Paul Brizzel was cursing his luck after being impeded by a camera in his 200 metres heat at the European Championships this morning.
The 25-year-old, drawn in lane eight in his first round heat, was forced to swerve out of the way of a camera boom on the bend. He lost his momentum and finished last of the six runners in 21.32 seconds.
Irish officials immediately appealed and Brizzel was then, in an unprecedented move, ordered to return to the track just two hours after the mishap, running a solo race in a bid to qualify.
Despite a rousing reception from a sympathetic crowd, Brizzel, who has a personal best of 20.54, failed by just over one tenth of a second to beat a qualifying time of 21.03.
"I'm heartbroken. I missed last year with a torn hamstring and now this happens," a frustrated and exhausted Brizzel told reporters straight after his gallant attempt. "
I was in the best form of my life coming into these championships. I thought I could reach the final at least.
"I was furious straight after the first race and I left the stadium in quite a rage. You don't prepare for something like that happening in a race."
According to Brizzel, the camera also impeded British sprinter Marlon Devonish, who was running in lane seven. Devonish was able to take it in his stride though and went on to win the heat and qualify in 20.81. The incident, highly unusual in a major championships, left Brizzel's confidence in tatters.
"I noticed the camera at the start, it struck me as strange that it was at ground level but I just thought they would move it out of the way," he said. "I came out of the drive phase, looked up and the camera wasn't at full height. I put on the brakes, dipped underneath it and then tried to run again but I couldn't come back from that. It really knocked my confidence."
Brizzel said he had an impossible task in his second run.
"I felt drained even in the warm-up, and I had a bit of a strain as well.
"The crowd was great. They spurred me on but at the same time, there was nobody else in the race and it was hard what I had to accomplish."
Team coach Paddy McGrattan paid tribute to Brizzel's courage. "He gave it his all but it was not easy for him. What happened is very disturbing for an athlete," he said.
Irish champion Gary Ryan enjoyed better fortune in the same event when he made it through qualification as one of the fastest losers.
The 30-year-old, a two-time Olympian, has struggled for form recently but his time of 20.94 seconds was just good enough for a spot in the next round.
Meanwhile, Irish 110 metres hurdle champion Dervla O’Rourke has missed out on the semi-finals at her first European Championships.
The 21-year-old UCD athlete, with a time of 13.41, was just 0.03 seconds away from a lifetime best but still had to be content with fifth in her heat, one place outside the qualifying standard.
In the final event of this morning’s session, the men’s 50km walk, Waterford’s Jamie Costin was disqualified.