The 3000 meter race at the Athletics Indoors in Erfurt was very busy.
For Nick Jäger, it was the start of the competition season.
And the Penzberger convinced.
Erfurt - The competitors were mostly lying or sitting on the floor, panting heavily, Nick Jäger could at least stand on his feet.
But he was also well drained right after his appearance at the “8.
Breuninger indoor meeting ”in Erfurt.
It was there that the TSV Penzberg athlete started the 2021 competition season on Tuesday evening.
The 21-year-old showed a remarkable performance in the 3000 meter race with a time of 8: 24.93 minutes.
He took eighth place out of twelve participants.
The competition was very strong.
At the start line stood Martin Grau (World Cup participant 2019 in Doha over 3000 meters obstacle), Tim Stegemann (German obstacle champion 2017), Elias Schreml (U20 European champion over 3000 meters two years ago) and Paul Specht (reigning German U20 Indoor champions over 3000 meters).
So it's not surprising that things got down to business right from the start.
The two-time German obstacle runner-up Patrick Karl (recently plagued by Achilles tendon problems) acted as a pacemaker at the beginning - he later dropped out of the race.
Nick Jäger takes eighth place in a strong field
On the 200-meter track, the field - divided into two groups at the start - drew apart quite quickly.
Pace maker Karl passed the 1000 meter mark after 2:42 minutes.
Nick Jäger mostly ran in eighth or ninth position.
The 2000 meters were reached from the top after 5:24 minutes.
Gray (LC Top Team Thuringia) put pressure on the front and won in 7: 59.83 minutes.
This makes him the fastest German in the hall this year.
The other podium places went to Stegemann (LC Top Team Thuringia / 8: 06.90) and Schreml (LG Dortmund / 8: 12.35).
“I felt good before the race.
I deliberately held back the first kilometer, ”said Jäger, analyzing his race.
With increasing duration he had to let the direct competitors Velten Schneider (8: 21.98) and Paul Spech (8: 17.65) go.
“I couldn't stay on, even if my legs still had power.
That annoys me.
In the end, I came closer to Velten again.
Actually, there should be more, ”said Jäger.
However, the overall conclusion was conciliatory: “It's okay, it wasn't my desired result.
The tough competition is probably still missing. "
Spectators were not allowed in Erfurt.
All athletes had to undergo a rapid corona test on the day of the event.
Marc Reuther (Eintracht Frankfurt) provided the highlight of the day over 800 meters with a winning time of 1: 46.21 minutes.
In the previous year, with 1: 45.39 minutes, he was second on the all-time German best list.
