Norway’s Karsten Warholm on Tuesday fired out a broadside at Olympic contenders in the run-in to the Paris Games by winning a third successive European Athletics Championships title in Rome as a galaxy of global stars showcased some scintillating form.
Warholm, the Olympic champion and a three-time world gold medalist, timed 46.98 seconds for the victory.
“I felt strong and I was in control,” Warholm said. “Now it’s back to training and keep on pushing.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
“This is a good step on the road, but this is more to build confidence and get the gold medal. In Paris I’ll try to be as sharp as possible,” he said.
It was the first of four stunning championship records in a heady night of track and field at the Stadio Olimpico, with a large, raucous, flag-waving crowd in to support Team Italy captain Gianmarco Tamberi in the high jump.
The performance of the night arguably came in a thrilling men’s triple jump competition.
Defending champion Pedro Pichardo, the Olympic and 2022 world champion, went out to a Portuguese record of 18.04m to better Jonathan Edwards’ previous championship best of 17.99m.
However, Spain’s Jordan Alejandro Diaz Fortun fired back in his penultimate jump with a massive 18.18m championship record.
The winning distance was the third longest in history: Only the UK’s Edwards with his 18.29m world record from 1995 and the US’ Christian Taylor have gone further.
“Seeing Pichardo jumping 18m was a motivation to jump even further, because nobody came to these championships to finish second or third,” Diaz Fortun said.
Back at the hurdles, Dutch star Femke Bol nailed a second women’s title in 52.49 seconds, also a championship record.
“I worked hard for these championships and I arrived here in good shape,” Bol said. “I believe I can be even better at the Olympics.”
While the crowds have been sparse for some sessions at the cavernous Olympic Stadium, there was no such fear given the presence of Tamberi. Even Italian President Sergio Mattarella was present.
Ever the showman, the world and Olympic champion was afforded a standing ovation as he entered onto the track.
The Italian, as is occasionally his wont, left the left half of his face unshaved. Hushing the baying crowd gathered behind the jumping arena, Tamberi sailed over his opening effort of 2.22m to huge applause.
A couple of blips at 2.29 and then 2.33m saw him gamble and skip up. It paid off as Tamberi went on to seal a third European title in a championship record of 2.37m, far ahead in class from the rest of the field.
“I knew I was in a superb shape and I proved it,” Tamberi said. “I pretended to be injured and hid springs in my shoes. I think some people fell for it. I did great things. Now it’s time for the Olympics.”
Additional reporting by AP
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on