For rising British athlete Jake Odey-Jordan, the phrase “it’s not over until it’s over” has never been truer.
After leading the pack for most of the men’s 200m race at the U18 European Athletics Championships, the 16-year-old slowed down too early, so half his competitors caught up and beat him to the finish line.
Commentators talking about the race in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, called the young man’s performance a “disaster”.
“He relaxed too early,” the European Athletics commentator is heard, adding: “This will be a lesson learned in a very, very hard way.”
Odey-Jordan ended up finishing fourth, eliminating him from the championship, but the athlete remained optimistic about his performance afterwards.
“It’s okay. I mean, it’s my fault, so I can’t be sad for anything other than myself,” he said, according to European Athletics.
“It is what it is. It was good, it wasn’t the fastest race, but it was good. For sure, it could have been under-21. But it’s okay.”
Read more on Sky News:
Airline passengers face ‘nine-hour waits’
Snooker legend Ray Reardon dies
“I’m here, it’s my first race in this competition, I just tried to stay upright, nothing hurt me or anything like that.”
The sprinter is currently ranked 194th in the world in the men’s 200m race. Last month, he won the national title at the New Balance Nationals event in Boston, USA.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
