<h2>European Athletics Championships&nbsp;</h2>
As the jewel in the crown of events organised by European Athletics, the biennial European Athletics Championships are the showcase of the very best that the continental branch of the sport has to offer.
At the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August, part of the wider multisport European Championships from 11-21 August, no fewer than 11 championship records were set across the seven days of competition in the city's hallowed Olympic Stadium, the venue for the1972 Olympic Games.&nbsp;
Highlights included Armand Duplantis defending his pole vault title and improving his championship record to 6.06m, Femke Bol winning a historic treble in the 400m, 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay, Jakob Ingebrigtsen defending his 1500m and 5000m titles and 19-year-old Mykolas Alekna from Lithuania winning the discus with a championship record of 69.78m.
Hosts Germany topped the medal table with seven gold medals ahead of Great Britain &amp; NI with six. Germany had an especially memorable hour on the second evening session with Niklas Kaul and Gina Luckenkemper winning gold medals in the decathlon and 100m respectively.&nbsp;
The 2024 European Athletics Championships will take place in Rome from 7-12 June some 50 years after the Italian capital last staged the championships.
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Munich 2022 Results Book

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Marathon Course

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Qualification System and Entry Standards

Media Guide (all sports)

European Athletics Championships

Road to Munich

The European Athletics Championships is a biennial event and the continent's premier athletics competition.

Team Manual

Team Manual (in pdf format)

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Qualification Procedure in Sprint Events

Medal Ceremonies Timetable

Munich 2022 | Women's 4x400m race replay

Munich 2022 | Day seven highlights

Munich 2022 | Women's 3000m steeplechase race replay

Munich 2022 | Day six highlights

Munich 2022 | Men's 5000m race replay

Munich 2022 | Day five highlights

Munich 2022 | Women's 10,000m race replay

Munich 2022 | Day four highlights

Munich 2022 | Day three highlights

Munich 2022 | Day two highlights

Munich 2022 | Arthur Abele's emotional farewell

Munich 2022 | Day one highlights

Munich 2022 | Men's and women's marathon champions crowned

Road to Munich | Jakob Ingebrigtsen's 1500/5000m double

Road to Munich | Perkovic makes history with fifth successive discus title

Road to Munich | Stefanidi clears 4.81m championship record

Road to Munich | Gevaert's 100/200m double in Gothenburg

Road to Munich | Kluft's golden heptathlon homecoming

Road to Munich | Espana's incredible 5000m kick

Road to Munich | Backley's record-equalling fourth javelin title

Road to Munich | Diagana's still-standing championship record

Road to Munich | Jackson's historic fourth 110m hurdles title

Road to Munich | Korzeniowski world 50km race walk record

Road to Munich | Radcliffe's 10,000m triumph

From Eugene to Munich | Three weeks to go!

Five fastest 110m hurdles finals this century

Five longest men's javelin throws this century

Five fastest men's 4x400m finals this century

Five fastest women's 200m finals this century

100 days to go!

European Athletics Championship

One of the greatest javelin throwers in history has drawn her long and illustrious career to a close.
Czech Republic&rsquo;s Barbora Spotakova has announced her retirement less than a month after winning bronze at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, her tenth major medal dating back to the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg and a medal which she described "as the most beautiful in my career."
But Spotakova&rsquo;s senior international career goes back even further in antiquity, earning her first Czech vest at the 2002 European Athletics Championships which also took place in Munich. The Czech world record-holder was one of just three athletes to take part in both championships.
"Every fairy tale has its end, this fairytale has a wonderful happy ending. Everything points to the fact that the circle is really closing. I suspected it since (last) September.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I knew that after 20 years I would return to Munich to the Olympic stadium where Jan Železn&yacute; and Jaroslav Brabec persuaded me to take up the javelin. I wished that after twenty years the circle would close nicely. And it succeeded. That ending was beautiful,&rdquo; Spotakova told the Czech press this morning.
Spotakova, who initially showed promise in her U20 days in the heptathlon before focusing on the javelin, took to the runway for the final time in yesterday&rsquo;s Diamond League final in Zurich, bowing out from competition with a fifth-place finish with 59.08m.
"Yesterday, it became quite clear [this was the last competition]. During the warm-up, my Achilles which I hurt in May, hurt. It lasted until Zurich. But even so, 59 metres is quite fine without a leg,&rdquo; she smiled.
From the 10 major medals Spotakova accrued between 2006 and 2022, six of them were gold. Spotakova won back-to-back Olympic titles in 2008 and 2012, world titles in 2007, 2011 and 2017 and completed the set of major titles with European gold in Zurich 2014.&nbsp;
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Spotakova brings her illustrious career to an end

At the press conference on the eve of the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, Femke Bol was asked about the prospect of matching the feats of the legendary Fanny Blankers-Koen with her triple gold medal quest in the Bavarian capital, and about the reasons for the notable rise of Dutch athletics.
For almost three-quarters of a century, Blankers-Koen has held a historical stranglehold over the reputation of track and field in the Netherlands. The four gold medals she won at the London Olympics in 1948 - in the 100m, 200m, 80m hurdles and 4x100m - took 73 years to equal with the collective efforts of successive Dutch Olympic athletics squads.
Sifan Hassan&rsquo;s double in the 5000m and 10,000m in Tokyo raised the post-Blankers Koen tally to four golds, Ria Stalman having won the discus in Los Angeles and Ellen van Langen the 800m in Barcelona in 1992.
More significantly, the eight medals of all colours that the Netherlands won in Tokyo represent a third of the nation&rsquo;s total of 24 in their entire Olympic history.
&ldquo;We had four Olympic medals in athletics in 50 years, and then we won eight in ten days in Tokyo,&rdquo; said Charles van Commenee, head coach of the Dutch Athletics Federation.
As well as the two gold medals for Hassan, there were silvers for Anouk Vetter in the heptathlon, Abdi Nageeye in the marathon and the men&rsquo;s 4x400m team, plus bronzes for Hassan at 1500m, Bol in the 400m hurdles and Emma Oosterwegel in the heptathlon.
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This was following on from the triumph of topping the medal table for the first time at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun in 2021 with seven medals including gold medals from Bol again (400m), Nadine Visser (60m hurdles) and the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 4x400m teams.
In Munich, even with Hassan absent and Vetter bowing out of the heptathlon after six events because of injury - not to mention a flurry of three fourth-placed finishes on the final night - Van Commenee&rsquo;s squad managed to gain six medals, just one less than they claimed on home ground in Amsterdam in 2016.
Bol emerged as the star of the championships, emulating Blankers-Koen&rsquo;s three gold medals from 1950 in Brussels with a Dutch record of 49.44 in the 400m - the third fastest by a European in the 21st century and the fastest winning time at the European Championships since Marita Koch in 1986 - a championship record of 52.67 in the 400m hurdles and by anchoring the 4x400m relay team to victory in 3:20.87 with a sensational split of 48.52.
After a breakout bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships, Jessica Schilder continued her progress with gold in the shot put in which Jorinde van Klinken also took bronze to match that of Nienke Brinkmann in the women&rsquo;s marathon on the first morning session of the championships.
Quite clearly, something is going seriously right for Dutch athletics.
According to Bol, the key is the squad being based at the National Olympic Training Centre at Papendal in the Vuelwe forestland on the outskirts of Arnhem.
&ldquo;I think we just have a really good team ethic at Papendal,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We have a lot of good athletes who come there and train together. We are all happy and working hard together there.&rdquo;
Van Commenee concurs. &ldquo;Yeah, that&rsquo;s certainly true. We have a broad spectrum, we&rsquo;re winning medals in many events. And most of the training takes place in Papendal.
&ldquo;We share the centre with nine sports and the national athletics squad has been based there since 2006. The concept is quite simple. We try to bring the best coaches there and connect them with the best talent, with the best possible services.
&ldquo;In 2006 we started with four athletes and it&rsquo;s now transformed into the home of our sport. We have 60 athletes in our team here and 45 of them are based at Papendal. There&rsquo;s always space for other routes; distance runners have always trained in different places.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s camaraderie among the athletes at Papendal, and the coaches make each other better. We also have young athletes who train there. They live there and study there,&rdquo; he said.
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On the culture of coaching in Papendal, Van Commenee said: &ldquo;Athletes and coaches in our sport do not really grasp the concept of teamwork. It&rsquo;s not in their DNA. We have to teach them and get them to understand what it means. It&rsquo;s more than supporting each other verbally. It&rsquo;s also to correct each other, or to support and be professional.
&ldquo;We have some very talented young coaches. We invest in them and we educate them. Coaches have always been the primary influence in performance. And we need succession.&rdquo;
At 64, van Commenee will be retiring and passing on the baton in October. The work he has been doing at Papendal over the past four years - in tandem with Ad Roskam, the performance director of the Dutch Athletics Federation - has utilised all of the nous he has amassed in a coaching career spanning multiple decades.
He has worked as a technical director with the Dutch Federation, as a technical director and then head coach with British athletics (and had spells as an advisor and then performance director with the Dutch National Olympic Committee. He has also coached Denise Lewis to Olympic heptathlon gold and Chinese shot putter Huang Zhihong to world silver.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m quite optimistic that what we are doing at Papendal will continue for many decades,&rdquo; said van Commenee. &ldquo;At the World U20 Championships in Cali last month we had our best ever result [one gold, a silver and two bronzes].
&ldquo;Collectively we&rsquo;re very proud of what we have done. It&rsquo;s great to create something out of what used to be nothing. In the past we always went to championships with maybe ten athletes, just participants. We had a target of one, or two, top eight positions. That&rsquo;s it.
&ldquo;Now, it&rsquo;s different. We have a lot of different athletes winning medals. Not only that; we are fortunate that we have athletes at the moment who make people at home happy, because of their personalities.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re well-spoken. They are cheerful. They&rsquo;re not grumpy. They take responsibility. Also, when they don&rsquo;t perform well, they do it in a gracious manner.
&ldquo;You cannot find anyone who doesn&rsquo;t like Femke Bol. There&rsquo;s nobody who doesn&rsquo;t have any sympathy with Sifan Hassan or Churandy Martina. They&rsquo;re just nice, sparkling personalities. Anouk Vetter is another one.
&ldquo;It gives a nice profile to our sport in our country, where in the past the audience only knew, let&rsquo;s say, Ellen van Langen or Nelli Cooman or Dafne Schippers.
&ldquo;Now we have a dozen. And they&rsquo;re all happy. We&rsquo;re a happy bunch.&rdquo;

Tokyo and Munich showcases the rise and rise of Dutch athletics

This time last year Kristjan Ceh was reflecting on a big step forward in his discus career.
Fifth-place at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, on the back of a win and championship records at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Tallinn was a notable advance for the young Slovenian. At his only previous major senior event, the World Athletics Championships in Doha in 2019, he had finished last in qualifying.
So it has been something of a giant leap that the imposing 6-foot-9 farm boy has taken in 2022. As he posted on Twitter on the day after his first senior continental final at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships: &ldquo;World champion and European vice champion in the same year sounds really good.&rdquo;
It was not a surprise to find Ceh showing such a keen sense of perspective in the aftermath of what must have come as something of a disappointment. Having claimed the world title in Eugene the previous month, acheived with a stunning series of five throws of 70 metre-plus, and having suffered just one loss in 16 previous competitions in 2022, the would-be chicken farmer must have been expecting to rule the continental roost.
In his luminous predominantly lime-coloured Slovenian vest, however, Ceh happens to be a jolly green giant: engagingly affable and quick to laugh at himself. So, even if it took a night of sleep, he could see his silver medal as something still to celebrate.
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To his credit, the 23-year old could also appreciate the success of Lithuania&rsquo;s Mykolas Alekna. 
The 19-year-old son of the two-time world and Olympic champion and 2006 European champion Virgilijus Alenkna took the gold with a fifth round throw of 69.78m that broke the championship record of 69.06m that Ceh had set in qualifying two days before.
&ldquo;He was the best man in the final,&rdquo; said Ceh, who took silver with 68.28m. &ldquo;He deserved to win. He&rsquo;s a huge talent. He&rsquo;s only 19 and he&rsquo;s almost throwing 70 metres so he&rsquo;s breaking all the barriers.&rdquo;
Not quite all of them. 
Alekna is still 19 centimetres shy of the magic 70-metre mark. He threw his personal best of 69.81m when finishing as runner-up to Ceh at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm in July, their only previous tussle before the World Championships in Eugene, where Ceh secured gold with 71.13m and Alekna silver with 69.27m.
Given their youth, the rivalry between them looks like being one for the ages in years to come. &ldquo;I hope so,&rdquo; said Ceh. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to have a good rival to push you, who can push you to the limits.&rdquo;
Alekna might have a few more years on his side but Ceh will be expecting to keep improving for some time yet.
He has only been working under the guidance of Gerd Kanter, the 2007 world and 2008 Olympic champion, since moving his training base to Estonia last autumn. The results so far suggest there will be more to come.
&ldquo;Of course Gerd is a great man,&rdquo; said Ceh. &ldquo;He achieved so much in athletics. He has so many medals. I can only imagine winning that many.&rdquo;
Still, with his World Championships gold and now his European silver from Munich, Ceh&rsquo;s profile in his homeland has started to soar -&nbsp; somewhere towards the last two Slovenian sportsmen of the year, cycling stars Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic.
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&ldquo;It&rsquo;s changed a lot for me in terms of attention, but that&rsquo;s not something I&rsquo;m against,&rdquo; he added, laughing. &ldquo;I like attention and when I won at the World Championships I got a lot more attention, but basketball and cycling are still the top two sports in Slovenia. Athletics is slowly growing up.&rdquo;
Ceh grew up on his family&rsquo;s farm, developing his strength by performing any heavy lifting that was required. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m from a small farm,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t have many machines. We had to use shovels and hands. I got very strong from there.
&ldquo;So when I started athletics I was already strong, although it&rsquo;s a little harder to get strength that way than doing it with weights.&rdquo;
Ceh is already looking beyond using his strength to forge a career in the discus circle. He has been studying agriculture at the University of Maribor, with a view to becoming a chicken farmer later in life.
In the meantime, with his distinctive broad-rimmed glasses and world-beating throwing powers, he is happy to be the Clark Kent-lookalike of the international track and field scene.
&ldquo;I have read people calling me that,&rdquo; said Ceh, chuckling at the comparison. &ldquo;I mean, maybe it&rsquo;s true. I&rsquo;m like the Superman of discus.&rdquo;

Ceh's medal-winning exploits rebuild athletics' popularity in Slovenia

In her moment of victory, when defending European champion Aikaterini Stefanidi&rsquo;s failure to clear 4.80m at the last attempt revealed her as the women&rsquo;s pole vault gold medallist, Wilma Murto appeared not to have noticed.&nbsp;
While Stefanidi began celebrations with the bronze medallist, Tina Sutej from Slovenia, the 24-year-old Finn went about her business as impassively as if she were in training.&nbsp;
Walking over to her coach, Jarno Koivunen, she exchanged a few words before marching resolutely back to her mark and requesting the bar, which she had cleared at 4.80m first time for her third Finnish record of the evening, be moved up to 4.85m &ndash; thus equalling the championship record set by her Greek rival four years earlier in Berlin.&nbsp;
The transformation as she cleared it was profound &ndash; her descending face was joyful, and she sank briefly onto her knees on the landing bed, head in hands, before bounding away in search of the Finnish flag.&nbsp;
Asked about her demeanour in the final stages of the competition, she laughed and responded:&nbsp;&ldquo;That&rsquo;s something me and my coach have always done &ndash; the competition isn&rsquo;t over until it&rsquo;s over. I felt that 4.85m in me still, and I still had that flow, and I didn&rsquo;t want to let the emotions out of me at the European Championships.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;My coach had already said &lsquo;No, no more, 4.80m is good. We have the gold medal now.&rsquo; And I was like &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll go one more time.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I felt I had one more jump height left, I had it with me, and I wanted to go for it one more time and I knew if I felt off I would just run through it and that would be fine, but I wanted to go, and I felt great, and I cleared it and I felt even greater!&rdquo;&nbsp;
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From the outside, Murto&rsquo;s progress to becoming European champion appeared curiously inverted &ndash; the higher the bar, the easier it became.&nbsp;
She seemed out of the medal hunt in the early stages, requiring two attempts to clear 4.55m and 4.65m and passing after one failure at 4.70m. But then came first-time successes at 4.75m and 4.80m before her final flourish at 4.85m.&nbsp;
&nbsp;How to explain this phenomenon? She obliged. 
&ldquo;When the bar was for 4.65m or under I felt like I was holding back a little bit, I was trying to be safe with the jumps, and that doesn&rsquo;t work with pole vault.&nbsp;
&ldquo;When the medal was sure I felt like my senses just opened and that was the flow moment &ndash; it started from there. Now I have nothing to lose, I have what I wanted &ndash; and I want more now!&nbsp;
&ldquo;I wanted to give everything. Kelsey-Lee Barber [Australia&rsquo;s double world javelin champion] just said that when you do a technical event the less you think the better. And that kind of flow brings the best jumps out of the athlete.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I felt I handled my nerves quite well &ndash; and also it felt quite effortless by the end.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I jumped with three different poles throughout the competition. The last pole I jumped with I had only used once before, at the World Championships in Eugene last month.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And I missed the bar at 4.70m twice with that pole, but I knew that pole had a lot of power in it and that would take me up to that kind of height. So I didn&rsquo;t have to change any kind of settings after 4.70m. I jumped everything the same from then on.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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For Murto this was, literally and metaphorically, a return to the heights after a junior career of huge promise and achievement.&nbsp;&nbsp;
On 31 January 2016, aged 17, she set a world U20 record of 4.71m which stood until her own clearance of 4.75 in the Munich Olympic Stadium, and later that year she won world U20 bronze before adding European U20 bronze in 2017.&nbsp;
There was an Olympic Games appearance in Rio 2016 and at the last European Athletics Championships in Berlin four years ago, where she finished 17th in qualifying.&nbsp;&nbsp;
She also didn&rsquo;t make it through qualifying at the World Athletics&nbsp; Championships in Doha before the pandemic curtailed her and every other athlete&rsquo;s activities.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Sixth place at last year&rsquo;s European Athletics Indoor Championships was followed by a highly creditable fifth place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games but it was her performance at last month&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, where she finished equal sixth, was the biggest indicator of what she might achieve in Munich.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Eugene was very important, a great experience,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I had a bad injury in January and we were counting the days if we had enough time to be competing there. I broke my foot &ndash; I landed badly in January in a French meet and I injured the side of my foot. I had a cast on for two months. It was a big setback.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;But we had enough time, and in Eugene I felt like I had the jumps in me. And I felt very calm knowing that it&rsquo;s in me already; I just have to let it happen.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Asked to reflect upon the course her career has so far taken, she responded: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot of perseverance. It&rsquo;s a lot of belief in the ability to go back to that level where I was. My team has had faith in me for all that time even though when I have questioned whether I can do this or not there has always been someone there to tell me and remind me of the potential I have.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am based in Turku, in southwestern Finland, where we have a sports academy. We have, I think, the best training track in Finland, and I also study in Turku - my school is just 200 metres away from the track and I live only a kilometre away. I study media - journalism and communications.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Asked if her latest achievement has caused her to think of still higher accomplishments, she responded.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s enough for now. Although I heard that on the 4.85m there was air between me and the bar so there is something there! But getting this kind of pressure and this kind of environment is not every day, so we&rsquo;ll see. We&rsquo;ll have to let the dust settle and we&rsquo;ll set new goals.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This season I still have three competitions so we&rsquo;ll reassess after that and see where our eyes are at.&rdquo;

