Great Britain’s Jacob Fincham-Dukes missed out on a long jump silver medal at the European Championships in agonising fashion as his best jump was deemed to be a foul — after he had already celebrated.
Fincham-Dukes looked to have won silver on countback having recorded a jump of 8.06m, only bettered by Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou’s winning distance of 8.52m.
The 25-year-old embarked on a lap of honour with the British flag wrapped around him, but his foot was then judged to have been marginally over the line after a French protest which was upheld.
That meant Fincham-Dukes fell to fifth in the standings, and the Briton expressed his disappointment in a post on Twitter on Wednesday morning.
“Nothing else can really be said about last night, briefly I was a European silver medallist but unfortunately due to an appeal I was pushed back to fifth,” Fincham-Dukes said.
“I think what hurts the most is getting to enjoy the lap of honour, really feel the moment and then having that joy taken away. I want to thank British Athletics coaches and staff for fighting for the appeal for me, they did everything they could but it didn’t go my way.
About last night… pic.twitter.com/N29um2XeR3
— Jacob Fincham-Dukes (@jfinchamdukes) August 17, 2022
“I know how good of a competitor I am and this will only motivate me further into next season. I have no doubt I will be on a podium soon.”
It was not the only strange scene in Munich on Tuesday as Germany’s Arthur Abele ran the decathlon 110m hurdles unopposed after protesting a disqualification for a false start.
Running in his final competitive event before his retirement, Abele was looking to defend the decathlon gold medal he won in Berlin four years ago.
But the German was left in tears after he was disqualified for a false start in the hurdles, with the German Athletics Association appealing the decision.
Abele was reinstated on the condition that he run the 110m hurdles alone, leading to the unusual sight of the 36-year-old taking on the race by himself.
He recorded a time of 14.55 seconds but was unable to retain his gold medal, with compatriot Niklas Kaul taking the crown instead.
