There’s a fine line between winning and losing.
When it comes to an event like the 200m, that line can be just a few tenths of a second. Hell, you might not even realise that you won because even though someone ran faster than you, they may have broken one of the rules (that’s right, there are rules to running in a straight line, all of which are basically just “run in a straight line”).
This is what happened to Spanish sprinter Bruno Hortelano, who claimed gold at the European Championships in Amsterdam over the weekend after setting a national record for the 200m sprint with a time of 20.45 seconds.
The only problem is that Hortelano actually finished the race behind Dutchman Churandy Martina but the home favourite was disqualified for drifting into another lane so his time of 20.37 seconds was declared void, and Hortelano was awarded the gold.
Maritna had already taken gold in the 100m sprint, so Hortelano was okay with finishing second behind the 32-year-old, and had fully accepted his fate to the point that he didn’t actually know he was the champion until he was informed of Martina’s disqualification during his post-race interview.
A disbelieving Hortelano corrects the reporter, saying it was “a dream” to finish second before he is assured that, yes, he actually won the race.
The Spaniard reacts in the only way he knows how – by running away to celebrate.
