Abdi Nageeye still regrets that he gave up the fight just before the end of the marathon at the World Championship in Eugene on Sunday. The 33-year-old Dutchman stopped after 41 kilometers when he realized he was not going to take a medal.
Nageeye was on his way to a top ten spot when he retired. “I could have finished sixth, seventh or eighth here, but that doesn’t matter to me,” he said on Sunday.
He shared a statement on social media on Monday in which he writes that he now looks at it differently. “It would have been a nightmare to see a fourth or fifth place behind my name. But now I regret it,” he writes. “It says forever DNF (did not finish).”
Shortly after the marathon, Nageeye was asked several times whether he regretted his choice not to run the last kilometer of the marathon. “I prefer to save my body so that I have less rest for the next marathon,” he said at the time.
Disappointment at Abdi Nageeye after the finish.
Disappointment at Abdi Nageeye after the finish. Photo: AP
‘I owe my fans an apology’
Nageeye, last year’s Olympic silver winner, was seen in Eugene as one of the favorites for gold. He wanted nothing more than a medal and in retrospect that was not the right attitude, he writes.
“I should have followed my motto. Train hard and smart, give your best, give everything in the race and be happy with the result. A lot of things happened during the marathon, but I should have fought to the finish line. That’s why I am I owe my fans an apology.”
Nageeye already said on Sunday that a wrong shoe choice broke him, in combination with wrong tactical choices. He now says he will come back stronger and with more motivation than ever.