Niels Laros got out on the 5000 meters at the World Cup athletics in Tokyo. The 20-year-old athlete from Oosterhout was in his series with more than two laps to go in second place when he suddenly meant. He seemed to have sustained an injury. The athlete then sat down on the athletics track of the Japan National Stadium, to leave the stadium shortly afterwards.
The running talent finished fifth in the final of the 1500 meters last Wednesday. The disappointment was great, because Laros considered himself promising for a medal and even thought he could win during the race.
Shortly after the 1500 meters, Laros did not know if he would run the 5000 meters. After consultation with the technical staff and his coach Tomasz Lewandowski, he decided to start. He wanted revenge for his missed medal.
Laros is European champion under 23 and this summer he also won the 5000 meters at the European Championships in Madrid.
The Athletics Union reported shortly after the game that Laros already had light complaints on the Achilles tendon after the final of the 1500 meters. After treatment of the medical team, he received green light to start. “In the race he felt it playing again and he got out,” said a spokeswoman.
In the game there initially did not seem to be wrong with Laros, who from the start was looking for the shelter in the back and did not interfere with the pace. With five laps to go, the young Brabander pulled up and took the third position. With another kilometer to go, Laros went along with a tempo acceleration of the American Grant Fisher. Suddenly he started to limit something and he dropped back. Not much later he stopped the competition.