The sprint finish was dramatic enough but what has happened since means IRONMAN 70.3 Jönköping European Championship will be one of this year’s most controversial races.
In simple terms Meissner and Caroline Pohle went head-to-head in a stunning sprint for the line in Sweden.
Both have had impressive seasons so far but plenty was at stake as the two Germans – both in the top 30 in the world rankings – battled for the victory.
Footage is limited but there didn’t seem to be anything dramatically untoward from either party in what was an elbow-to-elbow battle to the line.
The on-the-ground verdict by race officials was Meissner had won, though the IRONMAN tracker actually displays Pohle as the victor by fractions.
Two additional questions remain – was there a dedicated finish line camera? And was there an actual finish line or just a finish tape?
Protest upheld
So, on to what happened next, after both women collapsed over the line after incredible efforts…
Details were sketchy at the time – there was no IRONMAN press release – but when Meissner later posted on her Instagram account, things had clearly changed.
She said: “Vice European Champion. Thanks so much for all your kind words and messages. I gave it everything out there today!!
“After a protest was upheld – I’m not European Champion anymore. Honestly… more than heartbreaking on a personal level. Thanks for all the support! ❤️”
That generated plenty of sympathy and supportive words, including this from Paul Kaye who was again on MC / interview / media duties and more: “Huge respect to you, for still coming to the Awards, being on stage despite the massive emotions.”
Result ‘adjusted’
Given all of which, we asked IRONMAN to clarify exactly what had transpired and they told us: “During this Sunday’s IRONMAN 70.3 Jönköping European Championship triathlon there was a photo finish between Lena Meißner and Caroline Pohle, the two lead women, in which Meißner was initially awarded first place.
“Following the race, Pohle submitted an official protest, citing that she was blocked by Meißner in the final meters. The Head Referee accepted the protest and convened the Competition Jury to review photo and video evidence.
“The Jury ruled that Meißner impeded the forward progress of Pohle, and subsequently the result was adjusted so that Pohle was declared as the winner, with Meißner in second place.
“As they were at the finish line, no yellow card time penalty (30 seconds) was enforced, and it would not have impacted the results of any other athletes.
“In accordance with the competition rules, the appeals process remains open for three days from the point of the decision.”
The appeal window would appear to close on Wednesday lunchtime and we’ll keep track of any next moves.
Racing to keep up: Is social media making us train harder?
