Llopis arrived in the United Kingdom aiming to at least match the silver medal he claimed two years prior in Rome, backed by a world indoor silver medal in the 60-meter hurdles won in Toruń. However, according to reports from Spanish sports media, the Valencian athlete endured a challenging outdoor season complicated by hamstring issues.
How Quique Llopis Missed the Final
Running in the semifinals, Llopis struggled to find his rhythm out of the blocks. Unlike his usual performances, he failed to make up ground over the final hurdles or on the home stretch, crossing the line third in 13.47 seconds. Swiss rival Jason Joseph won the heat in 13.39 seconds, with France’s Thomas Wilkes taking second in 13.40 seconds.
According to race results, Llopis’s time of 13.47 seconds fell short of the requirements needed to advance on times, leaving the Adidas-sponsored athlete out of the medal round. Visibly distraught after the race, Llopis spoke candidly to reporters before retreating to process the result.
“Things didn’t go right,” Llopis told broadcast and print journalists, as reported by sports outlets. “There are stages in competition and I’m not at my best. I’ve hit rock bottom and now the only thing to do is go back up. Now it’s time to rest, work even harder, and think about the European Championships in Valencia, which is very important for me as a Valencian.”
Asier Martínez Falls Short in Tight Finish
Asier Martínez experienced a similarly bitter exit despite showing signs of a return to form following several complicated seasons. The Navarrese hurdler also had a slow start and clipped multiple barriers, finishing fourth in his semifinal heat with a time of 13.45 seconds.
In that race, France’s Just Kwaou-Mathey took first place in 13.33 seconds, followed by veteran Cypriot Milan Trajkovic in 13.40 seconds and Belgium’s Zeno van Neygen in 13.41 seconds.
Speaking to Teledeporte after the race, Martínez expressed his frustration with his performance.
“This is a championship and what you’ve done before doesn’t matter here,” Martínez explained. “I didn’t run the way I had to run and I’m sad, with a very bitter feeling. Obviously I expected something else, I’m not going to hide it, but I don’t have much more to say. The key to what happened isn’t just one single thing; I think it comes from all sides. I didn’t feel completely well during the warm-up, the sensations weren’t the best, and more than a clear mistake, it was a bit of everything. I’m not satisfied, obviously. We both ran very badly.”
Looking Ahead at the European Championships
