Carl Bengtström has a good season under his belt, and had the best ranking of all runners ahead of his EC semi-final today.
But after a strong start, he lost ground to the rest of the field about halfway in, and was only fifth when they entered the race.
One second over the year's best
There he lost even more, before gaining new strength right at the end.
But it wasn't enough, and he was only fourth in a time of 49.52 – one second off his year's best.
He thus misses the final.
- It does not feel good.
I felt sluggish from the start and don't know what happened.
It pulled in the back of the thigh after the third hurdle and spasmed.
It's not good, but I don't know what happened, he says resignedly to SVT Sport, and continues:
- I can't explain what happened, unfortunately.
- It felt pretty good before the race, but I don't know... It's hard to say... I don't know what to say, it just wasn't good today.