European marathon champion wins despite nose bleed

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Volha Mazuronak of Belarus crossed the finish line to win the European marathon despite a nosebleed that began in the early stages of her race. She won in 2:26:22.

She reportedly said, “I know it must have looked horrible. Fortunately I managed it and in the end it did not affect me.” She continued, “I think it could be because of the change of the weather, but it also happened to me during training before. I don’t know why.”

Considering the breathing difficulty that the nose bleed would have caused, the marathoner can likely lower her time significantly in races to come.

Having seen her deal with a terrible nosebleed in the early stages, I can’t be the only one who thinks the perfect outcome for the women’s marathon would be a win for Volha Mazuronak. #EC2018 #berlin2018 pic.twitter.com/6ZXz9VJDku

— NeilMorrans (@NeilMorrans) August 12, 2018

Mazuronak’s race misfortune didn’t end there. With only a metres to go, the marathoner nearly took a wrong turn that surely would have cost her the title. 

RELATED: European Championships: 5,000m runner stops early because she thought she won

Mazuronak wasn’t the only woman who had a tough go at the European Championships. Lonah Salpeter of Israel crossed the finish line in the 5,000m under the impression that she had come second, but in reality, she had one more lap to go.

Salpeter got back into the race, and collapsed across the finish line 400 metres later, in fourth place. Unfortunately, her efforts were all for naught as she was disqualified for a lane violation from earlier in the race.