Ben Pattison is not one for excuses.
So even after a season which saw him playing catch-up following six months on the sidelines with a stress fracture, he took complete responsibility for a tactical error that led to his elimination in the men’s 800m at the semi-final stage.
Drawn in the first of the semi-finals alongside Olympic silver and bronze medallists Marco Arop and Djamel Sedjati, the 2023 world bronze medallist found himself too far back in the field and could only come through for fifth in one minute 45.84 seconds.
“I’m just very frustrated,” the Frimley runner admitted afterwards.
“I’ve got no one to blame by myself. I didn't get in the right positions. My legs felt really good.
“I'm in pretty good shape, but tactically got it wrong today. Anyone can make excuses. I'm not that kind of guy. I'm sure everyone on that start line has had issues this year. It's just bad racing today for me.”
Athletics is full of people overcoming bumps and niggles but Pattison has had it tougher than many, having only started running again in May.
For much of the season, he did not expect to make it Tokyo, but having done so, the competitor in him was desperate to get back into the final.
Instead, he now finds himself with a very different challenge, trying to ensure that there is British representation on the podium for the second worlds running, with good friend and roommate Max Burgin having qualified from the second semi-final.
Pattison said: “With Max, we've got a very friendly rivalry. I'm sure he'll want to beat my bronze from two years ago.
“I think he can go and win it. I think the way he's running, he's looking so strong. He's in phenomenal shape.
“I'm going to do my best these next two days to try and chill him out a bit. He gets quite nervous, so I'll do my best.
“We've been sharing rooms since Euro Youths back in 2018 , so we know what each other wants on race day. He normally wakes up pretty pale and non-verbal, so I'll do my best to try and cheer him up.”
Once that job is out of the way, Pattison will turn his attentions back to his own ambitions, with dreams of European and Commonwealth success in Birmingham and Glasgow respectively next year.
He added: “The plus side of the injuries is I've learned a lot.
“I've learned how to get myself fit. I've learned different ways of training, which I'm really excited to try out next year.
“I think adding some of those things in is really going to help me overall. I'm really looking forward to next year because I've had two bad championships in a row now. I've got to go and remind everyone who I am next year.”
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