European Championships in Rome

Pallitsch: “I achieved my dream goal”

Raphael Pallitsch ran a heart-stopping final in the 1500 meters at the European Championships in Rome to reach the final on Wednesday.The 34-year-old is "wishing" for a good race and a top ten finish...

That was a heart-stopping final, a real photo finish! Raphael Pallitsch finished sixth in the first heat of the 1500 meters at the European Athletics Championships in Rome in 3:44.29, which was enough to advance to the final! "That was a tactical run, I positioned myself very well. I always knew where I was, I had the situation under control. And I relied on what I could do!", said the Oggau native to the "Krone", "In the end, it turned out to be a hair's breadth. I achieved my dream goal - that's unbelievable and an unbelievable jubilation at the moment."

The breakthrough has been achieved
This year, with his two records in Rehlingen (3:33.78) and Ostrava (3:33.59), Pallitsch made the final breakthrough that had been in the offing at last year's World Championships in Budapest. There he produced his first really great class time with 3:36.47 in the preliminary heat. And now, as a 34-year-old, he is in the European Championship final with 17 participants! After protests, eleven instead of six athletes were allowed to advance to the final heat due to a heavy fall in the second preliminary heat.

Before Pallitsch, the Austrian federation had only made three final appearances in the men's 1500 m - by Robert Nemeth, who was a sensational fourth in Athens in 1982, and twice by Andreas Vojta (eleventh in 2010 and tenth in 2012). Raphi's goal in the final? "To have a good race, to get the best possible result - the top ten!"