Patience, perseverance and belief propels Murto to new heights

At 41, Czech Republic&rsquo;s Barbora Spotakova has amassed a unique collection of women&rsquo;s javelin medals, including gold medals at Olympic, world and European level, and still holds the world record of 72.28m.&nbsp;&nbsp;
But winning European bronze in Munich&rsquo;s Olympic Stadium, 20 years after she had competed there in the 2002 edition of the championships and five years after earning her last major medal, a gold at the World Athletics Championships in London was something she described as &ldquo;a small miracle.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The Czech athlete was competing against a field half her age &ndash; indeed the winner with a personal best of 65.81m, Elina Tzengko of Greece, was the youngest winner of this title at 19 - and not yet born when Spotakova made her debut at the championships in 2002.
Tzengko took a first-round lead with 60.82m and never lost it, but the competition for silver and bronze was volatile.&nbsp;
Spotakova moved into third place with her second round effort of 60.31m, behind the 60.57m of Hungary&rsquo;s Reka Szilagyi, but was displaced, excruciatingly, by a centimetre when Serbia&rsquo;s Adriana Vilagos - even younger than the winner at 18 - threw a fifth-round 60.32m.&nbsp;
So here was the latest test in an international career that spans five Olympic appearances &ndash; yielding two golds and a bronze.&nbsp;
And Spotakova was ready to step up once again, throwing the spear out to 60.68m to move into second place. Vilagos moved into silver medal position with her last effort of 62.01m but the veteran remained on the European podium &ndash; eight years after she had won her last medal in the event, taking the title at the Zurich 2014.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am always fighting until the end,&rdquo; she said in the wake of her performance. &ldquo;Nothing is lost until the finish of the competition. I knew that I would fight and I knew that I would throw more, that&rsquo;s what I knew.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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Her success was witnessed by her mother, partner Lukas, her sons Janek &ndash; named in honour of her former coach, the men&rsquo;s world record-holder Jan Zelezny &ndash; and Darek, who was born in July 2018. And a party of around 60 travelling friends and supporters.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This is my first medal after the second baby, so it is actually a long time, and it&rsquo;s what I told myself before the sixth throw &ndash; that I have to show my boys how to fight.&nbsp;
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I told myself. And then they ran to me and it was the most beautiful moment in my career I guess.&rdquo;&nbsp;
As she acknowledged, the circumstances of this particular competition were propitious as far as she was concerned, given that Germany&rsquo;s 2018 champion Christin Hussong was unable to defend her title due to the effects of coronavirus.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This was like a small miracle happening. Because I am not here in a really good shape and the metres were not so good. This was a special occasion that the medal was just only 60.68m. This was a very good thing for me.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This was very similar to my biggest competition. I felt like it was really 10 years earlier. It was beautiful, the feeling. I know it will not go away forever.&rdquo;&nbsp;
And so, 16 years after earning her first big senior medal, European silver in Gothenburg 2006, Spotakova found herself sharing a medal podium with two teenagers.
&ldquo;I guess it is symbolic that the girl who won was 19 years and I am 41,&rdquo; she reflected. &ldquo;I think the generations are changing.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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Over recent years, Spotakova has adopted a policy of &ldquo;never say never&rdquo; in terms of predicting her future involvements.&nbsp;
Speaking a month before the London 2017 World Championships, she commented: &ldquo;I am still doing athletics just because there is a World Championships in London this year. Otherwise I would maybe have finished before now.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;This could be my last one, though, because it is getting harder and harder. I never say never, but it could be. If I win [in London] it&rsquo;s likely to force me to stop, more than if I don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
She did win. She didn&rsquo;t stop.&nbsp;
In June 2020, after winning a meeting in Kladno &ndash; one of a series of events organised after pandemic lockdown in the Czech Republic - with 63.69m, she said: &ldquo;I was really looking forward to competing because I&rsquo;ve been training for a very long time and I know I can perform, but I wanted to test it.&nbsp;
But looking ahead to the prospect of competing at the Tokyo 2020 Games the following year, she remained cautious: &ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m in good shape. I only hope it will last, a year perhaps?&rdquo;&nbsp;
Two years on, and she is back on the European Championships podium to add a second bronze to the gold, silver and bronze she already has from the event.&nbsp;
After this success, will she carry on?&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not talking about the future right now,&rdquo; she replied. &ldquo;I have to have some time to think.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Watch this space.

“The most beautiful moment in my career.” Spotakova lands last gasp javelin bronze in Munich

The eighth edition of the European Athletics Young Leaders Forum &ndash; this year entitled Young Leaders Forum meets Allianz after a partnership with the German financial services giant &ndash; provided inspiration for a new generation of future leaders in the sport.
Four years after the last in-presence edition, more than 100 participants met in Munich between 17-21 August during the European Athletics Championships to discuss our sport's present and future, as well as find common points of interest with several other sports.
The welcome dinner the night before the official opening of the Forum was held in the Allianz Arena, home to the famous football club Bayern Munich, with an introduction by the European Athletics Council member Karin Grute Movin and was followed by a thought-provoking Q&amp;A session with the Paralympian Markus Rehm.
The European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov formally got proceedings underway on the opening day.
&ldquo;We have here many examples of many participants that are already true leaders. You&rsquo;re here to be a leader in the future. A good leader has to think of others, take decisions, be brave, enthusiastic, and be knowledgeable. You have to be close to your federations. I&rsquo;m optimistic that our sport has a future because when you speak about Young Leaders you speak about the future,&rdquo; commented Karamarinov.
&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t look at the future without understanding the past&rdquo; was the theme of the traditional keynote speech by the World Athletics President Sebastian Coe on the future of athletics.
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It was followed by a Q&amp;A session with Coe and Karamarinov where Forum participants could ask questions and opinions about our sport.
A key part of the Forum were the discussions between participants from different countries which gave the young leaders an idea of how athletics work outside their own federations, and which are the best practices they can import into their organisations.
For the last two days, 80 participants from all the other sports joined the Forum and participated in the workshops and conferences, having the chance to understand what happens behind the scenes of an athletics championship and during the everyday life of our sport.
To date, athletics has been the only sport among the nine that made up the multi-sport European Championships that was staged in the Bavarian capital with a Young Leaders network and a biennial Young Leaders Forum.
Many of the future administrators and organisers from other sports also took away valuable ideas that could be applied after participating for the first time during this year&rsquo;s Young Leaders Forum.
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One of the most powerful sessions was one regarding <a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/development/safeguarding-programme-preventing-harassment-abuse-and-exploitation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">safeguarding</a> with Mathilde Grenet; the safe sports expert talked about her experience and gave important advice on how to prevent and react to abuse in sport.
How to keep young athletes in the sport was the main point of the Allianz Hackaton. The participants, divided into groups, had to develop a project that will end with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and has the aim to keep people in sport and attract new ones.
The best project among those produced during the Young Leaders Forum will be chosen by Allianz and their internal team and will come to life in the next months.
The participants also had the chance to listen to speakers and find out about the <a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/development/leadership-programme" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Athletics Leadership Programme</a>, with the Programme&rsquo;s Katrin Heyers and Nicola Orths giving presentations then taking questions about how to take part in the Programme and how to expand it in their own countries.
Former elite athletes Hannah England and Periklis Iakovakis &ndash; the pair also being leading members of the Athletes Committee &ndash; and former world champion Paula Radcliffe took part in a roundtable discussion regarding the needs and shortfalls of athletics, with many questions focussed on athletes and social media, and the role of the athletes in society.
&ldquo;Stage Great Events to Engage and Inspire&rdquo; was a session led by European Athletics Vice President Cherry Alexander and World Athletics Chair of Events &amp; Competition Commission Jakob Larsen and provided advice to those participants directly involved with competition organisation.
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Participants were also split up into groups and every group had a specific topic to discuss in a workshop so that they could attempt to collectively understand how athletics is developed in different countries, what works and doesn&rsquo;t work for them, what can be applied in other parts of Europe and how this can help the growth of this sport, especially in Europe.
European Athletics First Vice President Jean Gracia presented European Athletics&rsquo; innovative <a href="https://www.iruncleanproject.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I Run Clean anti-doping education programme</a>, which has been in existance since 2017 which is now a trailblazer for other sports to emulate.
The last day of the Forum was dedicated to the management of the future European Championships Management Event Director Colin Hartley expanding on his personal experience in organising big sports events &ndash; which included the Glasgow 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships &ndash; and gave valuable tips and advice on the practical aspects of event organisation
Former Young Leader &Scaron;pela Hus and European Athletics Development Coordinator Yannick Morard concluded the four days of intense activity in Munich by explaining how this year&rsquo;s Young Leaders Forum was organised and what will be the next steps in developing the Forum in the future.

Young Leaders Forum meets Allianz inspires the future generations

The mission in Munich, which world 1500m champion Jake Wightman decided to accept, was, in his own words: &ldquo;To show I can be competitive over 800 metres as well as 1500 metres.&rdquo;&nbsp;
For all intents and purposes this mission was accomplished. Wightman won his third major medal of the season in the Bavarian capital, beaten only by the athlete who won gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in mid-March.
With a little more experience over this distance, it could be argued, the Brit might have won gold rather than silver. As it was, after running wide to extricate himself from the pack at the start of the finishing straight he pushed Spain&rsquo;s world indoor champion Mariano Garcia all the way to the line, finishing second in 1:44.91 as the Spaniard won in a personal best of 1:44.85.&nbsp;&nbsp;
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By his own admission, Wightman ran a far from textbook semifinal which yielded Wightman an unfavourable inside lane in the final. Tactically the final was a lot better, albeit not perfect &ndash; but his ability and fitness allowed him to produce a final product that enabled him to complete a huge medal sweep in the space of just 33 days.&nbsp;
&ldquo;In every round I&rsquo;ve learned a bit more,&rdquo; Wightman said. &ldquo;I hope I can race more 800 metres in championships, because I feel I've got some potential to go and do that on a global stage if I take a little bit more care towards it.&nbsp;
&ldquo;When you look at the days of Coe and Ovett in Moscow, to come out and run as well at an 800m as a 1500m &ndash; I&rsquo;d love to be like that. And tonight is a big stepping stone towards it.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Before the championships began, Wightman had elaborated on his ambitions.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Coming here and doing an 800 metres is something I&rsquo;m excited to do. I hope I can still do all right because I&rsquo;ve never really had a chance to run an 800m at a championship before and I want to show I can be competitive over this distance as well as at 1500m
&ldquo;Next year I get a wild card to go to the World Championships to do the 1500m, so I&rsquo;d love to see if I can get into the British Trials in the 800m next year. I&rsquo;ve always wanted to add the 800m to the 1500m, but the way my [British] championships go I have to do the 1500m there and that is always the priority.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I see myself as a middle distance athlete rather than just a 1500m athlete, the same way that some athletes are 1500m and 5000m guys.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Reflecting on his performance in the final, Wightman was, as ever, honest: &ldquo;I had to come a little bit further round in the final 150 metres. I was jealous of Ben&rsquo;s [Pattison] position because that&rsquo;s where I wanted to be and I maybe had to work a little bit harder round the bend just to get alongside.&nbsp;
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&ldquo;I knew that Mariano was going to be tough to beat in the straight because he&rsquo;s very strong there, he&rsquo;s world indoor champ, he&rsquo;s got a pedigree of championship racing. But I knew I had a good chance to win it. I&rsquo;m disappointed, but if you&rsquo;d have said to me before you&rsquo;ll come away with the silver, I&rsquo;d have taken that.&nbsp;
&ldquo;But to do it in an event which I wouldn&rsquo;t say is my strong event shows that I&rsquo;ve been in good shape this season.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I learned from my semi because I thought that was pretty bad, how I ran it, and I was trying to get in better positions in the final, which I did. So I&rsquo;m just glad we got something from that for Britain.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think my biggest weakness is I don&rsquo;t get out very quick compared to those guys and you always make up the ground. And the one thing I learned from racing is you don&rsquo;t do that on the bends, and you don&rsquo;t have as many straights to make it back up.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;So you have got to have a very good first lap. I&rsquo;m not saying my lanes were bad, but I found it tough to come out of lane one and, tonight, lane two to try and stop myself getting boxed in.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It was tough. You kind of know with 50 to go whether you are going to come past, and I knew that I couldn&rsquo;t raise it any more, so I was just willing Mariano to come back. But he&rsquo;s the world indoor champion and he&rsquo;s done a lot of racing at this distance.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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Wightman confirmed his plan to double up next year. &ldquo;That performance tonight is kind of like a helping hand towards it to show that if I get picked I can perform at a Championships.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;The 800 metres is fun, I think they&rsquo;re fun to watch because you don&rsquo;t bore people with four minutes of running, it&rsquo;s only two. And it&rsquo;s definitely more stressful mentally to get the positioning and tactics right, and I learned a lot from my running here,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;
Asked about how he first started running 800m, he replied:&nbsp;&ldquo;For me it goes back to being a kid. All the way through school I was doing 800s and 1500s, and at university. It&rsquo;s just been that I&rsquo;ve had to choose one, and it&rsquo;s been the 1500m. The depth of British running over both distances means I haven&rsquo;t been able to do 800m very often.&rdquo;&nbsp;
But this could very possibly be about to change.

Wightman’s 800m silver in Munich fuels middle distance double ambitions

Karditsa is an easy-going city in the heart of the Greek mainland where the cafes and meze restaurants are full of locals sipping tsipouro and playing backgammon.
The newly-minted golden girl of Greek athletics can be found waiting tables in her family restaurant there, Steki tis Kyra Giotas. The 38-year-old double golden girl, that is.
Just like the strategy that took her to victory in the 35km and then the 20km race walks at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, Antigoni Ntrismpioti&rsquo;s route to major championship gold has been one long waiting game.
Ntrismpioti has to fit in her training around her working hours at the family restaurant, often pounding the streets of Karditsa in the dark of the early morning hours. &ldquo;I train sometimes before I start work and sometimes afterwards,&rdquo; she told European Athletics.
Such an unorthodox regime is a throwback to times when international athletes were obliged to perform &lsquo;blue collar&rsquo; labour-intensive jobs before taking on the world. Jack Holden, the British marathon runner who won European gold in Brussels in 1950 at the age of 43, worked in an iron foundry, smashing pig iron with a sledgehammer in his lunch breaks to build up his strength.
Clearly, the regime has helped Ntrismpioti to develop the mental fortitude that has taken her to an international breakthrough this year at such an advanced age. Fourth in the inaugural women&rsquo;s 35km race walk at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene on 22 July, she lined up in Munich on the second day of the championships with gold firmly in her sights in the heart of Munich old town.
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It took her 24 kilometres, and almost two hours of toil, to pull ahead of Raquel Gonzalez, the Spaniard who had finished one place behind her in Eugene, after the pair worked in tandem to catch and pass long-time leader Viktoria Madarasz of Hungary, who hung on for a richly-deserved bronze medal.
She crossed the line in the sun-baked Odeonsplatz serenaded by Bouzouki music from the public address system in 2:47:00, more than two minutes ahead of Gonzalez.
It was the first international victory of a race walking career she started back in the mists of 2003, when she finished 16th in the U20 race at the European Race Walking Cup &ndash; and the first major championship gold for her country in race walking.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very happy to get my first major medal at 38,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I worked really hard for it but that&rsquo;s why I came here. I came here for the gold. I thought from the start of the race that I was going to win but I had to be patient with the pace. I was confident that I could win the race.
&ldquo;My husband was out on the course on a scooter. I talked to him when I was chasing the Hungarian girl. I said, &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t worry. I have this.&rsquo; It all came very good for me in the end.&rdquo;
It was the same story when it came to the 20km race walk four days later. On three occasions Ntrismpioti was dropped by her fresher rivals, falling back to 12th place at one point. Three times she clawed her way back.
She did so, in the pouring rain, smiling, waving to the crowds, chatting to a family friend on a scooter, who was relaying every step of the action via FaceTime to her husband, who had been obliged to return home on work duty after the 35km race.
She coolly glanced around at her rivals, checking and assessing each one of them. She had the assured look of a class athlete who knew she was in control.
Thus it proved, as Ntrismpioti kicked clear of Poland&rsquo;s double world silver medallist Katarzyna Zdzieblo with three kilometres remaining, winning by 17 seconds in 1:29:03, a personal best.&nbsp;&nbsp;
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Four years earlier, at the previous European Championships, she had slipped in the Berlin rain, smashed two front teeth and fractured her cheeboke en route to a 13th place finish in the 20km race walk.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s unbelievable,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It was only in the last quarter of the race that I thought I could be in the medals, but not definitely winning. Before that, I was just trying to assess the form of the other girls, trying to work out in what place I might finish. I didn&rsquo;t think this would happen.&rdquo;
After a promising junior career, Ntrismpioti put race walking to one side in order to focus on her studies. She returned, initially for fun, in 2012, narrowly missing the Olympic qualifying standard for the 20km race walk before becoming a mainstay on the Greek team.
Still, progress was slow for Ntrismpioti at the 20km distance through the next eight years, her 13th place finish in Berlin and her 15th place finish at the 2016 Olympic Games proving to be her best finishes in major events.
It was after the coronavirus lockdown that Ntrismpioti started to make significant progress, taking eighth place in the Olympic 20km race in Sapporo last year.
&ldquo;I changed coaches after Doha [at the 2019 World Athletics Championships] and since then all of the work I have been doing with Napoleon Kefalopoulos has come good,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I am really proud that I have won two international gold medals for my country. I hope it&rsquo;s the start of many more medals for Greek race walking.&rdquo;
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For Ntrismpioti, the World Athletics Championships in Budapest next year will present the chance to claim a global at the 35km distance to which she is clearly well suited. Then, in 2024, she will get a shot at Olympic glory, after defending her European crown in Rome at the age of 40.
In the meantime, however, she has a little catching up to do on the work front.
&ldquo;For my preparation to come to Munich for the European Championships, I was given time off working for three months,&rdquo; Ntrismpioti confessed. &ldquo;My family stayed back in Karditsa and filled in for me.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very grateful to them for that but now I have no holiday. I need to go back and work at our restaurant for the rest of the summer.&rdquo;

