There’s snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, and then there’s what happened on Friday.
16-year-old British sprinter Jake Odey-Jordan raced out to a commanding lead in the men’s 200m at the European Athletics U18 Championships. It looked like his victory was assured and it assuredly would have been, had he merely kept running.
However, he did not.
“He’s easing up? What’s just happened here?” a shocked announcer asked as Odey-Jordan seemingly quit on the race. “What has gone on there?”
Another announcer added, “That was an absolute disaster. He has eased up far, far, far too early, and half the field swept past him before the finish line. This is going to be a lesson learned the very, very hard way after what was for 150m a masterful display of sprinting.”
The loss was not without consequences. Jake Odey-Jordan suffered elimination from the 200m. After the race, the Brit owned his mistake but seemed upbeat.
“It is all right. I mean, it is my fault, so I cannot be sad about anything but myself,” he said. “For sure, it could have been sub-21. But it is all good though.”
Instead of sub-21, Odey-Jordan finished with a time of 22.12.