Out in the hope run

Olympics: Raphael Pallitsch eliminated

Raphael Pallitsch(Bild: GEPA)

Raphael Pallitsch unfortunately missed out on his dream of reaching the semi-finals in the 1500 m at the Games in Paris. The Burgenland native finished 13th in his hopeful heat in 3:39.32 and was therefore eliminated. The top 3 in each of the two hopeful rounds reached the semi-finals on Monday.

"I have to be honest: the oven was simply off," admitted the 34-year-old from Burgenland, who had felt good before the race and "had his head clear". But starting again just one day after the preliminary race was of course extremely tough for him (and everyone else too). After 600 m, he had seen that a place in the top 3 was hardly possible. "I then turned off the last 100 m," he said.

Best ÖLV time at the Olympics
One consolation, indeed more than a consolation, for Raphael Pallitsch is that he achieved the fastest 1500 m time by an Austrian in Olympic history with 3:38.20 in Paris. He beat the 3:38.3 (hand stop) with which Robert Nemeth reached the semifinals in Moscow in 1980.

Now 5000 meters?
Pallitsch has not yet been able to say what will happen after the Games. One option is that he will try to run his best times in the 800 m and 1000 m sub-distances. However, he may not compete again this year. Even the end of his career cannot be ruled out. But once he has got over the Olympics, he can switch to the 5000 m in the longer term.