It takes nerves of steel on Wednesday night at Langenthal: ahead of the sprint encounter between Geraldine Fry (25) and Agla del Ponte (26), the tension is almost unbearable anyway. It’s all about the last card in the most important event of the season: the Swiss’s last 100m participation in the European Championships in Munich is on the line.
As if that wasn’t enough, the timing system failed too! Opponents are looking forward to being tortured and have to wait an hour before things finally get serious. The next point of annoyance after the Federation’s decision to award the last duel ticket in a duel caused great tension in both camps (at the show).
Del Ponte escapes from the Fry at dusk
Then the decision is finally made: Some twilight had already begun when Frye and Del Ponte climbed into the starting blocks at 8:40 p.m. Fry seems to be pulling away a bit better, then I tell Del Ponte and pass and keep going: victory in 11.30secs! Frey was left at 11.34.
So it is clear that the trio of the Swiss European Championships in Munich on the shortest race distance consists of Mujinja Kamponge (30), Natasha Kone (21) and Del Ponte.
Del Ponte: “I hope to run faster in the European Championships”
“I’m glad I did,” Del Ponte says. “I am not entirely happy with the time, I have been faster in training lately. But the most important thing is that I can start in Munich.” Perhaps a late qualification is a good omen. “I only qualified for the Olympics last year in the end.”
The rest is history: a year ago, she took off to the Olympic final and was the fastest European. It would be a major reversal in the European Championships – but the Ticino native is still a long way from that reversal: “I hope to be able to run faster in the European Championships.”
Fry: “A big disappointment”
And Fry? She had to deal with the disappointment of entering the European Singles Championship in the last few metres. “It’s a huge disappointment,” said the woman from Zug, who has been a consistent performer all season but has now been defeated by Del Ponte in a head-to-head duel for the second time. “Mostly because I know I could have done a better job.”
By the way, the next meeting between the two will soon follow: Relay training is scheduled for Friday. With the Swiss sprint relay, the two start side by side at the European Championships and hunt for medals.
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