The Spanish race walker who was beaten on the finish line after celebrating too early is a nurse when she isn’t racing while her rival has previously been disqualified for doping.
Laura Garcia-Caro was well clear in third place when she entered the Stadio Olimpico for the final 400 metres of the women’s 20km race walk, the first medal event of the European Championships in Rome.
The 29-year-old was beaming as she approached the finish line with a Spanish flag around her neck and her fist up in the air – yet this celebration was premature.
The fast-finishing Ukrainian Lyudmyla Olyanovska was closing the gap on the home straight and at the very moment Ms Garcia-Caro celebrated with two metres to go, Olyanovska raced past her to nick the bronze.
Ms Garcia-Caro could only look on in horror when it had dawned on her she had just missed out on her first major medal.
While both women received the same time of 1:28.48. It was Ms Olyanovska, who served a four-year doping ban between 2015 and 2019 for taking anabolic steroids, who took home the bronze medal.
Away from race walking, Ms Garcia-Caro is a nurse as well as a psychology student according to her Twitter bio. She is from the quaint coastal town of Lepe in Southern Spain where she has also been a tourism ambassador since 2016.
The Spaniard won a gold medal in the 10,000m walk at the 2022 Spanish Athletics Championship but as of writing is yet to take home a major medal.
Ms Garcia-Caro was part of the Spanish squad sent to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics. It is unclear if she will be joining athletes in Paris this summer.
In 2021, Ms Garcia-Caro was featured in a list of 50 influential young Spanish women in the magazine Mujerhoy.
Writing on Facebook at the time Ms Garcia-Caro, who also appeared on the cover of the magazine, said: ‘I have the pleasure to tell you that for today I will be in the magazine Mujerhoy with these three super women.’
Speaking after yesterday’s race Ms Olyanovska said: ‘Today is a happy day for me winning this bronze medal.
‘The most important thing is that I need to say big thank you to my mother, and my father and the whole Ukraine. It is a very emotional moment for me.
‘Of course, I was tired in the last kilometre and last metres, but I wanted to win this medal for my country so much.’
Speaking after the event the Spaniard said: ‘‘I was really tired on the last lap. I did my best.’
‘The distraught look on Laura Garcia-Caro face, she cannot believe it,’ said Tim Hutchings on BBC commentary.
‘Two metres from the line Garcia-Caro had her hands up in the air expecting to be on the podium.
Speaking after the event the Spaniard said: ‘‘I was really tired on the last lap. I did my best.’
‘The distraught look on Laura Garcia-Caro face, she cannot believe it,’ said Tim Hutchings on BBC commentary.
‘Two metres from the line Garcia-Caro had her hands up in the air expecting to be on the podium.
‘She only realised with one stride to the line that Lyudmila Olyanovska was coming and she overhauled her!’
To the delight of the home crowd, the race was won by Italian Antonella Palmisano in 1hr 28.08min ahead of her countrywoman Valentina Trapletti, who claimed silver in 1:28.37.