Revealed: Spanish race walker beaten at the finish line after celebrating too early is also a nurse – and the rival who beat her is a convicted drugs cheat
The Spanish race walker who was defeated at the finish after celebrating too early is a nurse when she is not racing, while her rival was previously disqualified for doping.
Laura Garcia-Caro was clear third place as she entered the Stadio Olimpico for the final 400 meters of the women’s 20km race walk, the first medal event of the European Championships in Rome.
The 29-year-old beamed as she approached the finish line with a Spanish flag around her neck and her fist in the air β but the celebration was premature.
Fast-finishing Ukrainian Lyudmyla Olyanovska was closing the gap on the home straight and just as Ms Garcia-Caro celebrated with two meters to go, Olyanovska raced past her to take the bronze.
Ms Garcia-Caro could only watch in horror as it dawned on her that she had just missed out on her first major medal.
Laura Garcia-Caro entered the final 400 meters of the women’s 20km race walk thinking she had secured a bronze medal. However, her celebrations proved premature and she was overtaken by Lyudmyla Olyanovska
Outside of race walking, Ms. Garcia-Caro is a nurse and psychology student, according to her Twitter bio. She comes from the picturesque coastal town of Lepe in southern Spain, where she has also been a tourism ambassador since 2016
The Spaniard won a gold medal in the 10,000 meter run at the 2022 Spanish Athletics Championships, but has yet to take home a major medal at the time of writing. She was part of the Spanish team sent to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics
While both women achieved the same time of 1:28.48. It was Ms Olyanovska, who served a four-year doping ban for her use of anabolic steroids between 2015 and 2019, who took home the bronze medal.
Outside of race walking, Ms. Garcia-Caro is a nurse and psychology student, according to her Twitter bio. She comes from the picturesque coastal town of Lepe in southern Spain, where she has also been a tourism ambassador since 2016.
The Spaniard won a gold medal in the 10,000 meter run at the 2022 Spanish Athletics Championships, but has yet to take home a major medal at the time of writing.
Ms Garcia-Caro was part of the Spanish team sent to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympic Games. It is unclear whether she will compete with athletes in Paris this summer.
In 2021, Ms. Garcia-Caro was included in a list of 50 influential young Spanish women in Mujerhoy magazine.
Ms. Garcia-Caro, who also appeared on the cover of the magazine, wrote on Facebook at the time: “I am pleased to tell you that today I am featured in Mujerhoy magazine together with these three superwomen.”
After yesterday’s race, Ms Olyanovska said: ‘Today is a happy day for me to win this bronze medal.
‘Most importantly, I would like to thank my mother, my father and all of Ukraine. It is a very emotional moment for me.
‘Of course I was tired in the last kilometer and last meters, but I really wanted to win this medal for my country.’
The 29-year-old beamed as she approached the finish line with a Spanish flag around her neck and her fist in the air β but the celebration was premature
The Spaniard appeared dejected after narrowly missing out on the first major medal of her career
After the event, the Spaniard said: ”I was very tired in the last lap. I tried my best.’
βThe desperate look on Laura Garcia-Caro’s face, she can’t believe it,β Tim Hutchings said in a BBC commentary.
‘Two meters from the line, Garcia-Caro had her hands in the air, expecting to be on the podium.
‘She only realized with one step on the line that Lyudmila Olyanovska was coming and she overhauled her!’
To the delight of the home crowd, the race was won by Italy’s Antonella Palmisano in 1 hour and 28.08 minutes, ahead of her compatriot Valentina Trapletti, who took silver in 1:28.37.