Konstanze Klosterhalfen spread her arms as she crossed the finish line to thunderous cheers from the spectators in Munich’s Olympic Stadium. Then she grabbed a German flag and ran straight on – on her lap of honour. The 25-year-old was the first German to become European champion over the 5000 m.
“I’ve never won a title, I didn’t even think I’d win a medal before. I’m incredibly happy,” she said on ARD.
It almost didn’t get that far. “We seriously thought about running at all,” said Klosterhalfen, who finished fourth in the 10,000 m and missed the podium by a long way and seemed exhausted. She was all the more overwhelmed after the coup over half the distance. “It was the last thing I expected. It’s wonderful, I have no words. I can’t believe it.”
In a thrilling race on a rain-soaked track, Yasemin Can from Turkey initially pulled away slightly with six laps to go. But Klosterhalfen didn’t let herself be shaken off decisively – on the contrary: 650 meters from the finish she passed the European champion over 10,000 meters and, driven by the spectators, kept expanding her lead.
“I didn’t run alone, it was amazing. It’s indescribable,” she said.
After a strong performance, Klosterhalfen won in 14:50.47 minutes, clearly ahead of Can from Turkey (14:56.91) and Eilish McColgan from Great Britain (1:59.34), who finished second in the 10,000 m. The gold medal for Europe’s new best over the 5000 m was also the first for a German runner over this distance.
Over the 10,000 meters it looked as if Klosterhalfen had left too much power in the past week. At the end of June she was infected with the corona virus – at the World Championships in Eugene she was already exhausted in the preliminary run over 5000 m.
“I’m a little scared”
However, the German record holder believed that she had felt an upswing in training. In fact, the form has improved again, at the Diamond League meeting in Chorzow a week ago, she convinced over 3000 m and gained self-confidence for Munich. However, that was not enough for the 10,000 m.
“I’m generally in a better situation than before the World Cup, where I had to take another break from training,” Klosterhalfen said confidently before the European Championships: “It’s going to be tough and demanding. But I hope to leave with a smile can.”
The smile will now be very wide – Klosterhalfen was still a bit uneasy: “I’m a little scared because I can’t deal with my emotions at all. That’s so nice.”