Portugal's Francis Obikwelu was crowned European sprint king on Thursday after winning the 200m to add to his 100m title.
It was the first sprint double in 28 years, and there was no doubt over who was going to win after the Nigerian-born sprinter rounded the home bend 2m clear.
Obikwelu, who has held Portuguese nationality since 2001, steamed home in 20.01 seconds, with surprise package Johan Wissman of Sweden taking silver 0.37 seconds off the pace. Briton Marlon Devonish claimed bronze in 20.54 seconds.
PHOTO: AP
For once, Obikwelu -- who won the 200m silver medal four years ago -- had a decent start, and left his rivals for dead over the opening 40m.
"I didn't have a single doubt that I was going to be today's winner," Obikwelu said.
"I have been waiting for this gold medal for four years and now I am double European champion -- I don't know how to express my feelings," the Olympic 100m silver medalist said in reference to the first sprint double since Italy's Pietro Mennea achieved the feat in 1978.
PHOTO: EPA
Aside from Obikwelu's heroics, the fourth day of the week-long competition saw Russia consolidate their position at the top of the medals table, netting two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.
On the track, Periklis Iakovakis won Greece's first gold, dominating the field in the men's 400m hurdles to win in 48.46 seconds.
"I came here as the favorite. I was the best and as I proved today I am the best," the Greek airforce officer said.
PHOTO: EPA
Poland's Marek Plawgo took silver while a lunge at the line saw Rhys Williams of Britain nip into bronze ahead of Naman Keita of France.
The biggest surprise of the day came from the unheralded Yohan Diniz of France when he won the men's 50km walk in 3 hours, 41.39 minutes, almost four minutes faster than his personal best.
Diniz took the lead with 5km of the course remaining, cruising past long-time leader Trond Nymark of Norway.
PHOTO: EPA
The Frenchman, who changed his walking style after being disqualified at last year's world championships in Helsinki, maintained his pace and surged ahead of a tiring field competing in torrential rain.
Russian Yuriy Andronov made a late charge for bronze, overtaking Nymark but just falling short of catching Spaniard Jesus Angel Garcia, who took silver 1:09 minutes behind Diniz.
"Before the race, nobody really had me on the radar screen, I surprised everyone," Diniz said. "Today I will enjoy a good wine!"
Bulgaria had Vanya Stambolova to thank for its first medal at the championships, the 22-year-old winning the women's 400m in 49.85 seconds.
Stambolova held her pace until the home stretch, roaring past pacesetter Olga Zaytseva, who herself was caught on the line by Russian compatriot Tatyana Veshkurova, who claimed silver.
There was an equally exciting finish to the women's 800m, Olga Kotlyarova of Russia producing an amazing burst of speed to track down compatriot Svetlana Klyuka 50m from the line and win in 1min 57.38 seconds.
European decathlon champion Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic edged closer to defending his title with three disciplines left on the second day of the gruelling event yesterday.
The Olympic silver medalist stretched his overnight lead to a massive 190 points after finishing third-fastest in the 110m hurdles in 14.27 seconds. But that lead was cut to 154 points after he could only manage 45.47m in the discus, more than 5m off the winning throw.
Pascal Behrenbruch of Germany jumped into second place (5,170 points) with a hurdles time of 14.25 seconds.
Aleksey Sysoyev, second overnight after a strong high jump showing, dropped to seventh with a disastrous 15.24 seconds showing.
But the big Russian scored a massive 884 points in the discus with a best of 50.67m and rebounded into third.
While Sebrle will need some catching, it is turning into a real dogfight for the other medal placings. Hot on Behrenbruch's heels after the hurdles were Russian Aleksandr Pogorelov, Kristjan Rahnu of Estonia, Stefan Drews of Germany and another Russian in the shape of Aleksey Drozdov, all within 41 points.
The overall standings after the discus saw Pogorelov move into second, followed by Sysoyev, Drozdov and Behrenbruch, all within 42 points.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS