Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter spectacularly missed out on a medal at the European Championships on Sunday when she stopped running a lap early.
The 29-year-old Kenyan-born athlete crossed the line on the penultimate lap of the 5,000 metres with a broad smile on her face, believing she had won a silver medal, but she quickly realised the race was still going on.
Her mistake benefitted Britain’s Eilish McColgan, who eventually took the silver medal behind the Dutch Sifan Hassan.
A devastated Salpeter collapsed to the ground and had to be helped by ground staff after completing the race well behind the podium medalists.
