European Athletics Championships in Rome Day 5 Highlights
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Tuesday, June 11, saw another electrifying day at the European Athletics Championships in Rome, filled with record-breaking performances and intense competition.
Men's Triple Jump Final:
Olympic champion Pedro Pablo Pichardo from Portugal bounded out to a championship record and a world lead of 18.04m. Pichardo set the second best performance in his career missing his nine-year-old lifetime best by just four cm. The Portuguese jumper equalled the seventh best performance in history.
Jordan Diaz Fortun from Spain responded with 17.96m before improving the championships record for the second time in this competition to 18.18m in the fifth round. Jonathan Edwards had held the previous championships record with 17.99m since Budapest 1998.
For the second time in history triple jumpers went over the 18 metres in the same competition. In 2015 Pchardo won in the Doha Diamond League meeting with 18.06m beating Christian Taylor.
Diaz, who won world under 18 and under 20 titles in his career, has become the third best performer in history behind Jonathan Edwards (18.29m) and Christian Taylor (18.21m).
Pichardo leapt to 17.92m in the final round, but it was not enough to clinch the gold medal. Pichardo’s 18.04m was the joint best-ever result not to win a triple jump competition.
Thomas Gogois from France clinched the bronze medal improving his PB to 17.38m. Thiago Pereira from Portugal finished fourth with 17.08m.
Men’s 400 metres hurdles:
Karsten Warholm won his third straight European gold medal improving his own championships record to 46.98 following his wins in Berlin 2018 and Munich 2022. Warholm has set the previous event record of 47.12 in Munich in 2022.
Karsten Warholm: “Whenever I walk on the track, I want to accomplish my goals, but today Sibilio had a a good race. I have seen that Italians have a great season thanks to these championships, so I knew I had to fight very hard. I was very sure that Sibilio would be ready for anything I could not make any mistake today. It was great to compete here and I am glad that that Tamberi jumps on the same day. The crowd was going crazy and I a enjoying this atmosphere”.
Alessandro Sibilio won the silver medal improving Fabrizio Mori’s Italian record by 0.04 to 47.50. Sibilio won Italy’s 18th medal at these championships. He won the first Italian medal at these championships since 1998, when Mori claimed bronze in Budapest 1998.
Alessandro Sibilio: “I am sorry for breaking Fabrizio Mori’s record. It’s thanks for him that I fell in love with athletics. It’s fantastic to have come second behind Warholm, who is simply an idol. I never thought I could run 47.50. All of this is truly incredible”.
Former European under 20 champion Carl Bengstrom from Sweden won the bronze medal breaking the 48 seconds for the first time in his career with 47.94. Bengstrom won Sweden’s first medal in this event since Split 1990 when Sven Nylander and Nicklas Wallelind claimed silver and bronze respectively.
Women’s 400 metres hurdles:
World champion Femke Bol from the Netherlands retained her European champion setting the championships record and the European lead with 52.49. The Dutch athlete improved the previous world lead set by Sydney McLaughlin, who clocked 52.70 in Atlanta a few weeks ago. Bol has collected the fourth European title of her career following her three wins in the 400m, 400m hurdles and in the 4x400 relay in Munich 2022, where she set the previous championships record of 52.67. Louise Maraval from France finished second in a PB of 54.23 ahead of Catheljn Peeters from the Netherlands (54.37).
Femke Bol; “I am really happy about the win and Peeters’ third place. I knew she could achieve this result. It’s never easy. You can never take anything for granted, which is why it’s important to stay focused on myself and not think about what’s happening around me. Even though on a night like this it becomes much harder. This atmosphere is amazing. Rome has always a special meaning for me. I love this track and this stadium. I worked hard for these championships and I arrived here in good shape. I believe that can be better at the Olympics”.
Men’s high jump:
Gianmarco Tamberi won his third European gold medal with a world seasonal lead of 2.37m on his seasonal debut following his previous wins in Amsterdam 2016 and Munich 2022.
Tamberi cleared 2.22m in his first attempt with a big margin over the bar but he needed two attempts to clear 2.26m. Both Ukrainian jumpers Oleh Doroshchuk and Vladyslav Lavskyy cleared 2.26m in their first attempt. Belgium’s Thomas Carmoy jumped 2.26m at the second time of asking.
