Preston’s Patrick Dever has learnt a few harsh lessons about Olympic running after crashing out of the 5000m heats.

The 27-year-old finished 13th in his first-round race, five places off qualification for the final, after struggling to keep pace in the last two laps.

Dever was near the front for the majority of what proved to be a slow race but did not have the acceleration required and started to tumble down the order when the pace picked up.

He even had to dodge four fallers, including teammate George Mills, and says the race was an experience he will need to learn from.

“I did everything I could,” the Preston Harrier runner said.

“I was struggling for speed at the end. It was tough, you don’t want to lose at the Olympics. But I’m proud that I put everything into it.

“I put myself up front at the start, it was to keep really engaged at the start. And then when the move did happen, I’d be in a good position to respond quickly.”

Dever met the Olympic 5,000m standard when he clocked 13:04.05 in Boston earlier this year and sealed his spot by finishing second at the UK Athletics Championships in June behind James West.

With the top eight athletes automatically qualifying for the final, and no fastest losers, there was no incentive for athletes to target quick times at the Stade de France, and many chose to conserve energy before the final dash for the line.

The slow race resulted in a congested field and Dever says he was blocked for making a charge for the line

“When the move came in, I didn’t react as quickly as I needed to. And then it got really crammed,” he added.

“I was putting my hand up near someone’s back and just trying to not run into the back of someone and find some space.

“As you can tell at the start, no one wanted to do anything including myself.

“We were just hugging for a while out there. I wanted to put myself amongst the top few to just be ready for when that move happened.

“I probably don’t have enough experience in that but that’s no excuse. You’ve just got to be ready and be in the right spot. I’m disappointed in the result but I can be proud of the effort I put in.

“When I was on the start line, I didn’t realise how loud the stadium could be. I saw a lot of British fans in there, which was amazing. The atmosphere has been incredible.”

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