas, who has been in excellent form this season, felt he was in the “personal best shape” leading up to championships.
The James Thie coached athlete, who placed seventh at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year, clocked 8:33.88 when he finished second to Zak Seddon at the British Championships in Birmingham at the end of June and had set a new PB of 8:30.16 in Holland earlier that month.
Seddon qualified for Thursday’s final in the Olympic Stadium as one of the fastest losers after finishing seventh and clocking a time of 8:30.00 in the first heat.
Speaking immediately after heat two, Thomas said: “I’m at a bit of a loss with that, I didn’t feel like myself.
“It’s frustrating for me. I need to learn how to get it together in a championship situation.
“After worlds last year, I came into this season in the shape of my life and I just didn’t perform in the way that I should have. There’s no excuse as I was in shape.
“The race was slow, it wasn’t what I expected but I didn’t have the last gear. It doesn’t show a true reflection of where I’m at.
“I saw the results of the previous race as I walked out. I saw Zak running 8:30 and thought ‘that’s great, I can run that’ but I then sat back while others went for it and they were rewarded.”
