Jakob Ingebrigtsen appeared to have missed out on European indoor 1500m gold for the second successive time in Torun tonight after being disqualified for stepping off the track – only to have the decision reversed several hours later following a Norwegian appeal.
In an official statement, the Jury of Appeal ruled: "Ingebrigtsen was pushed by another athlete and therefore stepped inside the curb. The athlete did not gain any advantage and did not affect the race and the outcome of it."
The original disqualification had allowed 33-year-old home runner Marcin Lewandowski to retain the title he earned after outsprinting his young rival in Glasgow two years ago as well as gold in Belgrade in 2017.
But around midnight local time the official results once more showed the 20-year-old as gold medallist in a time of 3:37.56, with Lewandowski second in 3:38.06 and bronze going to Spain’s Jesus Gomez again in 3:38.47.
Ingebrigtsen’s initial jubilation was cut short by a decision that rested on an incident early in a race crowded with 13 runners, when he appeared to infringe the rules momentarily as home runner Michal Rozmys bustled through on his outside.
The field soon elongated as Lewandowski, and then Ingebrigtsen, who lowered the European indoor record to 3:31.80 in Lievin last month, putting him fifth on the all-time list, took the lead.
Having been outsprinted by his Polish rival in Glasgow two years ago, Ingebrigtsen was not dallying and while Lewandowski kept in contact right to the end the Norwegian never looked seriously challenged.
Lewandowski finished ahead of Spain’s Jesus Gomez, who beat his compatriot Ignacio Fontes to the line for his second successive bronze medal in 3:38.47.
But as Ingebrigtsen was turning his attention to the defence of his title in the 3000m, where he is due once again to face Lewandowski, the official announcement he least wanted to hear arrived.
Reacting to his initial disqualification, Ingebrigtsen said: “The rules are on my side, there is a paragraph saying if you're pushed to the inside of the curb and it's not your fault, it's OK. I don't feel I've done anything wrong, there were just too many runners in the race.
“We talked with Michal Rozmys after the race - none of us was trying to shove the other one, it just happened when too many other guys were coming from the outside. I simply wanted to win the race. At the end I kept a safe distance to Marcin so that I could react if he tried to come back.
“But I knew a disqualification was coming. The decision is still under appeal. If it's upheld and I lose the gold, I guess I'll just go home. I'm not sure I'm going to race tomorrow in this situation, because the 1500 was my main goal.”
After the initial ruling by judges, Lewandowski commented: “I was second on finish but finally have a gold after Ingebrigtsen's disqualification.
“It is sport and it could happen with anybody. I experienced it during the World Championships, so I know what he feels now.
“During the race he was definitely better. He knew I prefer a slower tempo, so he decided to lead the race very fast. I tried to catch him and didn't want to battle only for silver.
“In one moment I was nearby, but his finish was incredible. It wouldn't be a shame to lose to a guy who almost broke a world record, but finally today I am with gold.”
There was plenty more drama in the Arena Torun on the first session of finals.
Reigning champion Tentoglou sails out to a world lead of 8.35m in the long jump
Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou, his left knee strapped, appeared to have completed the defence of his long jump title with his first effort – 8.35m, the best seen in the world this year.
Sweden’s Thobias Montler responded with a national record of 8.31m that kept the competition fully alive before Finland’s Kristian Pulli stepped up to the mark with a national record of 8.24m.
“After my 8.35m I wasn't quite sure I would win, but I passed on my next attempts because of a knee injury. My patella is in bad shape right now, so the plan was to win this competition with just one jump in qualifying and one in the final,” said Tentoglou, who also won the European outdoor title in Berlin at the age of 20.
“But if Thobias had overtaken me, I might have found the strength to go again and move back into first place. I'm in great shape and if it wasn't for the injury, I could jump 8.50. The injury should not be a big problem in preparations for the outdoor season. I will receive treatment for it in the next 10 days and I should be ready to do normal training.”
The standard of competition was such that Ukraine’s Vladyslav Mazur left empty handed despite jumping 8.14m - a mark that would have won gold in editions gone by.
Home favourite Michal Haratyk, the European indoor and outdoor shot put champion, was not quite able to withstand the competitiveness of Czech Republic’s Tomas Stanek, whose fifth round mark of 21.62m - lustily celebrated - shot him into the lead.
Haratyk responded well with his fifth-round throw to move back up to second place with 21.47m but that was his high-water mark.
Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo secured the first gold of these championships - and her country’s first ever gold medal in this event at the European Indoor Championships - as an effort of 19.34m won her the shot put ahead of Sweden’s Fanny Roos, who managed an outright national record of 19.29m.
Germany’s 2015 world champion Christina Schwanitz, who won this title in 2013, took yet another major medal with bronze courtesy of a final effort of 19.04m.