It would have been more than understandable if Bruno Hortelano showed signs of lacking race sharpness on his season’s debut in Tenerife on Saturday (19).
After all, the reigning European 200m champion hadn’t competed at all since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro where he just missed out on a place in the 200m final. Hortelano sustained serious injuries in a car crash just after those Games which forced him to miss the entirety of the following season before illness scuppered his racing plans for the indoor campaign.
But a lengthy period of rehabilitation was followed by a solid block of training and his coach Adrian Durant believes his charge is in the best physical shape of his career thus far. A lifetime best of 45.96 over 400m on his comeback race in Tenerife demonstrates Hortelano is very much on the return to the level he demonstrated in Olympic year.
“Yes I believe it, surprising as it may seem, Bruno is in better physical shape than ever. He is stronger in the weight room, all of his training times are significantly faster and his running mechanics are excellent. In each test we have done, the results are superior to those of their pre-Olympic tests,” Durant told MARCA in a recent interview.
Welcome back, Bruno!
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) May 21, 2018
In his first competition since the 2016 Olympics, the European 200m champion made a triumphant return to the track with a lifetime best over 400m. https://t.co/e8Lq0onCGK pic.twitter.com/kG7gmifMwX
“Bruno went through a very difficult time and all the time he trusted in his ability to recover and compete again when the time came. I am sure there were some periods that were more difficult than others, but Bruno, with the support of his family and loved ones, was able to stay strong and was able to recover completely.”
Hortelano will race again over 400m in Oordegem, Belgium on Saturday but his main focus for the rest of the summer will be the 200m - the distance over which he struck gold at the European Championships in Amsterdam two years ago.
More information on the 2018 European Championships:
- The Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships will be part of the first multi-sport European Championships along with co-hosts Glasgow.
- It will be a must-watch, must-attend experience that elevates the status of European Champions, uniting existing European Championships to celebrate the highest honour in European sport and celebrating the defining moments that create Champions.
- It is the continent’s ultimate multi-sport event, an 11-day celebration of European sport staged every four years.
- Seven of Europe’s leading sports (athletics, aquatics, rowing, golf, cycling, gymnastics, triathlon) will be brought together for the first edition.
- The European Athletics Championships in Berlin will be staged 7-12 August. The six other sports will be staged in Glasgow through 2-12 August.
- 4500 athletes and 52 nations will compete across the seven sports.
- Potential TV audience of over one billion with millions more across multiple digital platforms.
- Over half a million spectators expected.