Ntrismpioti's waiting game yields double gold in Munich

Hosts Germany enjoyed their best European Athletics Championships since 1998 by winning seven gold medals at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August, part of the multi-sport European Championships, to top the medal table.
The gold rush started unexpectedly in the first session of Munich 2022 as Richard Ringer mustered up a seemingly impossible final kilometre to win the marathon title and finished fittingly with the German 4x100m team producing an electric collective display of sprinting to conclude the championships.
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The women&rsquo;s 4x100m final acted as a de facto tiebreaker for who would top the medal table between hosts Germany and Great Britain. The Brits uncharacteristically didn&rsquo;t get the baton past the first changeover but their six gold medals in Munich were significant in taking them past the Soviet Union - 124 to 121 gold medals - as the most bemedalled country in the history of the European Athletics Championships.
It was also an auspicious championships for 2024 hosts Italy. They won eleven medals in total, their most since Split 1990 when they won 12. Individual highlights included Marcell Jacobs equalling the championship record in the 100m with 9.95, fellow Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi winning his second European high jump title and Yeman Crippa sprinting to victory in the 10,000m.
Greece matched their best ever medal haul at the European Athletics Championships with four gold medals, equalling the four gold medals they won in 2002. Unexpectedly, their star performer was 38-year-old race walker Antigoni Ntrismpioti who won gold medals in both the 20km and 35km race walk. In between her successes, Miltiadis Tentoglou set a championship record of 8.52m in the long jump - one of eleven championship records - and 19-year-old Elina Tzengko won the javelin title.
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Switzerland won a record six medals at the European Athletics Championships, a record by one medal. After just missing out on the 100m title by 0.005, perennial minor medallist on the European stage Mujinga Kambundji won 200m gold and her younger sister Ditaji came away with bronze in the 100m hurdles.
Israel won a record five medals, doubling their overall medal tally at the European Athletics Championships from five to ten. Prior to Munich, Israel had never won more than one medal in any edition of the European Athletics Championships. Three of those medals came in the men&rsquo;s marathon with silver and bronze medallists Maru Teferi and Gashaw Ayale leading Israel to a historic gold.
Serbia also enjoyed a record championships with four medals, taking their overall medal tally in European Athletics Championships history from seven to eleven. Ivana Vuleta showed her class by regaining her long jump title with a 7.06m leap and there were also medals for 18-year-old Adriana Vilagos in the javelin and 17-year-old Angelina Topic in the high jump. Armin Sinancevic also won bronze in the shot put.
Albania won their first ever gold medal at the European Athletics Championships courtesy of Luiza Gega in the 3000m steeplechase who upgraded on her silver medal from six years ago in Amsterdam where she picked up Albania&rsquo;s first ever European medal. Her winning time of 9:11.31 also smashed the championship record.
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Montenegro also won their first ever medal at the European Athletics Championships from former world U20 champion Marija Vukovic who won silver behind Yaroslava Mahuchikh from Ukraine in the high jump.&nbsp;
The standout individual performer was Femke Bol who came away with three gold medals, including an unprecedented 400m/400m hurdles double before anchoring the Netherlands to gold in the 4x400m relay. The Dutchwoman becomes only the seventh athlete to win three gold medals at the same European Championships, emulating the likes of her compatriot Fanny Blankers-Koen who won four medals, including three golds in 1950.
Championship records (11)
<ul>
<li>Marcell Jacobs (ITA) - 9.95m, 100m (=)</li>
<li>Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) - 3:32.76, 1500m</li>
<li>Karsten Warholm (NOR) - 47.12, 400m hurdles</li>
<li>Armand Duplantis (SWE) - 6.06m, pole vault</li>
<li>Miltiadis Tentoglou (GER) - 8.52m, long jump</li>
<li>Kristjan Ceh (SLO) - 69.06m, discus (qualifying)</li>
<li>Mykolas Alekna (LTU) - 69.78m, discus (final)</li>
<li>Great Britain &amp; NI (GBR) - 37.67, 4x100m relay</li>
<li>Femke Bol (NED) - 52.67, 400m hurdles</li>
<li>Luiza Gega (ALB) - 9:11.31, 3000m steeplechase</li>
<li>Wilma Murto (FIN) - 4.85m, pole vault (=)</li>
</ul>
Championship bests in combined events (3)
<ul>
<li>Simon Ehammer (SUI) - 8.31m, long jump</li>
<li>Niklas Kaul (GER) - 76.05m, javelin</li>
<li>Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) - 1.98m, high jump</li>
</ul>
World leads (2)
<ul>
<li>Miltiadis Tentoglou (GER) - 8.52m, long jump</li>
<li>Wojciech Nowicki (POL) - 82.00m, hammer</li>
</ul>
Multiple medallists (16)
<ul>
<li>Femke Bol (NED) 3-0-0</li>
<li>Zharnel Hughes (GBR) 2-1-0</li>
<li>Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) 2-0-0</li>
<li>Matthew Hudson-Smith (GBR) 2-0-0</li>
<li>Antigoni Drisbioti (GRE) 2-0-0</li>
<li>Gina Luckenkemper (GER) 2-0-0</li>
<li>Yasemin Can (TUR) 1-1-0</li>
<li>Mujinga Kambundji (SUI) 1-1-0</li>
<li>Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (GBR) 1-1-0</li>
<li>Pia Skrzyszowska (POL) 1-1-0</li>
<li>Alex Haydock-Wilson (GBR) 1-0-1</li>
<li>Jeremiah Azu (GBR) 1-0-0</li>
<li>Yemaneberhan Crippa (ITA) 1-0-1</li>
<li>Anna Kielbasinska (POL) 0-2-1</li>
<li>Natalia Kaczmarek (POL) 0-2-0</li>
<li>Eilish McColgan (GBR) 0-1-1</li>
</ul>
Title defenders (12)
<ul>
<li>Matthew Hudson-Smith (GBR) - 400m Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) - 1500m Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) - 5000m Karsten Warholm (NOR) - 400m hurdles Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE) - long jump Armand Duplantis (SWE) - pole vault Wojciech Nowicki (POL) - hammer Great Britain &amp; NI (GBR) - 4x100m Alvaro Martin (ESP) - 20km race walk Laura Muir (GBR) - 1500m Sandra Perkovic (CRO) - discus Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) - heptathlon </li>
</ul>

Auf Wiedersehen Munich! Hosts Germany’s best championships this century

On a night when Yaroslava Machuchikh claimed an inspirational high jump gold for her stricken country - as a Ukrainian high jumper who has been training in temporary refuge in Bavaria - Julian Weber emerged from a humdinger of a javelin showdown with a hard-earned victory that helped the host nation towards the top of the medal table in the concluding session of the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships.
It took a win in the final event of the championships - the women&rsquo;s 4x100m relay - for Germany to trump Great Britain with a seventh gold medal but it was Weber&rsquo;s thrilling success that drew the home team level with their continental rivals.
It has taken time for the 27-year-old from Mainz to become the main man even in his homeland, grafting away in the shadows as Johannes Vetter and Thomas Rohler have led the way - the former with his world title in London in 2017 and the monster 97.76m throw that propelled him to second on the world all-time list, the latter with his Olympic success in Rio in 2016 and his European Championships triumph in Berlin two years later.
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Fourth in the Olympic final in Tokyo last year, and at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon last month, Weber finally made it on to a major championship rostrum in Munich, and as the gold medal winner.
Fuelled by the roars of the home crowd, he took the lead in the first round with 83.05m but lost it in round two when Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, who had fouled his opening effort, threw down the gauntlet, landing his javelin at 87.28m &ndash; much to the delight of his coach in the stands - world record-holder Jan Zelezny, three-time Olympic champion but never a winner of this title.
Weber dug deep and unleashed an emphatic response in the fourth round, nailing the 87.66m effort that was to win him the gold.
To their credit, the Munich crowd gave his rival generous support. Vadlejch looked like he might threaten the lead with a huge final throw but he was unable to keep himself on the right side of the line.
Weber could afford the luxury of passing on a sixth attempt, the gold already secure. Finn Lassi Elelatalo took bronze with 86.44m, a lifetime best.
&ldquo;I still cannot grasp what I have done,&rdquo; said Weber. &rdquo;I cannot believe it. I am on cloud nine. I have been longing for this medal for a very long time. I will celebrate here in Munich, in this stadium. The Munich crowd was really amazing. It was amazing to do a lap of honour here. I will never forget it.
&ldquo;I did not do any warm-up throws because I had so much pain in my back. My physios and the doctors still did a great job. With this pain, I guess there was less pressure for me. I guess this was a key factor.&rdquo;
Mahuchikh doubles Ukraine&rsquo;s tally with expected high jump gold&nbsp;
For the second time in five months, Mahuchikh achieved an emotional high jump gold for her country, adding the European title to the world indoor crown she gained in Belgrade in March less than two weeks after fleeing Ukraine.
Since then, the world outdoor silver and Olympic bronze medallist has been training at Erlangen, a Bavarian town less than two hours away from Munich by car.
At the age of 20, Mahuchikh might have been a veteran victor&nbsp; in the Bavarian capital as she coolly passed at 1.93m before securing gold with a modest 1.95m - had Marija Vukovic not secured silver with a third time clearance at the same height.
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That clearance earned the 30-year-old Montenegrin bronze, her country's first ever medal as an independent nation at the European Athletics Championships, ahead of two teenagers who had finished on the podium at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali less than three weeks prior.
In the final in Colombia 19-year-old Britt Weerman of the Netherlands won silver and 17-year-old Serbian Angelina Topic bronze, the elder edging second place on countback after both cleared 1.93m.
This time &ndash; in an historical nod to Munich 1972, when Ulrike Meyfarth won home Olympic gold at 16 - it was the hugely talented Topic who came out of top on countback after first-time successes at 1.93m. Having registered first-time failures at 1.86m and 1.90m, Weerman found herself out of the medal frame in fourth.
Just 26 days past her 17th birthday, Topic boasts pedigree Serbian track and field stock. Her father Dragutin Topic famously won European high jump gold in Split as a teenager in 1990. Her mother Biljana also won bronze in the triple jump at the 2009 World Athletics Championships.
If the high jump final was a glimpse into the future, though, the present belonged to Mahuchikh with a Ukrainian gold in Munich to match the one won in emphatic fashion by Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk in the triple jump on Friday night.
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&ldquo;This is my first gold medal at an outdoor major championships and I would like to dedicate it to the Ukrainian people,&rdquo; said Mahuchikh, who, like Vukovic, was unsuccessful when the bar was raised to 1.97m.
&ldquo;I left my home in March and since then it has been difficult. Since then, I have wanted to do something for my country.
&ldquo;Our people wait for good news. It will be a pleasure for them to see my gold medal. I want to show that we are strong people, a strong nation, and that we can fight until the end.
&ldquo;I love this medal. I want to thank the Ukrainian team and all the people who supported me. I hope to go back home in September. I miss my home, my friends and my father.&rdquo;
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Weber lands javelin gold as Mahuchikh completes the set of European high jump titles

Germany finished top of the medal table at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships, as their women&rsquo;s 4x100m team won the last event, bringing the German total of gold to seven &ndash; one more than Britain, who failed to get the baton round in what was effectively a sprint shoot-out for the overall bragging rights after Julian Weber had just won the javelin title.&nbsp;
Third-leg runner Gina Luckenkemper, winner of the individual title by five thousandths of a second on a tumultuous Tuesday night was the idol again as she supercharged the German effort before passing on a lead that Rebekka Haase maintained despite heavy pressure from Poland&rsquo;s Ewa Swoboda to earn victory in 42.34.&nbsp;
Poland took silver in a national record of 42.61, with bronze going to Italy in 43.03, by a difference of six thousandths of a second over the Netherlands.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/de7dd141-7ac5-40ea-8148-13f110971dea?width=4935&amp;height=3290" alt="Athletics - Day 11 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
By the time Luckenkemper got underway in lane three, the British and French challenge in her two left hand lanes had disappeared as both failed to negotiate the first exchange.&nbsp;
Great Britain had been brought level with Germany on six golds in the preceding track race - the men&rsquo;s 4x100m relay team. The favourites lived up to their potential as they secured gold in a championship record of 37.67 ahead of France, who clocked 37.94, and Poland, who ran a national record of 38.15.
Fifth-placed Switzerland also set a national record, finishing in 38.36.&nbsp;
After taking the baton from lead runner Jeremiah Azu, European 200m champion Zharnel Hughes ran a lightning leg to give a big advantage to Jona Efoloko, who handed over to anchor leg runner Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, and the individual silver medallist brought the baton home with huge efficiency.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/b7be688d-e5b7-493a-af6f-d3edd9255402?width=3450&amp;height=2301" alt="Athletics - Day 11 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
As it turned out, this was the closest France got to a gold at these Championships, in which they have not failed to win at least once since 1982. Not an ideal marker two years out from the Paris 2024 Olympics.&nbsp;
Garcia holds off Wightman in a battle of the global champions
Spain&rsquo;s Mariano Garcia added European 800m gold to his world indoor title as he held off an intense challenge down the home straight from Britain&rsquo;s world 1500m champion Jake Wightman to win in a personal best 1:44.85.&nbsp;
Wightman, eager to show his 800m credentials in Munich, was operating at maximum power in the closing stages, but arguably paid the price for having to come round the outside after getting boxed in around the final bend.&nbsp;
By that time the Spaniard who mimes kick-starting a motorcycle before every race was on his bike and away for his second title of the season.&nbsp;Wightman completed his medal set for the season after world 1500m gold and Commonwealth 1500m bronze with silver in a season&rsquo;s best of 1:44.91.&nbsp;
Ireland&rsquo;s Mark English replicated his performance in 2014 as he took bronze in 1:45.19 ahead of Sweden&rsquo;s Andreas Kramer, who clocked 1:45.38.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am very pleased with gold,&rdquo; said Garcia. &ldquo;I was expecting a much slower race, but it wasn't so, I just went with it, and decided to control it from the start. When I decided to take the lead, I knew I had to give it my all, because towards the end of the race, that's when you have less energy, so I need to get this right.&rdquo;&nbsp;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1561414675513937920"]
Wightman commented: &ldquo;I was very close to the gold and I would be very glad to get that but still I am pretty happy with the silver. I was not quite close enough in the last straight and it is tough when you are not that close with strong opponents. I did not manage to stay strong enough to pass Garcia. This is a tough race with a lots of tactics.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Less than 40 minutes after leading off Poland&rsquo;s silver medal-winning team in the 4x100m, Poland&rsquo;s Pia Skrzyszowska clocked a swift 12.53 to win a 100m hurdles, the fastest winning time at the championships since Bulgaria's Yordanka Donkova in Stuttgart 1986, where Great Britain&rsquo;s European leader Cindy Sember, fastest qualifier in 12.62, came to grief over the second hurdle and finished last.&nbsp;
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There were no such misjudgements from the Pole - the second fastest qualifier behind Sember in 12.66 - who started well and was fluid over the hurdles to finish well clear of Hungary&rsquo;s Luka Kozak, who equalled the national record of 12.69 she had set in the semifinals.&nbsp;
Bronze went to Switzerland&rsquo;s Ditaji Kambundji, whose older sister Mujinga has won 100m silver and 200m gold at these championships, as she finished in 12.74, 0.01 ahead of two-time European indoor champion Nadine Visser of the Netherlands.&nbsp;
A sedate men&rsquo;s 10,000m final, in which the field reached the hallway point in 13:54.20 finished with a dramatic chase around the final bend as Italy&rsquo;s Yemaneberhan Crippa caught the man who had established a 15 metres lead with two laps remaining - Norway&rsquo;s Zerei Kbrom - and extended it to 15 metres at the bell.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/749f9b5a-6b16-4a38-a847-b99d31414a9d?width=3997&amp;height=2665" alt="Athletics - Day 11 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Crippa, who won bronze in this event four years ago and had finished third in the 5000m earlier in the week won in 27.46.13, with a weary Kbrom making it to the line for silver in a personal best of 27:46.94 just ahead of the jubilant, fast-finishing Yann Schrub, who claimed bronze in a personal best of 27:47.13 after moving clear of teammate Jimmy Gressier, who was fourth in 27:49.84.&nbsp;
Crippa commented: &ldquo;Compared to four years ago, in Berlin 2018, I feel I have changed a lot - especially my mindset, I am much stronger mentally than I was in the past. I ran that last lap thinking that I had to look out for Jimmy Gressier - I knew he was the one I had to look out for. Although he was the big favourite to win this race, it looks like tonight it was my night, and not Gressier's night.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule-date=2022-08-21.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
&nbsp;

