Track and field athlete Amalie Iuel during the Olympic summit gathering before the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris 2024 in September last year. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB.
Of NTB | 20.04.2024 17:31:01
Sport: Amalie Iuel turned 30 earlier this week and did her first competition since she became a mother on September 1 last year. She ran her previous competition on 4 September 2022.
Iuel opened strongly, but needed the run-up side to make it all the way to the top. 54.89 is a new meeting record in the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi. The time is only 21 hundredths behind her personal best and four hundredths behind the Olympic requirement.
The time was well below the requirement for the EC in Rome of 55.70.
– It’s been seven and a half months since I gave birth, and it’s crazy to see what the female body is capable of, says Iuel to NRK.
The 30-year-old says she could hardly believe what she saw when she saw the time.
– First you are pregnant for nine months, then there is a caesarean section. Then it’s quite fantastic that you manage to come back at such a high level, says Iuel after the race in Kenya.
In the same race, Elisabeth Slettum clocked 58.41 over the same distance and came seventh.
Since it has been so long since Iuel has been in action, she is dependent on collecting ranking points if she does not meet the Olympic requirement in time for the games in Paris this summer.
Lakeri Ertzgaard was in a national 400-meter competition and set a strong personal best of 52.89 when she finished fifth. Her previous press was 54.08.
Beatrice Llano was third in hammer with 70.77 metres. Her own personal record is 72.10, and the EC requirement is 71.20 metres.
(© NTB)