Dominic Lobalu, who is not allowed to compete for Switzerland at the Olympic Games, narrowly misses out on a medal in the 5000m. The South Sudanese-born runner came fourth for the refugee team.
10.08.2024, 20:25
10.08.2024, 20:56
SDA
In the end, he was just 14 hundredths short of a coup. The American Grant Fisher caught Lobalu in the final meters. The victory went to the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who made amends for his 4th place in the 1500m.
Lobalu would have liked a faster race and tried in vain several times to separate the wheat from the chaff by stepping up the pace. Nevertheless, the 25-year-old was able to keep up when it came down to the wire. He tackled the last lap in 7th position with a slight deficit. He worked his way up to bronze on the home straight before being caught.
Lobalu can look back on an emotional and turbulent start to the season. It was only in mid-May, after years of legal and political wrangling, that World Athletics granted him the right to compete for Switzerland at international title competitions, and a month later he was already European champion in the 10,000 m and third in the 5000 m. Because Lobalu does not (yet) have a Swiss passport, he is not allowed to compete for Switzerland in the five-ring event, but is part of the Olympic Refugee Team (EOR).