Germany’s relay heroics propel hosts to the top of the medal table in Munich

For the third time in four nights, the formidable Femke Bol was a class apart in the home straight of a final at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships.
If a 49.44 national record in the 400m on Wednesday and a 52.67 championship record in the 400m hurdles on Friday was a hard double act to follow &ndash; not to mention a physically demanding one &ndash; the 22-year-old with a Midas touch in her legs just about managed it as she anchored the Netherlands to an ultimately emphatic 4x400m relay victory.
Fanny Blankers-Koen won three individual golds at the 1950 European Athletics Championships in Brussels &ndash; 100m, 200m and 80m hurdles, plus a 4x100m relay silver &ndash; but, with her four-day hat-trick in the Olympiastadion, the unassuming Bol has established herself as a national treasure to set alongside the memory of the fellow-countrywoman who was named Female Athlete of the 20th Century.
Bol took possession of the baton some seven metres down on the lead held by Belgium&rsquo;s last leg runner Camille Laus, with Great Britain&rsquo;s Nicole Yeargin also ahead of her. The world 400m hurdles silver medallist judged her effort to perfection, moving up slightly down the back straight, moving alongside her two rivals halfway around the final curve and then applying the after-burners down the home straight.
Bol crossed the line in 3:20.87, a European lead and a national record, with a winning margin of 0.81. Natalia Kaczmarek, the runner-up behind her in the flat 400m, finished strongly to claim silver for Poland in 3:21.68, with Great Britain taking bronze in 3:22.12 and the fourth in 3:22.12, a national record and a time that would have won gold by more than four seconds in Berlin four years ago.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/1f976ea9-0f3b-46eb-8688-6fadbb8649ea?width=4658&amp;height=3106" alt="Athletics - Day 10 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Typically, Bol was quick to pass on credit to her teammates, Eveline Saalberg, Lieke Klaver and Lisanne De Witte. Klaver, running her sixth race of the week (one more than Bol), ran a storming second leg on her 24th birthday, hauling the Dutch into contention and into the lead.
&ldquo;I really love to run with these girls,&rdquo; said Bol. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re such fantastic athletes and amazing team-mates. It was such an amazing race. These championships feel special to me.&rdquo;
Gega makes history for Albania with gold in the 3000m steeplechase
Munich 2022 could hardly feel any more special to Luiza Gega, the only athlete competing at the championships. In the final race of the night, the women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase final, the 33-year-old doubled Albania&rsquo;s all-time medal tally, providing a first ever gold for the tiny Adriatic country.
Runner-up in the 3000m steeplechase in Amsterdam 2016, Gega summoned a tour de force of a performance, blasting into the lead from the gun and determinedly staying there, even when British record-holder Lizzie Bird managed to claw her way into her slipstream.
With 600 metres remaining, she pulled decisively clear, crossing the line in 9:11.31 to smash the championship record set by Russia&rsquo;s Yuliya Zaripova in Barcelona in 2010. Roared on by the home crowd, Lea Meyer passed Bird to finish second (9:15.35) with the Briton in third place (9:23.18).
&ldquo;I wanted this medal so much,&rdquo; said Gega, who has been knocking lumps off her Albanian record all summer and holds all of her country&rsquo;s national records from 800m to the marathon. &ldquo;From the beginning, I tried to run hard. I know how to run alone because I train alone,
&ldquo;When I entered the last lap, I just said to myself, &lsquo;Go, Luiza, go. You can make the dream come true.&rsquo; This is the first medal for my country. I am so happy. I worked so hard for it.&rdquo;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1561091832616026116"]
There was also an historic gold medal performance in the women&rsquo;s 800m final, Keely Hodgkinson&rsquo;s superbly judged triumph taking Great Britain and Northern Ireland past the Soviet Union with the highest tally of gold medals - 122 - since the European Championships started in 1934.
After taking silver behind Athing Mu at the World Athletics Championships and behind Kenya&rsquo;s Mary Moraa at the Commonwealth Games, the 20-year-old swept to a decisive victory, powering clear off the final bend to win by 0.45 in 1:59.04.
France&rsquo;s Renelle Lamote finished runner-up in the event for the third successive time, clocking 1:59,49, with the fast-finishing Pole Anna Wielgosz third in 1:59.87, 0.05 ahead of Switzerland&rsquo;s Lore Hoffman.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very happy to come here and finally get on top of the podium," said Hodgkinson. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a hard year mentally but I&rsquo;ve made it to the end with gold and two silvers.&rdquo;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1561064057595170817"]
Great Britain&rsquo;s first gold in the event came in Athens in 1969 from Lillian Board, who sadly failed to make it to the Munich Olympics three years later. She died of cancer in a clinic in the Bavarian capital in December 1970, aged 22.
Touchingly, the path leading from the U-Bahn Stadium to the vast Olympic complex, where Hodgkinson followed in her footsteps, is called Lillian Board Weg: Lillian Board Way.
Gold medal number 123 for Britain at the European Championships arrived in the final that followed on in the Olympiastadion. It was delivered by a British men&rsquo;s 4 x 400m quartet who, like Hodgkinson, got their tactics spot on.
To some, entrusting individual 400m champion Matthew Hudson-Smith with opening leg duty might have seemed a risk but the world bronze medallist provided Charlie Dobson and Lewis Davey with a cushion they were able to pass on Alex Haydock-Wilson for the final leg.
Third in the individual final, Haydock-Wilson was fleetingly challenged by France&rsquo;s Thomas Jordier halfway down the home straight but finished with an advantage of 0.14 as Great Britain secured gold in 2:59,35.&nbsp;
Dylan Borlee passed Jordier to earn silver for reigning champions Belgium in 2:59.49, with France third in 2:59.64.
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.&nbsp;

Bol emulates Blankers-Koen with third gold medal of the championships in Munich

Three first-time clearances at 5.65m, 5.85m and 5.90m were enough for world and Olympic pole vault champion Armand Duplantis to retain the European title he won four years ago on the penultimate day of the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships, on Saturday (20).&nbsp;
That only left the question of how high to try and jump before he concluded his efforts. The 22-year-old Swede selected 6.06m, one centimetre more than his championship record in Berlin, clearing it &ndash; of course &ndash; on his first attempt.&nbsp;
"Considering the situation and circumstances, I cannot complain. It was very special for me today. I just focused on winning I guess," said Duplantis. "I think this season, I have experienced all kind of situations and these championships were very special to me. The crowd was very special, it is a special place here."
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/8e37373b-c6c5-4c1b-aaad-5492bf4d78f1?width=5661&amp;height=3774" alt="Athletics - Day 10 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
While the rain had abated, the wind was still gusting, as evidenced by the flags that fluttered constantly on the rim of the stadium, making conditions difficult for all competitors.&nbsp;
Other than Duplantis, the man who managed best was 23-year-old home vaulter Bo Kanda Lita Baehre, who was fourth at the 2019 World Athletics Championships and has appeared in some of the promotional material for these championships, earning silver with a best of 5.85m.
Bronze went to Norway&rsquo;s Pal Haugen Lillefosse on countback from Rutger Koppelaar of the Netherlands, France&rsquo;s Thibaut Collet and second Norwegian Sondre Guttormsen, all of whom cleared 5.75m.
France&rsquo;s former world record-holder and three-time European champion Renaud Lavillenie cleared 5.65m with his first effort but could go no further, passing at 5.75m before bowing out at 5.85m.
Teenage triumph for Tzengko in the javelin
Greece&rsquo;s 19-year-old javelin thrower Elina Tzengko earned the fourth gold medal for her country at these championships thanks to a second-round personal best of 65.81m.&nbsp;
She shared the podium with 41-year-old world record-holder Barbora Spotakova, who earned her first big medal since winning the world title in 2017 - and her first European medal since winning gold at Zurich in 2014 - as she claimed bronze with a last-round effort of 60.68m. This was the fourth European medal of her storied career which goes back to the last time Munich hosted these championships in 2002.
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Tzengko, the daughter of Albanian immigrants who gained Greek citizenship in 2018, led from start to finish, opening with 60.82m and following up with her best of the night before concluding with 64.57m.&nbsp;
But there was heavy competition for the silver and bronze medals as Hungary&rsquo;s Reka Szilagyi moved into second place with her second-round throw of 60.57m and Spotakova moved into third place with her second effort of 60.31m, after which a huge smile came onto her face as she walked back.&nbsp;
When Serbia&rsquo;s Adriana Vilagos - even younger than Tzengko at 18 years old and still a junior next year - pushed Spotakova into fourth place by centimetre through her fifth-round effort of 60.32m, it seemed as if the Czech veteran was in for a frustrating finale.&nbsp;
But the two-time Olympic and three-time world champion responded in characteristic fashion with a final throw that put her in silver position. And even though Vilagos moved through to silver with her last effort of 62.01m, Spotakova had her podium spot once again.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It was a beautiful thing to win a medal after so long in front of both my boys and my husband, and I have a group of 60 supporters who are here with me,&rdquo; Spotakova said.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Vilagos commented:&nbsp; &ldquo;After I threw better than Spotakova I still didn't think that I would win a medal because she is just so much more experienced. I thought she would throw longer in the final attempt. I didn't think that I would be so calm with all the pressure. I am really happy about this medal.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The gold medallist reflected on her improvement after last month&rsquo;s World Championships in Oregon, where she failed to qualify for the final after throwing a best of 57.12m.&nbsp;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1561084184411738116"]
&ldquo;I was waiting for the right moment here at the European Championships. I am really excited because after Oregon I told myself &lsquo;just relax, you can throw a lot of metres, you just have to do this.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;At my last competition I threw over 60 metres so I knew I could throw over 63 metres and here at the European Championships I did it. Crazy competition for me, the Greek team was here to support me. I want to attack 70 metres for sure, but at the moment, 65 metres is perfect for me now. I am only 19 years old. I still have a lot of years to come.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule-date=2022-08-20.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Mondo Magic in Munich as Duplantis clears a championship record of 6.06m

After waiting 19 years for her first major championship medal - a gold in the 35km race walk on Tuesday (16), Antigoni Ntrismpioti made it two titles in the space of five days as she battled her way to a stunning double in the 20km in the Saturday morning rain in the heart of Munich&rsquo;s Old Town at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships.
The 38-year-old Greek, who fits in her training around waitressing duty at her family&rsquo;s restaurant, often pounding the streets of Karditsa after midnight, confirmed her belated graduation to world class as she judged her tactics to perfection, as she had in the 35km race.
On three occasions Ntrismpioti had to dig deep after being dropped &ndash; slipping back to 12th at one point - but if her rivals thought her winning effort from Tuesday was taking a decisive toll they were to be sadly mistaken.
As the race progressed, Ntrismpioti - who was the only race walker to contest both events in Munich - grew in strength, pulling clear of Poland&rsquo;s double world silver medallist Katarzyna Zdzieblo with three kilometres remaining to win by 17 seconds in 1:29:03, a personal best. Germany&rsquo;s Saskia Feige took the bronze in 1:29:25, a personal best to ensure that the hosts maintain their record of winning a medal in every session.
Having started her international career way back in 2003, placing a lowly 16th in the European U20 Race Walking Cup, the diminutive Ntrismpioti has finally emerged as a big global force - with eighth place in the 20km race at last year&rsquo;s Olympic Games and fourth place over 35km at the World Athens Championships in Eugene last month - and now as a double European champion.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/8ab5f6ec-3908-478f-878c-0b26d543706d?width=5270&amp;height=3513" alt="Athletics Race Walk - Day 10 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Four years ago in Berlin, she suffered a painful double loss rather than gain, falling in the rain and breaking two teeth en route to 13th place in the 20km race. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s unbelievable,&rdquo; said Ntrismpioti. &ldquo;It was only in the last quarter of the race that I thought I could be in the medals, but not definitely winning.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Before that, I was just trying to assess the form of the other girls, trying to work out in what place I might finish. I didn&rsquo;t think this would happen.&rdquo;
Silver lining for Karlstrom as Martin defends his 20km race walk title
In the men&rsquo;s 20km race walk, Sweden&rsquo;s Perseus Karlstrom produced a remarkable comeback, finishing with the silver medal behind defending champion Alvaro Martin of Spain - four days after exiting the 35km race walk in a wheelchair.
As he entered the finishing straight in Odeonsplatz, the indefatigable Karlstrom &ndash; a bronze medallist in the 20km and 35km at the World Championships in Eugene a month ago - collected a yellow and blue Swedish Viking hat and smiled his way to the line, a happy contrast to the distraught figure who was reduced to a vomiting state of collapse 10km from the finish of the 35km race.
It was an outstanding achievement by the 32-year-old - son of 1986 European 10km bronze medallist Siv Gustavson and two-time world 50km silver medallist Enrique Vera of Mexico - even if it was not quite enough to stop Martin from retaining the title he won in Berlin four years ago.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/870615e8-2d85-4136-b579-9ea74bc1e5aa?width=4096&amp;height=2801" alt="Athletics Race Walk - Day 10 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Karlstrom made the first major move of the ten-lap race, turning the screw with a 3:54 split in the 13th kilometre and whittling the ten man lead pack down to just three, with Martin and his Spanish teammate Diego Garcia still managing to keep in touch.
It looked like it might be a decisive break but when the Swede slowed slightly at the 14km drinks station, Martin seized his chance to strike, injecting two successive kilometres of 3:47.&nbsp;
Despite collecting two yellow warning paddles, the 2018 champion kept his technique sufficiently in check to finish twelve seconds clear in 1:19:11, a personal best.
Karlstrom took the silver in 1:19:23 and Garcia-Carrera the bronze in 1:19:45 with Alberto Amezcu making it a Spanish 1-3-4, placing fourth in 1:20:00. Italy&rsquo;s Olympic 20km champion and world 35km gold medallist Massimo Stano finished eighth in 1:21.18.
&ldquo;This is very beautiful, a second gold for me,&rdquo; said Martin. &ldquo;I had to work hard for it. I have to pay tribute to my rivals, especially &lsquo;Percy,&rsquo; after what happened to him on Tuesday.&rdquo;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/5a0ffa11-2e00-41c3-accc-84e23c01e560?width=2895&amp;height=1908" alt="Athletics Race Walk - Day 10 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Karlstrom could not stop smiling. &ldquo;I am exhausted but delighted to have won a medal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This means a lot to me. I was sick before I stopped in the 35km race. I also had an asthma attack. I thought I might have Covid but the doctor checked me out and that wasn&rsquo;t the case.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t sure whether to race today but a good friend of mine told me to take the chance that was there, to go for the gold medal. I&rsquo;m so happy to get a medal.&rdquo;
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule-date=2022-08-19.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Greek lightning strikes twice as Ntrismpioti wins double gold in the race walk in Munich

