Anita Horvat came to bronze medals

Slovenian record holder Anita Horvat She won a bronze medal at the Indoor Athletic European Championships in the Dutch Apeledo. In the finals of the 800m run, with a time of 2: 02.52, it was third and silver in the previous championship two years ago in Istanbul. On Saturday, silver in the jump with a stick defended Tina Šutej.

The Polish woman won Anna Wielgosz with 2: 02.09, the second was the Frenchwoman Clara Liberman with 2: 02.32.

“Just like silver two years ago, I am also happy about this bronze. All the finalists were very nervous in the heating, which was also transferred to the match. There was a lot of strife, a fall and also a very tense conclusion. However, I lost more before the penultimate turn when I was walked by a Swiss runner who fell. But I completely lost the rhythm myself and had to start the sprint again, but in the end I stayed in third place, « said Twenty -eight -year -old Horvat.

Twelve medals have won eight athletes in the indoor EP so far, Šutejeva is the only one with three. At the highest podium of the winning stage, however, has been so far Jolanda Čeplakwhich also reached the current world record in Vienna in March 2002 in Vienna (1: 55.82). Anita Horvat has now joined her as the second with two awards at these championships.

The finals in the Netherlands started more in the background, but came to second place two rounds ahead of the finish line, before her was a Polish woman. She was overtaken by the Frenchwoman in the passage to the last round. Before the last half of the last round, the Slovenian contestant walked the Swiss Audrey Werrowhich fell, in the confusion that followed, Anita Horvat, however, came again in third place and kept it to the finish line.

Horvatova appeared as the last in the eight -member Slovenian national team and had the second result of the season (2: 00.35) before the final, only a hundredth faster was Werrova, and three hundredth slower was Wielgosz (2: 00,38). It was the only three with time under two minutes and a second.

Under two minutes, only the Italian has ran among the finalists so far Eloisa Coiro (1: 59.76). At the end of the finals, this was fourth with seven hundredths behind Anita Horvat.

Before the finals, Horvatova told her that she had nothing left but to run on the medal. But she added that the competition is of high quality and that it will not be easiest to achieve, but it is not impossible.

Fiancé of a Slovenian sailor Žana Luke Zelkawho asked her on a boat in Sena during the opening of the Olympics last year in Paris, she lived and trained this winter on the Spanish island of Lazarot. After last year's fairly average season, this winter competed very well. In the Golden Hall World Series, she finished third and also won the last match of this most prestigious indoor series in Madrid for a beautiful trip to the Netherlands.

In 2017 and 2019, Horvatova ran at 400m at the World Championships, where she is also a Slovenian record holder. Even at the outdoor World Cup in 2022 in the US, she also ran for one stadium circle for heating. In recent years, she has devoted herself to twice the distance. Three years ago, in Eugen, at the World Cup, for the first time in her career in the big match, she ran in the finals and was seventh.

Anita Horvat has achieved the greatest success so far at the previous indoor EP in Istanbul, where she appeared as the last in the then 12-member Slovenian team on March 5, 2023. In the finals she was beaten only by the European Champion and the owner of the world's outcome, British Keelely Hodgkinson.

Last year, after two consecutive silver medals in the World Cup, she won Olympic gold in Paris. She could not defend two consecutive medals from the indoor EP in the Netherlands due to the injury after which she finished the season prematurely.