Tamberi was ranked third by the time he made his first attempt at 2.29m, he was ranked third.
The Italian showman failed two attempts at 2.29m and faced exit from the competition in third place. The 32-year.old Italian star cleared this height at the third time of asking and was now in silver-medal position on countback behind Lavskyy, who had equalled his PB when he cleared 2.29m in his first attempt. Doroschuk won the bronze medal with 2.26m beating Carmoy on countback.
Lavsky failed one attempt at 2.31m. The Ukrainian jumper decided to try his remaining attempts at 2.33m, but he failed them. Tamberi delighted the enthusiastic crowd with two first-time clearances at 2.34m and 2.37m. Tamberi improved Andrey Silnov’s championships record of 2.36m set in Gothenburg 2006. The only Italian athlete who won three European gold medals in the history of these championships was Adolfo Consolini, who triumphed in the discus throw in three consecutive editions in 1946, 1950 and 1954.
Gianmarco Tamberi: “I knew I was in superb shape and I proved it. I did not want to be oudone by my teammates who are doing great things and I made it. There were many doubts about me after withdrawing from Ostrava, but I knew I had trained well and I was in extraordinary form. Yesterday, I even wrote to Jannik Sinner to try to bring him to the stadium. I wanted to make this night even so magical. I wanted him to understand the emotions that athletics can bring. I wanted to do great things in front of the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella, who honoured us with his presence. On Thursday I will return to him to receive the flag that I will carry in Paris at the Opening Ceremony. I was a bit shaky at 2.29m, but then the show began. I pretended to be injured and I hid springs in my shoes. I think some people fell for it. I did great things. Now it’s time for the Olympic Games”.
Italy won 20 medals at these championships, including nine gold medals. Italian athletics celebrated another great night of athletics attended by the President of the Italian Repblic Sergio Mattarella.
Women’s 10000 metres:
Nadia Battocletti won her second European gold medal at these championships improving Maura Viceconte’s Italian record in the women’s 10000 metres with 30:51.32. Battocletti added the gold in the 10000m to the 5000m title she won on Friday. Battocletti has become the fourth middle-distance runner to win the 5000m and the 10000m in the same edition of the European Championships after Sonia O’Sullivan (1998), Elvan Abeylegesse (2010) and Yasemin Can (2016).
Diane Van Es from the Netherlands claimed silver medal in a lifetime best of 30:51.24 ahead of Megan Keith from Great Britain, who had to settle with 31:04.77.
Megan Keith went to the front with six laps to go. Klara Lukan and Federica Del Buono dropped from medal contention. Battocletti, Keith and Van Es broke away. Battocletti made her decisive attack with 600 metres to go and the Italian crowd pushed the Italian middle-distance runner to another gold.
Battocletti has became the first Italian woman to win two European gold medals in the same edition of the European Championships. At men’s level the only Italian athletes, who achieved a double title were Pietro Mennea (100m and 200m in Prague 1978) and Salvatore Antibo (5000m and 10000m in Split 1990).
Nadia Battocletti: “I expected another magical evening. This is truly a wonder. I really enjoyed myself, thatis what I wanted to do. In my career, I have only one one high-level race at this distance last July in London, and I never would have expected something like this. I think I have another leap in quality these past days, and today’s race proves it. I can’t believe I have won two gold medals at the European Championships. These results allow me to gain confidence to think that I can even batter. I am building myself step by step and I believe I can continue to grow. Breaking another Italian record in a night like this is something very important. It was another of my goals, as well. It’s amazing that I did in fromt of such an amazing audience. I had three exams at the University this week: an exam in Wood Architecture at the University of Trento, which I attend, just the day before leaving for Rome. Then these tow races, I passed them all with great results”.
Women’s 200 metres:
Mujinga Kambundji from Switzerland retained her title in the women’s 200 metres in 22.49 holding off Daryl Neita from Great Britain by 0.01 in a very close photo-finish. It was the second medal for the Kambundji family after Mujinga’s younger sister Ditaji won the silver medal in the 100 metres hurdles. Kambundji completed the Swiss double in the 200 metres after Timothé Mumenthaler won the men’s 200 metres ahead of Filippo Tortu yesterday.
Helen Parisot won the bronze medal in 22.63 from lane two.