From the pit of despair to unbounded joy, Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk took one giant leap in the space of 24 hours with the triple jump tour de force that earned the first gold medal of the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships, for her war-torn country on Thursday (19).
The 27-year-old Ukrainian cut a disconsolate figure at the conclusion of Thursday evening&rsquo;s session in the Olympic Stadium, having been denied bronze in the final round of the long jump by Great Britain&rsquo;s Jazmin Sawyers.
She finished Friday night&rsquo;s session wreathed in smiles, laughing as her sixth and final effort turned into a mistimed quadruple jump as she got her rhythm all wrong on the runway. It mattered not, with the title already securely in the bag &ndash; the first in a debut season as a triple jumper that earned world indoor silver in March.
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1560734527403991040"]
In effect, the gold medal was won with Bekh-Romanchuk&rsquo;s opening attempt which was measured at 14.81m, a significant improvement on her 2022 European lead of 14.59m. Not that she was content to rest on that laurel. In round four she jumped 14.80m, into a 2.3 m/s head wind, then uncorked a monster 15.02m with her next effort &ndash; her first venture beyond the magic 15 metre-mark.
Having been forced to train at Brescia in Italy because of the Russian invasion of her homeland, the emotion came pouring out in the aftermath of her emphatic victory. &ldquo;I am really happy because I felt very supported by the German fans and by my family, my husband and others. I won gold medal because of them. It was the best outcome for me," said Bekh-Romanchuk who won one of three medals for Ukraine on day five in Munich.
Silver went to Kristiina Makela with a Finnish record, 14.64m, and Hanna Minenko earned a poignant bronze with 14.45m. The 32-year-old was born in Ukraine but competes for Israel, having married the Kazakh-born Israeli decathlete Anatoly Minenko.
&ldquo;I am super happy to take a medal in these European Championships, especially in Munich, especially 50 years after the Olympic Games here,&rdquo; said Minenko, alluding to what became known as the Munich Massacre, in which eleven members of Israel&rsquo;s Olympic party, athletes and coaches, were killed by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/7719537b-8fe5-4bb7-a47a-d400bb3cd194?width=3500&amp;height=2334" alt="Athletics - Day 9 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
&ldquo;It is very symbolic for us to raise our flag here. I have had great support from Israel, from a lot of people. This medal is for the Israeli people. The crowd supported me a lot and I would like to say, &lsquo;Thank you&rsquo;,&rdquo;
That generous German support came despite Minenko denying fourth-placed Neele Eckhardt a medal for the host nation by two centimetres. Portugal&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist and 2016 European championPatricia Mamona finished fifth with 14.41m.
Gold once again for Alekna at the European Championships
Kristjan Ceh might be a Clark Kent-lookalike with Superman powers in the discus but the bespectacled six-foot-nine Slovenian giant was brought crashing down to earth by a 19-year-old chunk of human kryptonite.
At 23, Ceh has made the transition from European U23 champion to world champion in 12 months but the teenaged Alekna has progressed from world and European U20 champion to world senior silver medallist and now European senior champion in the same time-frame. In doing so, Alekna became the first ever teenager to win a title in a throwing event in the history of the European Championships.
In taking the continental crown in Munich, eclipsing Ceh&rsquo;s two-day old championship record (69.06m) with a mighty 69.78m in round five, Mykolas emulated his father&rsquo;s success in Gothenburg in 2006, which came four years after silver in Munich.
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1560713885937815552"]
Virgilijus Alekna captured two world and Olympic titles but his son, whom he coaches, has time to add global gold to his medal collection &ndash; and the formidable Ceh with which to contend.
Like Pawel Fajdek in the hammer and Malaika Mihambo in the long jump the night before, the giant Slovenian could not quite recapture the form that took him to gold at the World Championships a month ago.
He took the lead with a 67.62m lead in round two, improved to 67.81m with his next attempt and made what proved to be his best effort of the night immediately after Alekna&rsquo;s decisive fifth round throw, 68.28m. It was only his second defeat in 17 competitions in 2022.
&ldquo;Kristjan is a strong athlete,&rdquo; said Alekna. &ldquo;Maybe today wasn&rsquo;t his day. I&rsquo;m happy to win, with my family in the stands here. I am still young and I expect that my journey will be a long one. Next year is going to be even better than this one. The rivalry between us will be tough, as well as the one with the other athletes.&rdquo;
Ceh was magnanimous in defeat. &ldquo;Congratulations to Alekna,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He was the best today. He surprised me a little. It did not work for me. I am happy with a silver medal in my first European Championships but not with my performance. My next competition is in Zurich and I want to do better.&rdquo;
In the battle for the bronze medal, in a field worthy of a World Championships, it was Great Britain&rsquo;s Lawrence Okoye who prevailed.
Two weeks after claiming his first international medal at the age of 30, a silver at the Commonwealth Games, the south Londoner led after round one with a season&rsquo;s best of 67.14m and stayed in the medal frame with that effort &ndash; edging Olympic silver medallist Simon Pettersson for third place by 2cm, with Olympic champion Daniel Stahl fifth (66.39m) and, behind the Swedes, defending champion Andrius Gudzius of Lithuania sixth (65.40m).
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/d7afe16b-5151-47af-9294-2438ed169e60?width=5600&amp;height=3734" alt="Athletics - Day 9 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
It was Great Britain&rsquo;s first ever discus medal at the European Championships: a fine reward for the persistence of Okoye. He started his sporting career as a budding rugby union star, being dubbed &ldquo;the schoolboy Jonah Lomu&rdquo; after scoring two tries in the English Schools Cup final at Twickenham Stadium, before making the London Olympics as a discus thrower in 2012 and then spending six years as an American Football fringe squad player in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers and others.
&ldquo;This means the world to me,&rdquo; said Okoye who dissolved into tears after the competition. &ldquo;I struggled all year, didn't have a great season, but in the last few weeks I have come a long way &ndash; getting a silver at the Commonwealth Games and a bronze here in this world class field.
&ldquo;The European Championships is like the Olympics for discus throwers. It&rsquo;s a bit overwhelming, to be honest.&rdquo;
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule-date=2022-08-19.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Bekh-Romanchuk wins emotional triple jump title for Ukraine with 15.02m in Munich

Reigning 1500m champion Laura Muir and 100m silver medallist Zharnel Hughes secured two golds for Great Britain on day five of the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the multi-sport European Championships, on Friday (19) but defending women&rsquo;s 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith fell just short of adding a third as Switzerland&rsquo;s Mujinga Kambundji beat her to the line.&nbsp;
Muir ran a superbly judged race to retain her title and add another gold to the Commonwealth version she won earlier this month and the world silver earned last month.&nbsp;Between them, she and her Scottish compatriot Eilish McColgan, who has earned Commonwealth gold and silver, and European silver and bronze, have had a richly rewarding five weeks. &nbsp;
The 29-year-old Olympic 1500m silver medallist monitored proceedings from the back before moving deliberately to the front with two laps remaining, taking over the lead from Ireland's Ciara Mageean.&nbsp;
Sofia Ennaoui, silver medallist behind Muir at the 2018 European Championships, had remained at the back with the defending champion but only made half a job of following her to the front, getting caught up in the pack.&nbsp;
As she was extricating herself approaching the bell her race was lost as Muir accelerated with sudden and brutal purpose.&nbsp;Mageean, a bronze medallist in Amsterdam six years ago and fourth in Berlin, was ready and gave dogged chase. Ennaoui had missed the party, but set off nevertheless in desperate pursuit.&nbsp;
All around the final bend the Irish runner showed the tenacity that characterised her British coach, Helen Clitheroe, the 2011 European indoor 3000m champion, but inexorably the Olympic silver medallist pulled away.&nbsp;
Muir crossed in 4:01.08 with a gesture that could have been one of triumph or relief. Or maybe just exhaustion.&nbsp;Mageean, who had been at the front throughout, earned a hugely well-deserved silver in 4:02.56, with Ennaoui&rsquo;s forlorn but gutsy chase earning her bronze in 4:03.59, just ahead of a fast-finishing Katie Snowden, who clocked 4:04.97.&nbsp;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1560707641277562882"]
&ldquo;I tried to control the race and I knew my speed was the best for the last lap,&rdquo; Muir said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s fantastic to see Ciara running so well. I knew I would have to run well to beat her.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Mageean said: &ldquo;You always have to run hard if you're running against Laura Muir. I am too happy to come away with the silver, it's a beautiful night, the Irish flag is raised. There is not a time when I don't think about the gold, it didn't happen today but I am delighted to taking home the silver. It has been a long journey from Amsterdam to this moment, to be on the podium again. It means a lot as it has been a very rocky journey.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Hughes dominates 200m final; Kambundji upsets Asher-Smith for first European title
Hughes added 200m gold to his 100m silver with an unanswerable final 80 metres which saw him draw away from his compatriot and erstwhile relay comrade Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake to cross in 20.07.&nbsp;
But Mitchell-Blake hung in to take silver in 20.17 ahead of the Italian who beat him to the line in the final leg of the Tokyo 2020 4x100m, Filippo Tortu, who earned bronze in 20.27, preventing what would have been a British clean sweep. Charles Dobson, 22, faded slightly over the final 50 metres to finish fourth in 20.34.&nbsp;
Turkey&rsquo;s reigning champion Ramil Guliyev, running in lane eight, made a pained and painful exit from the race as he turned into the straight. &nbsp;
&ldquo;I knew that I was faster than the other guys on the track because of my fast 100m,&rdquo; Hughes said. &ldquo;I really did the damage on the bend, I really dominated on it. As soon as I crossed the finish line I knew that I had won because I didn't see anyone else there. I am really happy with the European title, as well as with the silver for Nethaneel.&rdquo;&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/158190f0-1ee5-45dc-ab0b-b28c33ab9687?width=5447&amp;height=3631" alt="Athletics - Day 9 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Kambundji, beaten to gold in the women&rsquo;s 100m on Tuesday by just five thousandths of a second, was certainly due a change of luck at these championships, where four years ago she finished fourth in the 100, 200 and 4x100m.&nbsp;
Having earned an unexpected world indoor 60m title in March, the 30-year-old Swiss athlete found the way to the top of the podium again after arriving into the home straight slightly behind Asher-Smith, who was clearly set on earning a tangible reward from these championships after dropping out of contention while defending her 100m title with a calf strain she ascribed to having her period.&nbsp;
The Swiss runner earned a metre clearance, and nothing the Briton could do altered it. Kambundji won in 22.32 with Asher-Smith, whose world and Commonwealth campaigns yielded no rewards, earning her first big medal of the year in 22.43.&nbsp;
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Bronze went to Denmark&rsquo;s Ida Karstoft, who clocked 22.72 to finish ahead of Britain&rsquo;s Jodie Williams, who finished in 22.85.&nbsp;
Meanwhile a rather disconsolate Asher-Smith added: &ldquo;This is OK. Obviously, I came here to win, and definitely in shape to win - so, I'm not super happy, but at the same time, this was an amazing race."
In contrast, the bronze medallist was on cloud nine.&nbsp;&ldquo;I'm speechless, I'm so happy,&rdquo; said Karstoft. &ldquo;I didn't think it was possible in my first final, my first European Championships and now I am here with the bronze. It's amazing! I am so proud of myself, the year with the injuries and now it has been like a dream.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule-date=2022-08-19.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Magic Muir lands back-to-back European 1500m titles in Munich

Championship records in the women&rsquo;s and men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles fell at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships tonight (19) as Femke Bol of the Netherlands completed a unique double in 52.67 and Norway&rsquo;s Olympic champion and world record-holder Karsten Warholm, injured for much of the season, retained his title in 47.12.&nbsp;
Having won the European women&rsquo;s 400m title on Wednesday in a Dutch record of 49.44, Femke Bol finished 20 metres clear in her favoured event of the 400m hurdles, crossing in a championship record of 52.67.&nbsp;There were huge celebrations for Ukraine as Viktoriya Tkachuk and Anna Ryzhykova took silver and bronze in 54.30 and 54.86 respectively.&nbsp;
The 22-year-old from Amersfoort, who had said before competition began that this could be a rare chance for go for this rarely attempted double, now has a major outdoor gold to accompany the Olympic bronze and world silver she has won in the space of the last year.&nbsp;
Warholm, sitting next to her at the pre-championship press conference, had jokingly wished her good luck attempting a double that had eluded him in Berlin four years earlier, although he had added: &ldquo;I think she can pull it off. You need to be very fit, and she is right now.&rdquo;&nbsp;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1560720575164989441"]
Bol started solidly before turning the screw in the second half of the race, an irresistible force en route for glory.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Winning this gold medal is a big relief.&rdquo; She said. &ldquo;It was a great race for me. I am very surprised to achieve such a fast time. I was very hard mentally to race the 400m without hurdles. I am so proud to achieve the double. &nbsp;
&ldquo;I will never do the double again. Well, maybe. Never say never! I knew that if nothing strange happens I would get this medal. But this race was pretty hard. It was not easier than the 400m flat.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Bol could potentially win her third gold medal of the championships tomorrow as the Dutch team headed by Bol and her trainiung partner Lieke Klaver have excellent prospects in the 4x400m final.
Warholm proves unstoppable once again in the 400m hurdles&nbsp;
Warholm, who produced the race of races at last summer&rsquo;s Olympic Games as he earned gold in a huge world record of 45.94, managed just one hurdle in his first race of the season at the Rabat Diamond League meeting on 5 June before pulling up with a hamstring tear.&nbsp;
Characteristically, after intensive rehab - much of which was completed in Munich - he put himself into the fire at last month&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships where reached the final, and reached the halfway point in title contention before his lack of preparation told and he slipped to seventh in 48.42.&nbsp;
A month on, a month better prepared, and Warholm was ready to take on a field that included three hugely menacing French talents including Wilfried Happio of France, who ran a personal best of 47.41 in missing a world medal by one place in Eugene.&nbsp;
He seized the race in habitual fashion, going for broke, hoping broke didn&rsquo;t happen &ndash; and it didn&rsquo;t. He turned into the straight ahead, and pushed on, as in previous days, to open a big lead and an impressive winning time of 47.12 to finally take ownership of the championship record which had previously stood to Harald Schmid at 47.48 since Athens 1982.
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1560723725879717888"]
Happio took silver in 48.56, with bronze going to Turkey&rsquo;s Yasmani Copello in 48.78 but only just with fourth and fifth placers Ludvy Vaillant from France and Germany's Joshua Abuaku both clocking 48.79.&nbsp;
&ldquo;A European gold medal is huge,&rdquo; Warholm said at trackside. &ldquo;Now for German beers!&rdquo; &nbsp;
Graciously, Happio commented: &ldquo;I am over the moon with this medal. Before coming here I had the best time in Europe, so I thought that I was going to be on the podium. Karsten was injured but I knew he would come back and win here in Munich. For me, I had quite a lot of races this year, so I was a bit tired. But I still achieved a good time.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Topi Raitanen earned Finland a second athletics gold following Wilma Murto&rsquo;s pole vault victory on Wednesday with an equally inspired performance in the men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase.&nbsp;
Raitanen, eighth at the Olympics but unable to qualify at last month&rsquo;s World Championships because of a stomach upset, made a decisive move with 200 metres to overtake Italy&rsquo;s Ahmed Abdelwahed and Osama Zoghlami, the latter of whom had led for much of the race in tandem with his twin brother Ala.&nbsp;
Gritting his teeth, the 26-year-old from Tampere gained significantly on the final water jump and last obstacle before pulling clear to win in 8:21.80, with Abdelwahed taking silver in 8:22.35 and Zoghlami earning bronze in 8:23.44, with Spain&rsquo;s Daniel Arce fifth in 8:25.00.&nbsp;
Raitanen follows in the footsteps of Jukka Keskisalo who last won this title for Finland in Gothenburg 2006.
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule-date=2022-08-19.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Warholm and Bol provide a 400m hurdles masterclass in Munich

In damp but not yet rainy conditions &ndash; the forecast was for a storm &ndash; home quartet Germany topped the 4x100m heats with a national record and the fastest time of the day with 37.97, from France on 38.17 and reigning champions Great Britain in 38.41, on the fifth morning session of the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships on Friday (19), part of the wider multi-sport European Championships.
The latter team, led off by the man who reacted with such exuberant joy in winning individual 100m bronze, Jeremiah Azu, came home strongly to win the opening heat in 38.41 before Lucas Ansah-Peprah anchored Germany to the fastest time across the two heats and taking their national record below the 38 second-barrier.&nbsp;
But Italy, the Tokyo 2020 men&rsquo;s 4x100m champions, belatedly lost the last qualifying place for Sunday&rsquo;s final to Turkey &ndash; who qualified in an individual re-run after protesting their earlier disqualification in a heat where the Italians ran without their individual Olympic and European champion Marcell Jacobs, a late drop-out.&nbsp;
It seemed the inexperienced Italian quartet &ndash; rejigged after Jacobs had suffered a problem during warm-up - had done enough as they finished fifth and claimed the last minor qualifying place in 39.02 &ndash; but circumstances were against them.&nbsp;
After Turkey had appealed successfully over having been impeded by Finland just before the first changeover they were able to run again in sunny conditions that had temporarily superseded the morning&rsquo;s rain. And when the figure of 38.98 flashed up on the screen after the baton had been brought home the Turkish celebrations began.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/4da20c9a-9f22-4c6d-8cc9-084327c8a8a9?width=5332&amp;height=3556" alt="Athletics - Day 9 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
With Filippo Tortu and Eseosa Desalu being rested after the previous evening&rsquo;s 200m semifinals the Italian quartet included only one of the Tokyo gold medallists, first-leg runner Lorenzo Patta &ndash; and now Tortu and Desalu will have no chance to take part.&nbsp;
The British women&rsquo;s 4x100m team was also in good order, winning the opening heat in 42.83, the fastest time of the day, with Spain (42.95), France (43.24), Italy (43.28) and Germany (43.33) the next four fastest overall.&nbsp;
Great Britain&rsquo;s Olympic and world silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson controlled her opening women&rsquo;s 800m semifinal from start to finish, winning in 2:00.67 from Poland&rsquo;s Anna Wielgosz on 2:01.05 and Ireland&rsquo;s Louise Shanahan on 2:01.15.&nbsp;
France&rsquo;s Renelle Lamote won the second semifinal in 2:00.23 from Great Britain&rsquo;s Jemma Reekie, who clocked 2:00.30, and Alexandra Bell, in 2:00.53.&nbsp;
A huge effort from 19-year-old Dubliner Rhasidat Adeleke, who lowered her own national 400m record to 50.53 in finishing fifth in the individual final, shifted Ireland from third to first in the third leg of their women&rsquo;s 4x400m heat, a position last leg runner Sharlene Mawdsley only relinquished in the final strides under pressure from Lisanne De Witte of the Netherlands.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/66b2726a-c953-47a2-b493-2a4dbe2be561?width=4764&amp;height=3176" alt="Athletics - Day 9 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
The Netherlands progressed to tomorrow&rsquo;s final third overall in 3:25.84, with Ireland progressing as fifth fastest in a national record of 3:26.06 thanks in no small part to Adeleke who was recorded at 49.49 on the third leg.
Great Britain topped qualifying with a dominant display in the first heat to clock 3:23.79 ahead of Belgium, who recorded 3:25.44, and reigning champions Poland in 3:26.05.
Spain were fastest qualifiers for tomorrow&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s 4x400m relay final, in 3:01.27, after narrowly beating the second fastest quartet, The Netherlands, in their opening heat, with the latter team clocking 3:01.57.&nbsp;
Germany finished third best in 3:01.80 ahead of Belgium, who clocked 3:01.81.
Women&rsquo;s high jump qualifying was largely completed before it began to rain, with 13 going through to Sunday&rsquo;s final on 1.87m, including Ukraine&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist and double world silver medallist Yaroslava Mahuchikh, her teammates Iryna Gerashchenko and Yuliya Levchenko and Italy&rsquo;s Elena Vallortigara.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/9ec765e9-c5a3-4a75-bbe4-875bfebc59c7?width=3424&amp;height=2283" alt="Athletics - Day 9 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Jakub Vadlejch, the Czech Republic&rsquo;s Olympic silver and world bronze medallist, produced the best men&rsquo;s javelin qualifying effort ahead of Sunday&rsquo;s final with 81.81m, closely followed by home thrower Julian Weber, fourth in the worlds, who threw 80.99.&nbsp;
Finland&rsquo;s Lassi Etelatalo was third best on 79.29 from Vadlejch&rsquo;s compatriot Vitezslav Vesely, the 2013 world champion and oldest thrower in the field at 39, who threw 79.27.&nbsp;
There was relief for the second German thrower, 2018 silver medallist Andreas Hoffman, who registered only one scoring effort, taking the second from last qualifying position on 77.29, having fouled all three throws in qualifying at last month&rsquo;s World Championships.&nbsp;&nbsp;
But on the comeback trail, reigning champion Thomas Rohler was 22nd across the two pools with a mere 71.31m.
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Hosts Germany lead men’s 4x100m heats with sparkling national record of 37.97

