Most beautiful celebration of the European Championships: Steeplechase runner Lea Meyer wins silver after World Cup shock

Created: 08/22/2022, 09:23

By: Gunter Klein

Tears of happiness: Lea Meyer celebrates her second place in the steeplechase in the Olympic Stadium.

© Marius Becker/dpa

Just a few weeks after falling spectacularly into a water jump at the World Championships in Oregon, steeplechase runner Lea Meyer was celebrating her silver medal at the European Championships in Munich.

Lea Meyer is world famous, her photo was in all the newspapers a few weeks ago.

Only without a head.

For ahead she had dove into the moat of Eugene, Oregon.

Her fall in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at the World Championships was also a symbol of German athletics.

Now Meyer has secured silver behind the Albanian Luiza Gega over the 3000 meter obstacle for perhaps the most beautiful celebration of the European Championships in Munich.

In 9:15.35 minutes, the 24-year-old beat her best time by around ten seconds and created a magical moment in the Olympic Stadium.

"I still don't quite understand what happened here," said the steeplechase runner, overjoyed and a bit at a loss.

Risen from the ditch: Lea "Magic" Meyer (24) ran to the obstacle silver medal in Munich.

© Sven Hoppe/dpa

Meyer at the European Championships in Munich: "In the shape of my life"

What many don't see: Meyer followed her motto at the World Championships in Eugene.

"I'm someone who gets up six times if she falls five times." She collected herself while she was still running.

"I had to digest that and made up my mind: once more across the moat so that no trauma occurs." Because she felt: she was good.

More precisely: "In the shape of my life."

Just five weeks ago, Lea Meyer was still at rock bottom after falling headlong into the water at the World Championships in Eugene/USA.

© Martin Rickett/PA Wire/dpa

Despite a week-long Corona interlude in the high-altitude training camp in St. Moritz between the World Cup and the European Championship, she kept it and even increased it on Saturday evening.

With her second place, she is now once again the symbol of German athletics, which has sorted itself again according to the results of Eugene.

“No one is here out of luck, but because they have worked for it”

There is a lot of talk these days about placings at the European Championships in a world context.

“Certainly there is an effect through the audience.

It carries you when your legs can't take it anymore," the native of Cologne admitted the home advantage, attributing a few seconds to it.

“Yes, the world level is higher, but you still have to perform.

And no one is here out of luck, but because they have worked for it.” As for her: 9:15 minutes is a time, “I’m not doing badly at world level either”.

Perhaps one is unfair in the assessment of track and field athletes who do not have regular game days like team sports, but only a few appearances per season.

"You can see me running 9:15 minutes here - but not the way here," says Lea Meyer.

Her way was: At the end of her youth, the 24-year-old had “hung up her running shoes for a few months”, only trainer Henning von Papen got her back to enjoying the competition.

The esteemed coach died in January this year, Meyer still takes the thought of it with him.

Wrapped in a German flag, she shook her head an hour after her silver run and wiped tears from her eyes.

"I thought before the race, Henning, the race is for you," said Meyer

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The 3,000 meter obstacle course, where Gesa Krause, actually the best in Europe and Germany, missed out because of a bad form, is “perfect for me as a course.

I'm too slow for the middle distance, and an obstacle is a long distance on which something is happening".

Sometimes something happens that you don't expect - like in the Eugene with the moat.

But now it's proven: "I can do it without great stunts." Günter Klein