Mujinga Kambundji: “I knew that it would ne tight. Daryll Neita is in great shape. I was just looking forward to the race, trying to do my best race and it was close. I am over the moon to defend my title. I am usually calmer before the 200m, because it is longer and I cannot lose too much energy. I was really calm. It gave me confidence. Sometimes I am in a fighting mode, today I was in a calm mode.”
Second day men’s decathlon:
Johanes Erm from Estonia won the men’s decathlon gold medal with 8764 points. Erm won the second gold medal ever for Estonia at the European Championships following in the footsteps of Erki Nool, who won the European title in the decathlon in Budapest 2018.
Sander Skotheim from Norway with 8635 points adding another silver medal to her collection after finishing second at the European under 23 Championships in Espoo 2023. Mackenson Gletty from France claimed the bronze medal with a PB of 8606 points.
Finley Gaio from Switzerland won the third heat by two tenths with 14.04 in the men’s 110 metres heat.
Mackenson Gletty from France successfully appealed after finishing last 10 metres behind the rest of the field in 15.30. Gletty claimed that he had been left in the blocks as he did not hear the starting gun and was allowed to rerun his heat.
The Frenchman set his fifth PB in six events and the fastest time over with 13.88 in a solo-run to move into the lead in the overall standings with 5529 points ahead of Sander Skotheim (5502).
Nicklas Kaul improved his PB to 49.89m in the discus. Kevin Mayer threw the discus to 48.53m: Markus Rooth and Sander Skothem went beyond the 46 metres barrier with 46.54m and 46.18. Gletty dropped to second with 6266 points after a effort of 43.54m. Erm was ranked in third place with 6235 points after a throw of 44.56m ahead of Markus Rooth from Norway (6155).
Johannes Erm cleared 5.20m to move into the lead with 7207 points. Gletty maintained his second place with 7146 points after clearing 4.90m. Mayer cleared 5.30m to climb into fifth place with 7011 points. Rooth cleared 5.10m to move into third place with 7096 points. Skotheim cleared 4.40m in his third attempt in the pole vault and was out at 4.60m, 75 cm short his PB, and dropped to fourth with 7083.
Erm improved his PB by 2.15m to 62.71m in the javelin to maintain the lead with 7986 points after nine events. The Estonian athlete had a gap of 93 points over Mayer, who moved into second place with 7893 points after setting a seasonal best of 69.54m. Erm went into the final 1500 metres with a lead of 13 seconds on Mayer. Defending champion Nicklas Kaul won the javelin with 75.45m to move into fifth place with 7720 points. Slotheim threw 61.27m. Gletty was ranked third with 7846 ahead of Skotheim (7840).
Italian decathlon record holder Dario Dester set a lifetime best of 63.53m in the Group B of the javelin.
Erm clocked 4:24.95 in the 1500m to win he gold medal with 8764. Skotheim crossed the finish-line in 4:42.21 to claim silver with 8635. Gletty sealed the bronze medal with 8606 after running 4:27.70.
Kaul crossed the finish-line second in the 1500m in 4:17.77 behind Jeff Tesselaar (4:16.77). The German athlete moved to fourth place with 8547 points. Kevin Mayer qualified for the Olympic Games with his score of 8476 points. Dester repeated his sixth place from Munich 2022 improving his Italian record to 8235 points.
Johannes Erm: “It has been two amazing two days. I do not remember when I was so happy last time. A lot of Estonian fans came here, and every single one counted. All the locals, everyone cheered us on, you could feel it in all events, especially in the 1500m”.
Women’s javelin throw:
Victoria Hudson from Austria won the European gold medal with 64.62m in the first round. Adriana Vilagos from Serbia took silver medal setting a European under 23 leading performance with a throw of 64.62m in the in the third round. Marie Therese Obst took bronze with a PB of 63.60m.
Hudson, who finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest, became Austria’s first gold medallist at the European Championships since 1971.
Defending champion Elina Tzengko from Greece had to settle with sixth place with 59.46m.
Women’s long jump qualifying round:
Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo led the women’s long jump qualifying round with 7.03m setting the second best performance in the world this year. Mihambo is seeking her second European gold medal six years after her win in Berlin 2018 on home soil. The German athlete set the second best ever mark in a qualification round in the history of the European Championships after the 7.09m mark set by Vilma Bardauskiene in Prague 1978.