After the rain relented in the Olympic Stadium, the half-soaked crowd was treated to a field event fest in the rearranged programme, with three finals taking place concurrently in the Thursday (18) night session at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the multi-sport European Championships.
There was drama in all of them, but the decisive performance in the event in the field that the locals had been relishing the most - the women&rsquo;s long jump - came with the very first attempt.
The home crowd had come to see the Heidelberg girl with the golden touch Malaika Mihambo defend the European crown she had claimed on in Berlin back in 2018 but before the 28-year-old German had the opportunity to step on to the damp runway, Ivana Vuleta got in what proved to be the telling blow.
Mihambo might have struck Olympic gold in Tokyo last year, and successfully defended her world title in Eugene a month ago but Vuleta has a Midas competitive instinct of her own.
Three times the world indoor champion and winner of the European title in Amsterdam in 2016, when Mihambo claimed a breakthrough bronze, the Serbian threw down the gauntlet with an opening leap of 7.06m, a season&rsquo;s best outdoors and also the longest jump recorded at the European Athletics Championships since 1998.
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Back in March, on her own home ground in Belgrade, an identical jump had kept the world indoor title in Vuleta&rsquo;s possession.
Five months on, after the disappointment of a fifth-placed finish at the World Championships in Oregon where she had a contentious no jump which would have put her in medal contention, it proved sufficient to regain the European title.
Having been hit by coronavirus since her world outdoor success, Mihambo dug deep in an effort to hang on to the crown, mustering a 7.03m jump with her second effort. But that was the best she could manage, finishing with a 6.99m effort in the final round and the silver medal - her first defeat in a major outdoor championships since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio where she was fourth.&nbsp;
Vuleta followed up with 6.98m in the second round but then had three fouls before passing on a final attempt, with the gold already in the bag. Ukraine&rsquo;s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk was in third with 6.76m until Jazmin Sawyers of Great Britain - the silver medallist in between Vuleta and Mihambo in Amsterdam 2016 - snatched bronze with 6.80m in the last round, reversing the outcome of four years ago when Bekh-Romanchuk displaced Sawyers from the podium with her last jump of the competition.
&ldquo;This was one of the strongest and most beautiful competitions of my career,&rdquo; said Vuleta. &ldquo;I love jumping in the rain so it wasn&rsquo;t a problem for me at all.
&ldquo;This year I have won the world indoors and now the European outdoors. The only one missing was the medal from Eugene. I had a good jump there but it was a slight fault. These kinds of failures motivate me. It wasn&rsquo;t even an option to come here and fail to win, even if it was Malaika&rsquo;s home soil."
Mihambo was magnanimous in defeat. &ldquo;Ivana did a great competition, jumping 7.06m,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It made it a hard competition. I had to fight. I am so relieved that I was able to come here and compete so well. The crowd was on fire. I loved it.&rdquo;
Tamberi puts on another show in the high jump final
Love was in the air after the men&rsquo;s high jump final, Gianmarco Tamberi telling the in-field interviewer after regaining the title with a second-time clearance at 2.30m: &ldquo;I am getting married in three weeks, so I am dedicating this to my wife.&rdquo;
The great Italian showman, the winner in Amsterdam in 2016, will have the chance to defend his title and attempt a hat-trick on home ground, the date for the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome having been confirmed as 7-12 June.
The joint Olympic champion was the only man to clear 2.30m but, true sportsman that he is, cheered Andriy Protsenko as the Ukrainian attempted 2.32m after passing on his final shot at the lower height.
Then he jumped on to the landing bed to bear-hug Protsenko as his rival acknowledged the crowd, and a bronze medal to match the one he won at the World Athletics Championships.&nbsp;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1560368196997320756"]
To the delight of the home crowd, silver went to Munchener Tobias Potye on countback, courtesy of the German&rsquo;s clean card up to and including 2.27m in a competition in which five men failed to negotiate the opening height, 2.18m.
&ldquo;It&nbsp;was an amazing night,&rdquo; said Tamberi, &ldquo;I felt this vibe inside me because of the crowd and because of the atmosphere. I missed a chance at a medal at the World Championships, so this means a lot to me.&rdquo;
Pawel Fajdek might have bagged a fifth successive world hammer title in Eugene but back in Europe it is his Polish team-mate and long-time rival&nbsp;Wojciech Nowicki who rules the continental roost.
The reigning European and Olympic champion, Nowicki held on to his crown with an emphatic victory, generating fierce spin in the circle before unleashing a fifth round effort that sailed past Bence Halasz&rsquo;s 80.92m lead to 82.00m.
With the best performance in the world in 2022, Nowicki had avenged his defeat at the World Championships in Eugene last month, where he finished runner up to Fajdek.
Four weeks on from his latest global high, the world champion struggled to get into the groove in Munich, registering two fouls with his opening efforts and finishing out of the medals in fourth place with 79.15m.
Eivind Henriksen followed up his bronze from Eugene with another in Munich, the Norwegian throwing 79.45m.
&ldquo;It is a new big medal for my collection and a new gold medal for the Polish team, so I am very happy,&rdquo; said Nowicki. &ldquo;I approached the competition like it was a training session, with no pressure. Maybe that was the key to me getting 82.00m, the world lead.&rdquo;
Thiam cruises to third heptathlon title in 12 months
On the eve of her 28th birthday, Nafi Thiam completed a second successive set of Olympic, world and European heptathlon titles, finishing 98 points clear of Pole Adrianna Sulek with 6628 points.
The third best all-round female athlete of all-time, the Belgian had been on course for something special &ndash; Jessica Ennis-Hill&rsquo;s championship record (6823) or even the second 7000-plus score of her career &ndash; until dropping something in region of 250 points with a 6.08m long jump and 48.89m javelin in the second day morning session.
She also lost the challenge of Anouk Vetter, the Dutch athlete who finished runner-up behind her at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year at and World Championships in Eugene failing victim to an Achilles tendon injury after the long jump.
It happens to be a measure of Thiam&rsquo;s dominance, and the scope of her talent, that she could afford to fall so far off her best and still successfully defend her title with ease. Despite her morning dip, she still went into the concluding 800m, with a lead of 172 points over Annik Kalin.
The Swiss record-holder would have needed to beat her by 11.5 seconds and, as a slower two-lap performer, that was never likely to happen. Thiam trotted home tenth in 2:17.95, two places behind Kalin, who clocked 2:13.75, a personal best.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/801147d0-e585-477a-8481-4ea780d81746?width=5737&amp;height=3824" alt="Athletics - Day 8 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
The Swiss champion finished with&nbsp;&nbsp;a national record of 6515 points but with bronze rather than silver. The runner up prize went to Sulek, with 6532 points, thanks to a winning 800m run of 2:09.49 despite nursing a hamstring injury which almost forced her to retire from the competition.
Thiam&rsquo;s Belgian teammate Noor Vidts, the world indoor pentathlon champion, was fourth with 6467.
&ldquo;The first day was perfect but the second day was really difficult for me,&rdquo; said Thiam. &ldquo;I had pain all over my body but still managed to give my best. I am really happy, because I have won Olympic world and European titles in less than a year.&rdquo;
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/result-200m-m-sfnl-000300-.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Vuleta: "It wasn’t even an option to come here and fail to win"

On a rainswept night when Norway&rsquo;s Jakob Ingebrigtsen successfully completed the defence of his European 1500 and 5000m titles, Konstanze Klosterhalfen became the latest German athlete to discover the golden properties of sonic home support here as she earned a superb victory in the women&rsquo;s 5000m final at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships on Thursday (18), part of the multi-sport European Championships.
The 25-year-old, who was so disappointed at finishing one place off a medal in the earlier 10,000m, came home in 14:50.47 after a long pursuit of Yasemin Can, the Kenyan-born Turkish runner who had won the title at the longer distance and was seeking to reproduce the 5000/10,000 double she achieved when she announced her breakthrough at the 2016 European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam.&nbsp;
Just as she had in the 10,000m final, Can pushed decisively ahead as the race moved into the second half, and she gained a 10 metres lead from Klosterhalfen and Great Britain&rsquo;s seemingly indefatigable 10,000m silver medallist Eilish McColgan.&nbsp;
But as the noise levels rose, the lead diminished, with both pursuers, ponytails swinging, making it clear that they were not going to let Can run clear as she had in the 10,000m final. As the lead trio came round with two laps remaining McColgan was fading, but the home runner was closing in on the greatest win of her career.&nbsp;
On the home straight Klosterhalfen - who failed to qualify from last month&rsquo;s World Championship 5,000m heats after recovering from coronavirus - had made her move and passed the Turkish runner, and the decibel level rose. But Can was not finished either and there was only a couple of metres in it at the bell.&nbsp;
Gradually, inexorably, the cocktail of determined athlete and energised crowd lengthened the gap between the lead pair. Klosterhalfen looked almost agonised with joy as she crossed the line, with Can second in 14:56.91 and an exhausted McColgan, who now has Commonwealth gold and silver and European silver and bronze, third in 14:59.34.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/e8cae97b-744e-4294-9f7b-897672c180fa?width=4152&amp;height=2768" alt="Athletics - Day 8 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
&ldquo;The audience carried me so much,&rdquo; Klosterhalfen said. &ldquo;After those two difficult years, to win a gold medal at European championships on home soil, this is just amazing, I have tears of joy. I am on cloud nine. I do not have words to describe my feelings. It is a dream come true. The crowd gave me everything."
Ingebrigtsen completes 1500/5000m double double&nbsp;
Earlier, the 21-year-old Olympic 1500m champion Ingebrigtsen had shown customary ruthlessness as he took a grip on the race in the first 300 metres and never let go, winding up the pace before concluding with an irresistible last lap of 55.25.&nbsp;
Spain&rsquo;s Mario Garcia had moved up to the Norwegian as they rounded the final bend, but in the space of a few strides he was contesting silver rather than gold &ndash; and losing it, as Britain&rsquo;s Tokyo 2020 finalist Jake Heyward, judging his race beautifully, passed him to take second place in 3:34.44, with Garcia earning bronze in 3:34.88 from Italy&rsquo;s Pietro Arese, who clocked a personal best of 3:35.00.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I felt I have this speed in my legs today so I wanted to go fast from the beginning,&rdquo; Ingebrigtsen said.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I wanted to have a fast race and I wanted to win. Also, when I heard the great home crowd cheering for us and I also saw so many Norwegian flags in the stands, it was a great motivation for me today.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The fans here are just awesome. The rain - it feels almost like at home. Rain feels good. I am very glad I managed this double and the Championships record is a nice bonus.&rdquo;&nbsp;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1560359056270819329"]
The men&rsquo;s 200m semifinal runners were the first to brave the conditions following the earlier suspension of competition due to a weather warning, and while the rain had abated the conditions were still distinctly chilly as they got away.&nbsp;
Zharnel Hughes, Britain&rsquo;s Commonwealth silver medallist and 100m silver medallist here earlier this week, topped qualifying in 20.19, from his compatriot Charles Dobson on 20.21 and Filippo Tortu, anchor leg runner in Italy&rsquo;s Tokyo 2020 4x100m victory, who clocked 20.29.&nbsp;
Israel&rsquo;s Blessing Afrifah, who won the World U20 200m title in Cali earlier this month in a European U20 record of 19.96, finished third in the first heat in 20.34 but progressed as a fastest loser.&nbsp;
The women&rsquo;s 200m semifinals featured a welcome appearance from Britain&rsquo;s defending champion Dina Asher-Smith, who had slowed to a virtual halt in the women&rsquo;s 100m final with what looked like a recurrence of the recurring hamstring problem that first emerged last year during her preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but later emerged to be cramp.&nbsp;
Asher-Smith, looking unusually intent before and after a race which she had joined as one of the 12 top-ranked sprinters with a bye from the heats, well clear and was fastest qualifier for tomorrow&rsquo;s final in 22.53, followed by Denmark&rsquo;s Ida Karstoft on 22.73 and Switzerland&rsquo;s 100m silver medallist by five thousandths of a second, Mujinga Kambundji, on 22.76.&nbsp;
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.&nbsp;

Klosterhalfen times it to perfection to win 5000m gold in Munich

Nafissatou Thiam remains on course to complete a second full set of Olympic, world and European heptathlon titles on the eve of her 28th birthday at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships.
But the geography graduate was unable to keep herself in the direction of Jessica Ennis-Hill&rsquo;s championship record - and a possible second 7000-plus points score.
Thiam started day two on 4063 points, just eight points down on her opening day score at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, where she proceeded to regain the title with 6947, the second best score of her career - behind the 7013 national record in Gotzis in 2017 that ranks her third on the world all-time list.
The highlight of her opening day performance had come in the field - with a 1.98m championship heptathlon best in the high jump but in the long jump and javelin on the day two morning schedule she was a good way below her best.
Thiam&rsquo;s opening effort in the long jump was only 6.08m &ndash; well short of her lifetime best (6.86m) and season&rsquo;s best (6.59m) &ndash; and she was unable to improve on it, struggling for rhythm on the runway and registering fouls with her second and third efforts.
That knocked her off target for the championship record set by Ennis-Hill in Barcelona in 2010 (6823) but she was still 99 points clear of the field with 4937 points.
Of the other likely medal contenders Thiam&rsquo;s Belgian teammate Noor Vidts, the 2022 world indoor champion, produced the best jump: 6.31m, just two centimetres down on her season&rsquo;s best.
Anouk Vetter, the Dutchwoman who took silver behind Thiam at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year, and at the World Championships in Eugene last month, leapt 6.27m but then withdrew from the competition because of an Achilles tendon injury.
&ldquo;I felt some pain after the long jump and during warm up for the javelin it got worse,&rdquo; said Vetter. &ldquo;It looks like it was too early for me to compete again after the World Championships.&rdquo;
Perhaps the lack of competition did not help Thiam on the motivational front but in the javelin &ndash;&nbsp; the final event of the morning, with the concluding 800m to come in Thursday evening&rsquo;s session &ndash; the Belgian was far from her best once again.
In Berlin 2018, Thiam set a heptathlon championship best in the event, 57.91m. Four years on, she could manage only 48.89m. Her first throw was in excess of the 50 metre-line but landed out of the sector.
Still, that left her on 5776 points, 172 clear of Annik Kalin (5604), who leapt 6.73m in the long jump and threw 46.72m in the javelin.&nbsp;
After marks of 6.55m in the long jump and 42.80m in the javelin, Poland&rsquo;s Adrianna Sulek held third spot with 5560 points. Vidts, after 41.82m in the javelin, lies fourth with 5497.
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule-date=2022-08-18.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Thiam closes in on her second full set of major heptathlon titles in Munich

