“I heard her screaming”
Founding moment at EM: runner remains unconscious
10.03.2025 – 6:09 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
On Sunday, the European Hall in Athletics came to an end in Apeldoorn, Dutch. A medium-distance final of women was overshadowed by an incident.
Ferred moment at the Hallen European Championship: At the 3,000-meter final of women on Sunday, the Dutchman Maureen Koster fell and remained passed out. In the sixth round, Koster collided with the British Innes Fitzgerald. She lost the balance and went to the ground and crashed on the floor with her head.
The other athletes were able to avoid it. But Koster lost consciousness and was quickly taken care of by doctors. Silver medal winner Melissa Courtney-Bryant did not see the fall because she ran in front of Koster, but still noticed that something was wrong. “I heard Maureen screams,” Courtney Bryant told the “Guardian”.
The British and her Dutch opponent know each other well, were once training partners. “When I went into the curve, I saw a leg and I knew it was her shoe,” said Courtney-Bryant. “It all made it nervous.”
Landswoman Hannah Nuttall also remembered the moment well after the race. “I was in front of her, heard some click behind me and then a cry,” she told Guardian. “Of course it didn’t sound good.”
Koster himself spoke up on Monday at Instagram with a photo of before the race.
“It still feels unreal what happened yesterday. Fortunately, apart from a slight concussion, I feel a few scratches and a broken heart, as far as good,” she wrote in her Instagram story.
Koster had hoped to win her first medal in ten years. In 2015 she won bronze over the 3,000 meters. “I hope that I will be back soon. Thank you for your many news,” added the disappointed Dutch woman.