In the case of athlete Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, it’s tough not to think of the saying ‘it ain’t over until it’s over’.

The Kenyan-born athlete, who competes for Israel, was on her way to a possible gold medal in the European Championships’ women’s 5 000 metre final.

She was neck and neck with Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan with a lap to go, although that last little bit of information somehow managed to pass her by.

As you can see from the video below, that miscalculation ended up costing her dearly, and she was overcome with emotion when the dust settled:

To soften the blow, we should tell you that Salpeter had earlier claimed gold in the 10 000 metre event.

Via NewsAU, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also full of praise:

“Lonah Chemtai, you are a true star! You have brought great honour to our country,” he tweeted after the race.

Salpeter’s miscalculation wasn’t the only epic blunder of the day. Take Germany’s 4×100 metre men’s relay team, for example:

After looking to be a strong chance of qualifying for the final, the last changeover was a disaster for the Germans as Julian Reus accidentally kicked final runner Lucas Jakobczyk’s leg.

Both men were treated on the track and Jakobczyk was seen with a large graze on his shoulder.

You’ll see the contact around the 35-second mark below:

Still, nobody this weekend managed to look quite as daft as the Proteas’ batting line-up against spin.

[source:newsau]