Karsten Warholm was back in the winning groove and Femke Bol back on the track where she took 400m flat gold the night before in the semifinals of the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles in the packed Thursday (18) morning session at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the multi-sport European Championships.
Four weeks on from his home straight fade to seventh in defence of his world title, Warholm looked a little closer to his best on the recovery road from the hamstring tear that threatened to bring an early conclusion to his season as he finished a clear winner of his race in 48.38 &ndash; 0.14 ahead of France&rsquo;s Ludvy Vaillant.
The world record-holder and Olympic champion from Norway stuttered slightly after clearing the final barrier but still recorded the fastest winning time in the city where he underwent treatment and recuperation under the guidance of the renowned German physical therapist Dr Hans-Wilhelm M&uuml;ller-Wohlfahrt.
The man known as &lsquo;Healing Hans&rsquo; will be Warholm&rsquo;s guest at Friday&rsquo;s final, in which he will start favourite in the defence of the title he won in Berlin four years ago &ndash; ahead of the other semifinal winners Wilfried Happio of France (48.89) and Turkey&rsquo;s 2016 European champion Yasmani Copello (49.34).
&ldquo;At the last hurdle I was just slowing down my pace and missed some steps,&rdquo; said Warholm. &ldquo;I had it under control, so no problem.
&ldquo;The atmosphere here is amazing. I have been watching it from my hotel room. There is a German athlete in the final [Joshua Abuakiu, runner up to Happio in 49.05], so I am sure that will help a lot with getting the crowd going tomorrow.&rdquo;
In Friday&rsquo;s evening session Bol will have the opportunity to compete the unprecedented 400m hurdles and 400m flat double that proved beyond Warholm in Berlin in 2018.
Having won the 400m on Wednesday night in 49.44, a Dutch record, European lead and second fastest on the world list in 2022, the 22-year-old Dutchwoman took it easy in the opening stages of her 400m hurdles semi-final but still couldn&rsquo;t help easing to victory in 53.73 &ndash; ahead of two-time European silver medallist Anna Ryzhykova of Ukraine (54.25).
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/db8e54f8-79c1-47d5-a430-4ef95c05b9f9?width=4023&amp;height=2682" alt="Athletics - Day 8 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
&ldquo;I was so happy with my gold medal yesterday but I don&rsquo;t think I am well rested from the 400m final,&rdquo; said Bol, who has taken world silver and Olympic bronze in the 400m hurdles in the past twelve months.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I was a bit tired out there today. I was able to run 53.73 with a tired body. Now I am looking forward to what I can do in the final.&rdquo;
A half-awake Bol was the only woman to run inside 54 seconds. The other semi-final winners were Spanish champion Sara Gallego (55.17) and Finnish record-holder Vivi Lehikoinen (54.51). There will also be home representation in the final with Carolina Krafzik finishing second to Gallego in 55.29.
Duplantis progresses on his second attempt in pole vault qualifying
By his own stratospheric standards, Mondo Duplantis was not quite at his most alert in the pole vault qualifying competition, needing two attempts to negotiate his opening height, 5.65m, and securing his place in Saturday&rsquo;s final in joint third place.
&ldquo;If I were a car, I&rsquo;d probably say I was in middle to low gear,&rdquo; said the 22-year-old Swede who holds a full set of major championship titles which dates back to Berlin 2018 where he famously cleared 6.05m aged 18, together with the 6.21m world record. &ldquo;It was a little tricky in the wind at first but I felt good. I was able to save some energy for the final.&rdquo;
Asked about the prospect of bettering his world record in the final, Duplantis replied: &ldquo;I guess we will have to see. The first goal is always to try and win the gold. If I am able to do that, then we will see.&rdquo;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1560210435625869313"]
Thibaut Collet, whose father and co-coach Phillipe earned European bronze behind Sergey and Vasily Bubka in Stuttgart in 1986, had a first time success at 5.65m. His French teammate Renaud Lavillenie cleared at the second attempt but the former world record holder&rsquo;s younger brother Valentin no-heighted.
Poland&rsquo;s three-time world medallist Piotr Lisek only managed 5.50m and missed the qualifying cut, as did Belgium&rsquo;s Ben Broeders and the highly rated Turkish vaulter Ersu Sasma who has cleared 5.80m this year.
Dropping down to the 800m after his stunning 1500m victory at the World Championships, Jake Wightman looked his customarily assured self in the opening first round heat.
The Briton was a comfortable winner, surging into the lead off the final bend and crossing the line in 1:45.93 ahead of Italy&rsquo;s Simone Barontini (1:45.08) and France&rsquo;s Gabriel Tual (1:46.08).
They proved to be the three fastest times of the morning. The next fastest heat winner was Belgian Eliott Crestan (1:47.41), the other two races yielding victories for Poland&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist Patryk Dobek (1:47.49) and Ireland&rsquo;s 2014 European bronze medallist Mark English (1:47: 54).
There was a notable casualty in the opening race in the women&rsquo;s 800m first round heats. Having made the World Championships final in her debut season at the distance, Anita Horvat tripped and fell as she prepared to launch her charge from the rear of the field off the final bend.
The Slovenian picked herself up to finish a distant eighth and last in 2:23.76 in a race won in 2:00.89 by defending two-time champion Natalia Krol from Ukraine.
The other heat winners were world and Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson (2:03.72), her British team-mate Jemma Reekie (2:02.36) and France&rsquo;s two-time European silver medallist Renelle Lamotte (2:02.22).
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/896ca227-7c67-49aa-ba4b-60df29ce956c?width=5108&amp;height=3405" alt="Athletics - Day 8 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
The Czech Republic&rsquo;s two-time Olympic javelin champion Barbora Spotakova, seeking a fourth European Championships medal at the age of 41, notched the third best time in the qualifying round &ndash; 60.75 &ndash; behind Liveta Jasiuniaute of Lithuania (61.85m) and European U20 champion Elina Tzengko of Greece (61.28m), her junior by 21 years.
This represented a significantly more auspicious performance than Spotakova&rsquo;s debut at the European Athletics Championships in this very stadium in 2002 when she didn&rsquo;t make the final on her major senior debut.
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule-date=2022-08-18.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Favourites Warholm and Bol on course for 400m hurdles titles in Munich

Two outstanding women&rsquo;s junior field event performers made a big mark in senior competition tonight (17) at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the multi-sport&nbsp;European Championships as Finland&rsquo;s Wilma Murto equalled the championship record of 4.85m in the pole vault&nbsp; and Romania&rsquo;s Bianca Ghelber won the hammer throw.&nbsp;
It was something of a belated triumph for the Romanian, now 32, whose early blizzard of titles &ndash; World U18 in 2005 and 2007, World U20 in 2006 and 2008 and European U20 in 2007 and 2009 &ndash; gave way to a highly respectable career which, save for a European U23 gold in 2011, has yielded no big medals.&nbsp;
That all changed as a first-round throw of 72.22m proved enough to secure the title &ndash; although only by 10 centimetres after the final-round effort of 72.12m from Poland&rsquo;s Ewa Rozanska who ensured there would be Polish representation on the rostrum in the absence of the injured Anita Wlodarczyk.&nbsp;
Italy&rsquo;s Sara Fantini earned bronze on 71.58m ahead of the other favourite in this event, Azerbaijan&rsquo;s Hanna Skydan, who was fourth on 70.88m.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am very happy that I won a gold medal because my family is here with me,&rdquo; said the gold medallist. &ldquo;I also like my result, I had all throws over 71 metres. This was important for me. Thank you all for this competition and for the spectators who cheered a lot. I want to win a medal at next year's World Athletics Championships in Budapest.&rdquo;&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/5333d513-0559-41c2-a0ed-7313d5951e1c?width=4565&amp;height=3043" alt="Athletics - Day 7 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
As far as the women&rsquo;s pole vault is concerned, a star is not so much born as confirmed in Murto.&nbsp;
Still the world U20 record-holder thanks to her indoor 4.71m in 2016, the year in which she won world U20 bronze, Murto failed to qualify for the 2019 World Athletics Championships and the 2021 European Indoor Championships, but the mark of her quality was clear from her equal-fifth placing at the Tokyo 2020 Games last summer.&nbsp;
At last month&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships in Eugene she felt she had big vaults in her, but wasn&rsquo;t quite able to deliver, finishing equal sixth.&nbsp;
In this European arena, however, she was inspired - getting better the higher the bar went to overcome a champion&rsquo;s effort from the Greek athlete won win this title in Berlin four years ago, Aikaterini Stefanidi, who must have thought she had retained it after a faultless sequence all the way up to a season&rsquo;s best of 4.75m.&nbsp;
For much of the competition it seemed the 32-year-old defending champion&rsquo;s main danger was her 33-year-old rival, the revitalised Tina Sutej of Slovenia who made 4.75m on her first attempt.&nbsp;
Murto had required two attempts to clear 4.55m and 4.65m and had passed after one failure at 4.70m. But she cleared 4.75m and then 4.80m, which proved to be the winning height as both her remaining rivals could go no further.&nbsp;
As Stefanidi and Sutej embraced, Murto remained utterly calm, composing herself for an attempt on 4.85m (to equal the championship record belonging to Stefanidi) after a brief confab with her coach - and clearing it on the second attempt, at which point, even on the way down, the emotion poured out before she knelt briefly on the mat with head in hands.&nbsp;
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Denmark&rsquo;s Caroline Holm set a national record of 4.55 in finishing joint fourth with Angelica Moser of Switzerland, and France&rsquo;s Marie-Julie Bonnin also cleared that mark, a personal best, in sixth.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;After the World Championships I felt like there is so much more to come so I am very thankful now,&rdquo; Murto said.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This competition was just great. My dreams came true. I knew it had been in me for a long time but I just needed this day to come. Today, it felt like a perfect day to do that with my family and friends in the stands supporting me. This was like the strongest experience I have ever had.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Pichardo completes the set of major titles in the triple jump
Portugal&rsquo;s world and Olympic triple jump champion Pedro Pichardo earned his first European title with peerless ease thanks to a best effort of 17.50m that left him clear of his nearest challenger.&nbsp;
As things turned out Pichardo&rsquo;s opening effort of 17.05m - his only other scoring mark after two passes and two fouls &ndash; would have been enough to secure gold, although only by a centimetre.&nbsp;
Italy&rsquo;s Andrea Dallavalle went out to 17.04 in the fifth round to claim silver, with bronze going to France&rsquo;s Jean-Marc Pontvianne, coached by the 2013 world champion and former world record holder Teddy Tamgho, who had a best of 16.94.&nbsp;
Pichardo, who keeps his emotions private during competition, offered a big smile of relief before taking his final jump, which was a foul &ndash; not that it mattered.&nbsp;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1559992599313793024"]
Meanwhile Nafissatou Thiam remains on track to retain her heptathlon title as she established a 214 points overnight lead after four of the seven events, improving her own high jump Championship best en route.&nbsp;
Belgium&rsquo;s world, Olympic and defending champion has 4063 points, with compatriot Noor Vidts on 3849 and the Dutch Olympic and world silver medallist Anouk Vetter third on 3824.&nbsp;
If she wins tomorrow the title would come as an early present for her 28th birthday on Friday.&nbsp;
Thiam had arrived for her evening&rsquo;s work leading by almost 200 points after outstanding efforts in the first two of the scheduled seven events.&nbsp;
After finishing third fastest in the opening 100m hurdles in 13.34 she improved her own high jump championship best of 2014 by a centimetre to add 1211 points for a two-event total of 2285, with Vidts, who had the second-best hurdles time of 13.29, on 2097 points and Sulek on 2080.&nbsp;
A shot put of 14.95m, third best and not a mile away from her personal best of 15.41, maintained Thiam&rsquo;s lead as she reached 3143.&nbsp;
Sulek, with 14.18m, moved into second place on 2886, four points clear of Vidts, who finished ninth with a best of 13.86.&nbsp;
Vetter moved up to fourth on 2843 after gaining 907 points from the best effort of the day, 15.68m.&nbsp;
In the final discipline of the day, the 200m, Carolin Schafer rode the wave of noise that has accompanied all home athletes at these Championships to win the opening heat in 24.16, with Thiam third on 24.64.

Former U20 standouts Ghelber and Murto graduate to senior honours in Munich

There were no hurdles for the multi-talented Femke Bol to negotiate in the home straight of the magnificent Munich Olympic Stadium but the flying Dutchwoman proceeded to prove herself a class apart from her 400m flat rivals in successfully completing the first leg of her double golden mission at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the multi-sport European Championships.
The world 400m hurdles silver medallist behind Sydney McLaughlin at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene a month ago, Bol entered the final 100 metres with her teammate and training partner Lieke Klaver and Pole Natalia Kaczmarek within striking distance just behind her but she turned on the afterburners to finish precisely half-a-second clear in 49.44, an improvement of 0.31 on her Dutch record and 2022 European lead she clocked in Chorzow two weeks ago.
It was also the fastest winning time since Stuttgart 1986 when East Germany&rsquo;s Marita Koch prevailed in 48.22 to win her third successive title. The same Marita Koch who has held the world record at 47.60 since the 1985 World Cup in Canberra.
After winning European indoor gold in 2021 and world indoor silver in March this year, Bol could hardly have claimed her first senior outdoor 400m title in more emphatic fashion before turning her attention to her specialist event and the second half of her unprecedented double. The semifinals of the 400m hurdles are on tomorrow morning&rsquo;s schedule.
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1559998660691337222"]
Sadly for the Dutch team, there was no double medal celebration. Fourth in the final at the World Athletics Championships, Klaver &ndash; Bol&rsquo;s training partner at the National Training Centre in Papendal faded right out of the medal frame in the home straight, finishing sixth in 50.56.
Kaczmarek, who became the first Polish woman to break the 50 second-barrier since Koch&rsquo;s great rival Irena Szewinska as runner up to Bol in Chorzow, managed the feat again, claiming silver in 49.94.
Bronze went to the Pole who has two feet in the Dutch camp, literally. A training partner of Bol and Klaver, under the direction of Laurent Meuwly and Bart Peters, Anna Kielbianska crossed the line third in 50.29 &ndash; ahead of Briton Victoria Ohuruogu, fourth in 50.51, and 19-year-old Rhasidat Adeleke, fifth in an Irish record of 50.53.
&ldquo;I think this race was harder than the 400m hurdles,&rdquo; said Bol. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t until after the race that I realised it wasn&rsquo;t such a close race. I won by half-a-second and with a big personal best. I felt confident and strong. I know I won&rsquo;t sleep a lot tonight, so tomorrow&rsquo;s 400m hurdles semi-finals is going to be tough.&rdquo;
Hudson-Smith cruises to successful 400m title defence
By contrast, the men&rsquo;s 400m final was a procession from the start. In the gold medal stakes, at any rate.
Having earned bronze at the World Athletics Championships and silver at the Commonwealth Games, Matthew Hudson-Smith completed a full set of major championship medals in a month with a coronation lap of the Olympic Stadium.
Entering the arena with the minimum of fuss, after his seven rivals had played to the gallery, the 27-year-old Brit got the job done with supreme efficiency.
Blasting clear from the start, he entered the home straight with an unassailable lead, crossing the line in 44.53 with a victory margin of precisely half-a-second. In doing so, he became the third man to win back to back titles in the event &ndash; fittingly, following in the footsteps of fellow Brito Roger Black (1986-90) and&nbsp; Martyn Rooney 2014-16.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/817be0f5-9879-4308-b124-044889e591bf?width=4597&amp;height=3064" alt="Athletics - Day 7 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
The real race &ndash; or competition &ndash; was for the other medals, and it looked like it might be a British one-two to match Zurich in 2014, when Hudson-Smith claimed silver behind Rooney, and Helsinki in 1994 when Du&rsquo;aine Ladejo beat Black to the title.
The 23-year-old engineering student was edging the battle for silver until European U23 champion Ricky Petrucciani charged past in the closing stage to finish runner-up in 45.03 &ndash; as in the women&rsquo;s race, precisely five-tenths behind the winner.
Haydock-Wilson had to dig deep to hold off 2016 bronze medallist Liemarvin Bonevacia, both crossing the line in 45.17 but the Briton beating the Dutchman to the bronze by 0.008, 45.161 to 45.169.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to be here and get the job done,&rdquo; said Hudson-Smith. &ldquo;All I wanted was to defend my title.&rdquo;
Petrucciani was still coming to terms with his achievement when he left the arena. &ldquo;To get a silver medal is incredible,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When I crossed the line in second place, I could not believe it. I thought, &lsquo;Impossible!&rsquo;&rdquo;
Haydock-Wilson waxed wonderfully lyrical. He said: &ldquo;I saw angels and demons in the final stretch in the semis. Today I have seen angels mostly, luckily. I didn't know if I had won a medal when I crossed the finish line. I had to see the results on the screen. It made me so happy.&rdquo;
Martinez given verdict over Martinot-Lagarde in another 110m hurdles thriller
There was a similar wait after the 110m hurdles final but, in that instance, to see who had won the gold in a neck-and-neck battle between defending champion Pascal Martinot-Lagarde and the burgeoning young Spaniard Asier Martinez.
The 30-year-old Martinot-Lagarde was marginally in front at halfway but started to stutter slightly when clearing flights as the 22-year-old Martinez &ndash; the surprise bronze medallist at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene &ndash; drew level and applied the pressure.
To the naked eye, there was nothing between them as they crossed the line in 13.14 but the photo-finish gave the verdict to Martinez by 0.001: 13.137 to 13.138.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/9d87b7f5-3b47-4af4-a99d-944eb6c5199e?width=4960&amp;height=3307" alt="Athletics - Day 7 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
As the Spaniard took off in celebration of his country&rsquo;s first gold in the event, Martinot-Lagarde was left to ponder the irony of having been on the winning end of a similar close call in Berlin in 2018, when he took the gold by 0.002 from Russia&rsquo;s Sergey Shubenkov.
&ldquo;Four years ago it was also a close finish at the line and I came first,&rdquo; said Martinot-Lagarde.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Today it was the other way round. I gave my best but now I need revenge. See you in Paris at the Olympic Games &ndash; and in Budapest at next year&rsquo;s World Championships. I feel like I am old but I believe me: I am still alive. I will do my best.&rdquo;
There was also French consolation in a bronze medal for Martinot-Lagarde&rsquo;s team-mate Just Kwaou-Mather, the 22-year-old winning the battle for third in 13.33 &ndash; ahead of the Swiss pair Jason Joseph (13.35) and Finley Gaio (13.50). Reigning European U20 champion Sasha Zhoya, the third Frenchman in the final, had a tough baptism in his first major senior final, falling at the last hurdle and crossing the line in eighth.
&ldquo;Having such a close race with Pascal means a lot to me,&rdquo; said Martinez. &ldquo;It makes the race special for me because he is a force to be reckoned with. I knew he would have to do&nbsp; a great race to beat me, and he nearly did.&rdquo;
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule-date=2022-08-17.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Multi-talented Bol storms to European 400m title in 49.44

