With superstar

Pallitsch seeded in the third preliminary heat on Friday

Raphael Pallitsch(Bild: zVg.)

Raphael Pallitsch will be the first Austrian athlete to start at the Paris Games in the Stade de France on Friday. The athlete from Burgenland has been seeded for the third heat of the 1500 m at 11.32 am. None other than Olympic champion and European record holder Jakob Ingebrigsten is the star in this heat. The Norwegian, who is also a two-time world champion and six-time European champion, wants to win his second 1500 m gold medal at the Olympics in Paris - something only the current World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (1980 and 1984) has ever achieved.

The third and final preliminary heat with 15 participants will be a damn difficult affair for Raphael Pallitsch. Only the first six runners will qualify directly for the semi-finals. However, all other participants will get a second chance in the newly introduced hope round. Two more heats will be held there the following day, with the top three qualifying for the semi-finals (24 participants).

New mode controversial
This new mode is highly controversial. This is because the skiers may have to compete in four rounds over five days (preliminary round, hopeful round, semi-final, final). In any case, Pallitsch is convinced that none of the runners who have to take the detour via the hope round will make it to the final...

Jakob Ingebrigtsen improved his own European record to a sensational 3:26.73 at the Diamond League in Monaco this year. Raphael Pallitsch, for his part, caused a sensation in 2024 with his record runs in Ostrava (3:37.36/indoor), Rehlingen (3:33.78) and Ostrava again (3:33.59) as well as his sixth place at the European Championships.

Schedule for the 1500 m in Paris:
August 02, 11:05 a.m.: Preliminary heats
August 03, 19:15: Hope heats
August 04, 21.10 hrs: Semifinals
August 06, 20.50 hrs: Final