Malaika Mihambo: “I knew that I had the 7.03m in me. I have seen a constant development in my last competitions. I saw how everything was coming together. About the special runway I am always trying to make the best out of everything, every situation, not matter what kind of runway or track I am running on. Today I was not nervous, but there was a little bit of tension, but that is good for a qualification. At the moment there is nothing that disturbs me unlike at the Munich European Championships in 2022 where I had just came out of a corona infection”.
Annik Kaelin from Switzerland and Hillary Kpatcha from France went over the automatic qualifying mark by jumping 6.83m and 6.82m respectively. Kaelin equalled Irene Pusterla’s Swiss record with 6.84m during the long jump competition of the heptathlon.
Agaté De Sousa from Portugal easily advanced to the final with 6.72m. European indoor silver medallist Larissa Iapichino from Italy jumped one cm beyond the automatic qualifying standard with 6.71m in her first round to advance to the final. Bulgaria’s Plamela Mitkova and Romaia’s Alina Rotaru Kottman also leapt to 6.71m.
Women’s 800 metres semifinal:
Defending champion Keely Hodggkinson won the first 800 metres semifinal in the fastest European Championships time ever in a semifinal. The previous best time was set by Sigrun Wodars in Stuttgart 1986 with 1:58.26. Anais Bourgouin from France and Majtie Kolberg from Germany improved their PBs clocking 1:58.65 and 1.58.74 respectively. Anna Wiegosz also improved her PB to 1:59.07 but she did not advance to the final.
Keely Hodgkinson: “It was so early. Jokes aside, I think I had a good pace and felt well. Many athletes thanked me because I helped them keeping a high pace and improved their PB. I am happy for this, but I am only doing my part. It’s still too early to think about Olympics. There is still a final to run”.
Women’s 4x400 relay heats:
Ireland won the second heat in the women’4x400 relay setting the fastest qualifying time with 3:24.81 beating France (3:25.15), Belgium (3:25:16), Spain (3:25.25 national record) and Italy (3:25.28). Sharlene Mawdsley clocked a split of 49.76 in the anchor leg for Ireland in her fourth race in five days. Mawdsley competed in the 400 metres final on Monday evening.
Poland claimed the win in the first heat in 3:25.59 holding off Germany (3:25.90) and the Netherlands (3:25.99). Lisanne De Witte edged out Norway’s Amelie Iuel in the final 10 metres to secure the Netherlands the third automatic qualifying spot.
Only 1.18 seconds separate the eight qualified teams. All qualified teams ran under the 3:26 barrier.
Men’s 4x100 relay heats:
Germany won the first heat in 38.43 beating the Belgian team, who improved the national record to 38.55, Poland (38.67) and Switzerland (38.70). Great Britain, who won the last four European titles finished eighth and did not advance to the final after a mistake on the changeover.
The Netherlands won the second heat in 38.34. Fresh European 110 metres hurdles champion Lorenzo Simonelli anchored Italy to second time in 38.40.
Men’s 4x400 relay heats:
France ran the fastest qualifying time in the men’s 4x400 relay with 3:00.77 in the second heat beating Belgium (3:01:09), Poland (3:01.01), Germany (3:01.44) and Spain (3:01:45) and Portugal (3:01.91 national record).
Great Britain won the first heat in 3:01.69. Edoardo Scotti anchored the Italian team to second place in 3:02.01 with a split in 44.79. Hungary qualified for the final in third place with a national record of 3:02:09.
Women’s 4x100 relay heats:
Great Britain won the first heat in a European seasonal lead of 42.25, helped by European 100 metres champion Dina Asher Smith in third leg. The other members of the British team were Asha Phillp, Amy Hunt and Desirée Henry. Switzerland and Spain advanced to the final with 42.76 and 43.00. Italy did not qualify in fourth place in 43.27 after Dalia Kaddari injured in the second leg a few metres before the changeover to Anna Bongiorni
France won the second heat clocking the second fastest overall time in 42.35 edging the Netherlands (42.39).
The European Athletics Championships will conclude on Wednesday, with finals in men's and women's relays, men's 10000, 1500m, javelin, pole vault and women's 800m and long jump. The anticipation for these final events promises to bring the championships to a dramatic and thrilling close.
