In the 400m, I was once again aiming to make the semi-finals and secure a top 10 finish.
Before I go on to talk about the race, a special mention to Spanish M65 400m athlete Pepe Povedano, who is in the cover picture of this this post with myself . We had been friends for some time on social media and it was great to finally meet face to face in Gothenburg.
It’s difficult for me to describe this race. Disaster may be the best description. The gun went, I started well, and I kept a steady pace over the first 200m, or so I thought! Then to my surprise, three athletes had passed me by the time I reached halfway. At that moment, I knew I’d got this race horribly wrong. The 400m is a highly tactical event; you have to pace the first 200m perfectly to have enough energy for the final stretch. I ran the first 200m way too conservatively, and although I finished strongly, I couldn’t make up the time I’d lost.
I finished 26th overall, and my time of 62.82 seconds was the slowest 400m I’d ran all year. I couldn’t believe it! I was feeling good going into the race. I’d trained hard, I’d prepared well, and I’m capable of running under 60s. You might forgive me for being hard on myself but this was a disaster. I quite simply didn’t produce the goods and blew my chance at the World Championships of all places. With 24 athletes progressing to the semi-finals, I missed out by two places (half a second). bugger!!
So, the 400m didn’t go as planned, but the World Championships were far from over. The 4x400m relay was still on the horizon. If selected for the team, I might get the chance to redeem myself and if so there was still hope for a happy ending to my World Championships journey.
Stuart Lynn - Masters Athlete 