Morris convinced the best is yet to come despite Berlin heartache
History agonisingly repeated itself in Berlin but Welsh para-athlete Steve Morris remains convinced his time for glory will come.
The 29-year-old suffered his second successive fourth place at the World Para Athletics European Championships, with this 1500m effort cut from the same cloth as is 800m performance just 24 hours earlier.
It proved a rather painful end to his time in Germany but Cardiff’s Paralympian is not willing to give up the fight any time soon.
Instead he was keen to take positives on the day that marked two years to go until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, now deciding to mix things up in order to get the best out of his ability.
“I am going to focus on the 1500m and 5,000m next year. I am going to go up a distance and that will be a good challenge,” he said.
“I thought I had the race with 250m to go, I hadn’t gone too quick even though it was quite windy.
“It is just tough out there racing against world-class athletes, they just happened to be better than me on the day, but I am learning to be patient and my time will come.
“I have had a good season, ran personal bests in the 1500m and 10,000m and am getting stronger. I have to look at the positives.”
Friday’s 800m race had seen Morris lead from the front, a decision that proved to be his undoing as others passed him in the closing stages.
He quickly learned his lesson however, biding his time for the longer race to be nestled in the leading group and poised to strike within the last lap.
It all unravelled from there however as the front three pushed on, with Portugal’s Cristiano Pereira winning in a Championship record 3:58.28 while the Welshman was less than three seconds behind.
“It was a battle. I got pushed a couple of times and I went a bit too soon with 250m to go, I should have waited a bit,” added Morris, who was diagnosed with dyspraxia at the age of two.
“I got pushed a bit on the first lap and second lap and last 150m and lost my rhythm a bit. I wanted to stay in second and third and stay relaxed as possible.
“It’s just the sprint I have been lacking on. The strength is there, I just haven’t got the speed in the legs at this distance.”
British Athletics works alongside UK Sport and the National Lottery to support the delivery of success at the world’s most significant sporting events, principally the Olympic and Paralympic Games. They do this via the funded initiative, the World Class Programme, one part of the British Athletics pathway.
