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BISLETT (VG) Amalie Iuel was (28) showed that she is fully on track for the 400 meter hurdles exercise a short month before the WC. It also seemed for a long time that she would secure a podium place at home, but then she froze on the run.
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– I’m very pleased. I thought I would go tough and see how far it lasted. But it was hard in the end, says Iuel to NRK and continues:
– I felt the field came and the last 80 meters … It was not a nice run, I think. But I got the tub to the finish.
It was admittedly a good distance up to Dutch Femke Bol, the bronze winner from the Tokyo Olympics won the race in a time of 52.61 seconds and set a new competition record during Thursday’s Diamond League competition at Bislett.
But Iuel ended up in fourth place with a time of 54.91 seconds, only 19 hundredths behind her own Norwegian record.
– The audience has a lot of credit for this, she says to VG.
– You knew the Bislett roar?
– Absolutely. Especially on the run, when you feel the acid, you are pulled ashore by the audience, says Iuel and believes she has trained well lately and “got cleaned up” in parts that did not work during the season debut in Greece in early June. There it was “only” 56.77 in bad conditions.
Picked up on the run
The result in Greece meant that there was of course great excitement about how the 28-year-old would perform.
She is already ready for the World Cup in Eugene in the USA in July, but has been clear that she wanted good answers before the championship.
Iuel also went out disrespectfully and hard from the start. The first long page suggested that she had scary plans. Into the last turn, only Dutch Bol was ahead.
But the last hundred meters it got heavier.
For each hedge and meter it went a little slower. Finally, she was picked up again by both Ukrainian Anna Ryzhykova and British Jessie Knight.
– A great time
When the scoreboard finally showed fourth place and 54.91 behind her name, only 19 hundredths behind tonight’s goal, NRK commentator Jann Post said this:
– A great time.
Colleague and expert, Christina Vukicevic, was aware that Iuel’s time was uplifting as she is now down to the 54s again.
Iuel agreed, even though it was a difficult ending.
– It’s great that the form is there before such an important season. There is a lot of fun happening with the WC and EC this year. It’s fun to deliver a good race in a weather like this. But I have the Bislett audience to thank. It was really nice to hear them all the way around, she says to NRK.
Line Kloster, who has had huge progress lately and a personal best of 54.99, was number seven in the 400 meter hurdles at Bislett. She clocked in at a time of 56.07.
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