After the European Championship disappointment: Robert Farken looks ahead with a new challenge

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Not all dreams come true. Robert Farken found this out the hard way at this year’s European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. The 28-year-old from Leipzig had set his sights on nothing less than gold in the 1,500 metres, but in the end he ‘only’ managed 9th place. Nevertheless, the young athletes of SG Motor Gohlis-Nord (MoGoNo) were proud of their club’s sporting figurehead. On Monday, they gave the only European Championships competitor representing Leipzig a warm welcome at the Stadion des Friedens.

In a brief discussion with Tasso Hanke, head of the athletics department, Robert Farken admitted that the memory of that final race still stings. “There’s not much point beating about the bush. I didn’t really do anything particularly wrong. In the end, it just wasn’t meant to be; my legs just weren’t quite up to scratch,” he said. At the same time, Farken made it clear that it was time to look ahead again: “If I’ve learnt one thing in this sport, it’s this: if you despair over disappointments and bury your head in the sand, you waste time and energy. That’s why it’s actually good to be sad for a bit now; then you can move on.”

The next sporting challenges are already lined up for the runner, who trains in Boulder, Colorado, in the US: first up is the Diamond League in Zurich on 27 August. This will be followed by the ISTAF in Berlin on 30 August, then – if all goes well – the Diamond League Final in Brussels (4–5 September), the Ultimate Championships in Budapest (13–14 September) and, finally, the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen (19–20 September).

Robert Farken (centre) in conversation with athletics department head Tasso Hanke (right). Photo: Jan Kaefer

Partly – or perhaps precisely – because things didn’t go quite as planned for the blond-haired athlete at the European Championships, the highlight of the season, he wants to use these high-calibre competitions to show once again what he is truly capable of in terms of performance. “I’m definitely still in good form,” said Farken in an interview with the LZ. “I’m just looking forward to getting back into competition now, perhaps running a few better races and picking up where I left off in London and at the German Championships.”

As a reminder: on 26 July, Robert Farken was once again crowned German champion in the 1,500 metres in Bochum-Wattenscheid. This was already his third consecutive outdoor German championship title at this distance. The weekend before, at the Diamond League meeting in London, he improved his own German records in a single race – lowering the mile time to 3:46.82 minutes and, in the process, also setting a new German record for the 1,500 metres. His current best in that event now stands at 3:30.09 minutes. Farken left the MoGoNo kids in no doubt that this is by no means the end of the line: “It’s only a matter of time before I break the 3:30 mark,” he said, once again showing his competitive spirit.