Stepping into the discus ring inside the hallowed Olympic Stadium in Munich for the first time, Slovenia&rsquo;s Kristjan Ceh not only handsomely surpassed the qualifying line for the discus final but also took ownership of the championship record.
The reigning world champion needed a throw of 66 metres to secure an automatic passage through to the final and Ceh achieved that with aplomb, launching the discus out to 69.06m to eclipse the championship record of 68.87m set by the now-retired Pole Piotr Malachowski in 2010.
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1559878792155484161"]
Ceh&rsquo;s massive effort in qualifying opens up the tantalising prospect of the 70 metre-barrier being broken for the first time in European Athletics Championships history.
The Slovenian acknowledged in his in-stadium interview that a worsening weather forecast could prove to be an adverse factor but he still hopes he can add even more distance to his fresh championship record.
&ldquo;My coach [Gerd Kanter] said that I am still in good shape even after the World Championships. I don't have that good feeling but still I managed to throw a secure throw which is also the championship record.&nbsp;
&ldquo;After winning the world title I hope to win a European title too. Of course, my confidence is really high right now so I hope I can throw even further in the final,&rdquo; he said.
But that is not to say the final is a foregone conclusion. In a near-repeat of the World Athletics Championships, Ceh will face stern opposition from Lithuanians Andrius Gudzius (66.70m) and Mykolas Alekna (65.48m) and reigning Olympic champion Daniel Stahl from Sweden (66.39m).&nbsp;
Vintage Thiam clears 1.98m championship best
Barring disaster or some sort of force majeure, Nafissatou Thiam looks set to land yet another major title in the heptathlon.
And if she clinches gold in Munich, she would complete her second set of major titles in the combined events one day before her 28th birthday.
Thiam kept pace with Annik Kalin (13.23) and her Belgian teammate Noor Vidts (13.29) with a third-place finish in the 100m hurdles in 13.34 before stamping her authority on the seven event competition with a championship best of 1.98m - improving her eight-year-old record by one centimetre - to accumulate 1211 points from the high jump.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/e581d684-f537-42ff-bf16-97bc0021f727?width=3500&amp;height=2307" alt="Athletics - Day 7 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
After two events, Thiam has amassed 2285 points and leads the overall standings by almost 200 points from Vidts (2097 points) and Poland&rsquo;s Adrianna Sulek (2080 points).
Under her coach&rsquo;s orders, Germany&rsquo;s Carolina Krafzik qualified fastest for the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles semifinal with a lifetime best.
Buoyed by a sparse but vocal crowd in the Olympic Stadium, an inspired Krafzik stopped the clock at a lifetime best of 54.32 to win the third heat by a Femke Bol-esque winning margin from Switzerland&rsquo;s former European U20 champion Yasmin Giger in 56.69.
A modest pre-championship season&rsquo;s best of 55.73 proved insufficient to provide Krafzik with a first round BYE which are granted to the top-12 performers but the 27-year-old suddenly finds herself in medal contention. Her time puts her fifth on the 2022 European list which is headed by Bol who runs in tonight&rsquo;s 400m final before turning her focus to the barriers.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The &lsquo;order&rsquo; of my coach was to run a PB, to show what I am capable of doing. So this will give me a good position for the semi-final. I also wanted to know how good my shape is. This heat was very impressive, I was not aware that I was 30 metres ahead of the others. The goal was simply to get a PB. The atmosphere is great, I am enjoying it very much,&rdquo; said Krafzik.
France&rsquo;s Victor Coroller led the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles qualifying with 49.35 from Great Britain&rsquo;s Jacob Paul (49.40) and Switzerland&rsquo;s Julien Bonvin (49.41). The semifinals take place tomorrow morning when the likes of reigning European and Olympic champion Karsten Warholm join proceedings.
There was more good news for Germany in the triple jump qualifying. Neele Eckhardt-Noack set a lifetime best of 14.53m to lead the two pools from Olympic silver medallist Patricia Mamona from Portugal (14.45m) and Ukraine&rsquo;s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk (14.36m), the latter also making yesterday&rsquo;s long jump final.
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule-date=2022-08-17.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Ceh and Thiam in record-breaking form on the third morning session in Munich

The decibel count in the Olympic Stadium threatened to raise the celebrated glass wave of the distinctive glass roof as Niklas Kaul completed a stunning comeback to snatch home gold in the decathlon on a night to savour at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships.
Down in seventh place with two of the ten events remaining and some 500 points in arrears, the man from Mainz&nbsp; - who struck unexpected World Athletics Championship gold as a 21-year-old in Doha in 2019 &ndash; unleashed a mighty championship best throw of 76.05m in the javelin before overhauling long-time competition leader Simon Ehammer with the run of his life in the 1500m.
The roar as Kaul crossed the line in 4:10.04, a whopping 38.68 clear of his Swiss rival, was reminiscent of the one which greeted West Germany&rsquo;s comeback to beat Johann Cruyff&rsquo;s celebrated Dutch masters in the 1974 football World Cup final in the same arena.
&ldquo;The noise was just crazy,&rdquo; said Kaul, whose javelin throwing has been somewhat hindered in recent years having undergone elbow surgery. &ldquo;It nearly blew my ears off. Winning here like this means much more to me than my world title three years ago.&rdquo;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/4f6dd263-16fe-41d4-9701-be0f08bdd875?width=5086&amp;height=3391" alt="Athletics - Day 6 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
The drama did not end there. At the same time as the decathlon denouement was being played out, Greece&rsquo;s Miltiadis Tentoglou was busy battling his way to a second successive men&rsquo;s long jump title in style, the Greek prevailing with a championship record 8.52m (+0.3).
And, not to be overshadowed, the formidable Sandra Perkovic was slugging her way to a record-breaking sixth successive gold in a ding-dong women&rsquo;s discus final.
Trailing to a third round effort of 66.93m by Kristen Pudenz, the German who took Olympic silver in Tokyo last year, the 32-year-old Croat showed her mettle amid all of the patriotic fervour, nailing a 67.95m throw in round five. Incidentally, it was in the fifth round in Berlin 2018 four years ago where Perkovic moved into the gold medal-winning position.
Pudenz came tantalisingly close with her final effort, a lifetime best 67.87m, but Perkovic was not to be denied.
By a margin of eight centimetres, the one-time Croatian member of parliament had extended her championship record to a sixth title in the same event, and matched Marita Koch&rsquo;s tally of six golds, three of which the former East German gained from relays.
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1559654374246432772"]
Germany took the bronze as well as the silver, Claudia Vita finishing third with 65.20m &ndash; denying Jorinde van Klinken a consolation prize to match the bronze she won in the shot the night before, the twin-talented Dutch thrower finishing fourth with 64.43m.
&ldquo;I am so happy and proud tonight,&rdquo; said Perkovic, who won her first title in Barcelona in 2010. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve just won my sixth European title here at this beautiful stadium, in front of this amazing crowd.
&ldquo;I had to fight against the strong Germans again, just like in Berlin in 2018. I struggled a bit as they were fighting so much and improving their PBs and SBs. But I knew I was ready to do it and I think the fight was nice.
&ldquo;I am sorry for them that I destroyed their party, but I am glad for the Germans that they managed to get silver and bronze. This competition was really on the level of the World Athletics Championships.&rdquo;
Kaul reels in long-time leader Ehammer for decathlon glory&nbsp;
Amid all of the drama across the field and multi-events, it was difficult not to empathise with Ehammer.
With world indoor heptathlon silver and world outdoor long jump bronze already in the bag, the 22-year-old was 25 points ahead of the halfway tally he notched en route to his 8377 Swiss record in Gotzis in May - thanks to a championship event best of 8.31m in the long jump and lifetime best 2.08m high jump.
After clocking 13.75 in the 110m hurdles and dipping to a disappointing 34.22m in the discus, he finished the day two morning session on the high of a 5.20m lifetime best in the pole vault &ndash; still potentially vulnerable to a late charge from the traditionally fast-finishing Kaul with another two of his own weaker events to come, the javelin and 1500m.
Ehammer could only manage 53.46m in the javelin, while Kaul propelled himself from seventh to third overall with an opening effort of 70.99m, before going for broke with his third attempt.
Fuelled by a mighty Munich roar with Whatever You Want by Status Quo blaring over the public address system, he hurled his javelin out to 76.05m &ndash; way beyond the championship decathlon best set by Sweden&rsquo;s Mikael Olander in Stuttgart back in the mists of 1986.
That closed the gap between Kaul and Ehammer from 365 to 178 points. With a superior 1500m personal best by 28.73, the gold standard suddenly shifted from Swiss hands into very much the balance.
Based on lifetime bests, the projected final score would have been 8518-8506 in Kaul&rsquo;s favour: too close to decisively call.
Unfettered by statistics, he simply went for broke again, charging clear of the field, and some 200m ahead of the flagging Ehammer, before crossing the line in 4:10.04, a personal best by 3.77.
Ehammer finished 15th and last in 4:48.72, a wry smile on his face as the result on the stadium scoreboard scrolled to his performance and confirmation that he had finished second with 8468 points, a Swiss record.
Kaul took the gold with 8545 and Estonian Janek Oiglane the bronze with 8346. There was a touching moment when the crestfallen runner-up, reached out to hug the winner in congratulations as they sat on the track.
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1559630525643558921"]
There was another when the battle-hardened veteran Arthur Abele, the 36-year-old German who won in Berlin four years ago, was afforded a lap of honour and&nbsp; then a guard of honour by his rivals to mark his farewell decathlon, which he finished 15th with 7662 points.
&ldquo;This is unbelievable,&rdquo; said Ehammer. &ldquo;It was a tough competition. The javelin was hard for me. I still have a lot to work on.&rdquo;
It was not the best of nights for Ehammer, whose 8.45m world lead was beaten by Tentoglou in the long jump final.
After opening with a foul, the Greek took the lead in round two with 8.23m (+0.2), improved to 8,35 (-1.3) in round three and then soared out to 8.52m (+0.3) with his fourth effort &ndash; breaking the championship record of 8.47m, set my Germany&rsquo;s Christian Reif in Barcelona in 2010.
&ldquo;I was ready and prepared for something big,&rdquo; said Tentoglou. &ldquo;The championship record was something I was looking for and I managed to put everything together.&rdquo;
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In a closely contested battle for the other medals, Sweden&rsquo;s Thobias Montler took silver behind Tentoglou for the fourth time in a major championships and Jules Pommery of France the bronze, both men jumping 8.06m.
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule-date=2022-08-16.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Kaul’s second day charge clinches dramatic decathlon gold in Munich

A stadium already sated with emotion after the dramatic victory of home decathlete Niklas Kaul was sent into delirium by an astonishing victory in the concluding women&rsquo;s 100m from home sprinter Gina Luckenkemper shortly after Italy&rsquo;s Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs had earned his first European outdoor title in a Championship record-equalling 9.95.&nbsp;
In an action-packed and emotionally-charged second day of the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, Luckenkemper was sixth after 50 metres but drove herself closer and closer to the Swiss athlete who seemed to have gold in her grasp - Switzerland&rsquo;s world indoor champion Mujinga Kambundji - earning fame everlasting with a final, desperate lunge at the line that sent her tumbling to the track.&nbsp;
The 25-year-old silver medallist from the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships needed treatment to a bleeding hand, but with the pain came gain as she learned, to her stark astonishment, that she had earned victory by 0.005.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/105812ce-9c96-4417-9af1-e7d2d6e6d57a?width=2670&amp;height=1780" alt="Athletics - Day 6 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Kneeling, she covered her face with her hands before letting out a huge and prolonged cry.&nbsp;
The German and Swiss athletes were both credited with 10.99. Daryll Neita took bronze in 11.00 but her British teammate, defending champion Dina Asher-Smith, once again found her hamstring undermining her efforts at the highest level, eventually jogging over the line after pulling up halfway.
Ingebrigtsen one race away from the &lsquo;double double&rsquo;
Earlier on this evening of torrid emotion Norway&rsquo;s Jakob Ingebrigtsen successfully defended the European 5000m title he won four years ago in Berlin as a 17-year-old, securing the first half of what he hopes will be a 5,000/1500m double here with an emphatic performance.&nbsp;
The 21-year-old Olympic 1500m champion is a very different proposition to the fledgling talent that announced itself in Berlin, with the confidence - maybe even the arrogance - of an athlete who has already scaled the heights of his events.&nbsp;&nbsp;
He was composed while being introduced to the crowd, simply raising up his index finger. First. That was the intention. That was the result as he bided his time in the middle of a field large enough for a fun run before picking his moment to hit the front and seeing off all opposition with utter ruthlessness.&nbsp;
The race proper began with three laps to go as Italy&rsquo;s Yemaneberhan Crippa, European 10,000m bronze medallist four years ago, hit the front and started working hard - at which point, suddenly, the calm figure of Ingebrigtsen moved up to his shoulder and then eased ahead, a position he would hold until the line.&nbsp;
The race was on, with Crippa and Spain&rsquo;s Mohamed Katir, who ran a personal best and Spanish record of 12:50.79 last season, working to stay with the champion.&nbsp;
By the time the bell came they were the only two in touch. Around the final bend the Spaniard tried to come round the outside the final bend. No go.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Ingebrigtsen then let rip down the home straight, gaining metres in seconds, and celebrated with a slash of his right arm before crossing the line to retain his title in 13:21.13.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/d6477718-fd76-443a-ba80-d1c31ddc6e65?width=3651&amp;height=2434" alt="Athletics - Day 6 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Katir took silver in 13.22.98 followed by Crippa in 13.24.83. Former 800m specialist Andreas Almgren of Sweden clocked a personal best of 13:26.48 to finish fourth.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to see so many people in the stadium,&rdquo; Ingebrigtsen said. &ldquo;To be holding this event in Germany &ndash; it&rsquo;s awesome.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;Everybody has expectations and you have to learn how to deal with them. I believe in myself and I believe in the things I have done before. It was amazing here today, it was a great race to be a part of. Thanks to the audiences, it is incredible.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;It feels great to be back and win, it is special. It brings back the memories of Berlin. I am in the next race on Thursday [the 1500m final in which he qualified yesterday] so I am looking forward to it. I always have got something to prove.&rdquo;
Jacobs equals championship record in the men's 100m final
Italy&rsquo;s Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs, troubled by injury for most of the season, came good here tonight, finishing irresistibly in an equal championship record despite failing to get away to a good start.&nbsp;
Britain&rsquo;s defending champion Zharnel Hughes clocked 9.99 for silver and Jeremiah Azu, who won the British Trials in a wind-aided sub-10 second clocking but could not be picked for Oregon as he didn&rsquo;t have the qualifying time, was soon capering in delight as he saw he had earned bronze in a personal best of 10.13.&nbsp;
There was also a significant national record in sixth-place for Israel Olatunde. After becoming the first ever Irish athlete to make a men's European 100m finals, the 20-year-old eclipsed the national record by 0.01 in finishing sixth in 10.17.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/df831d7a-7337-4462-b327-a357e81f93ed?width=3000&amp;height=2001" alt="Athletics - Day 6 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Plangent chords and coloured lighting had announced the concluding 100m finals, a coup de theatre which worked for the crowd.&nbsp;
Hughes had put down an early marker by winning the first of the three semi-finals in 10.03, with his compatriot Azu claiming the second automatic qualifying place in 10.17.&nbsp;
Britain&rsquo;s Reece Prescod, clocking 10.10, had won the second semi-final and Jacobs &ndash; who won the world indoor title before being plagued by a succession of muscle problems &ndash; laid down his marker by winning the final semi-final in a season&rsquo;s best of 10.00 despite putting the brakes on over the final 30 metres. &nbsp;
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule-date=2022-08-16.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Home favourite Luckenkemper wins a 100m thriller by a whisker in Munich

Malaika Mihambo, whose defence of her European long jump title on home soil was in doubt because of a coronavirus infection, returned to business as usual on the second morning of the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships on Tuesday (16), part of the wider multi-sport European Championships in the Bavarian capital.
Having raised the alarms with a first-round foul, Mihambo, the Olympic and two-time world champion, flew out to 6.99m, clapping her hands as she emerged from the pit after an effort that comfortably exceeded the qualifying mark of 6.75m.&nbsp;
&ldquo;In the first attempt, I had some technical problems - I missed the board and I was far from my mark so then I pushed it a bit forward and the jump was good,&rdquo; Mihambo said.&nbsp;
&ldquo;In the end, I was quite happy with the jump. I was sick for two weeks after the World Championships. I got COVID. It did not bother me too much - it was for five days but then I could not train properly for another eight days so it took some time. I am feeling quite good after it so I am looking forward to the final."&nbsp;
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The second best qualifier was Ukraine&rsquo;s multi-talented Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, silver medallist in Berlin four years ago and world silver medallist in 2019, who achieved a season&rsquo;s best of 6.87m.
Serbia&rsquo;s Milica Gardasevic, who failed to record a mark in qualifying at last month&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships, made no mistake today, securing her passage with an opening effort of 6.83m that equalled her personal best.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;After that non-lucky qualification at the Worlds, I am now feeling amazing.&rdquo; said Gardasevic, the 2017 European U20 champion.&ldquo;I expect to give my everything in the final. I am aware that I can jump far, even further than today so I hope I can accomplish it.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Great Britain&rsquo;s renowned championship performer Jazmin Sawyers, who earned European silver in 2016, moved through with 6.60m.&nbsp;
Gardasevic&rsquo;s most esteemed compatriot Ivana Vuleta who won this title in 2016 shortly before taking Olympic bronze, topped the second group. She qualified with 6.67m ahead of Italy&rsquo;s Larissa Iapichino (6.63m) and Khaddi Sagnia from Sweden (6.59m).
Ehammer in prime position for decathlon gold
Simon Ehammer leads this year&rsquo;s world lists in the long jump with 8.45m, and took world bronze in that event last month, but here he has been in pursuit of his first senior decathlon gold.
With only this evening&rsquo;s javelin and 1500m to come his chances look healthy, particularly after his pole vault personal best of 5.20m in his last event of the opening session.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/08853ca3-f34d-4e26-b0b9-086c40b3a7e5?width=5557&amp;height=3705" alt="Athletics - Day 6 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
The 22-year-old maintained his overnight lead as he produced the top performance in the opening 110m hurdles, clocking 13.75 to earn 1007 points to move to 5668 points, with Italy&rsquo;s Dario Dester second on 5245 and Estonia&rsquo;s Janek Oiglane third on 5133.&nbsp;
The moustachioed Adam Sebastian Helcelet of the Czech Republic maintained his competitiveness as he clocked the second fastest time of 14.36, ahead of Oiglane on 14.39 and Germany&rsquo;s Kai Kazmirek on 14.42.&nbsp;
As the only thrower in his group who had not achieved a 40 metre-throw, Ehammer was on the back foot in the discus, and he managed only 562 points from his effort of 34.92m, finishing 17th as Karel Tilga of Estonia produced the best effort of 49.91m.&nbsp;
Ehammer raised his game for the pole vault, earning 972 points that left him with an eight-event total of 7202 ahead of Italy&rsquo;s Dario Dester (6852 points) and Estonians Maicel Uibo (6788 points) and Janek Oiglane (6779 points).&nbsp;
But lurking just out of medal contention is Germany&rsquo;s Niklas Kaul who is currently seventh with 6682 points but still very capable of making a late charge for a medal - and maybe even a title - in the last two events.&nbsp;
The emotional high-point of the morning&rsquo;s decathlon competition, however, came when Germany&rsquo;s defending champion Arthur Abele, making his competitive farewell, effectively earned himself an individual showcase as he was allowed to re-run the 110m hurdles, from which he had been initially false-started, as time trial.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/c10fc29a-5145-4207-8d2c-1e925ee32f97?width=3440&amp;height=2293" alt="Athletics - Day 6 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
The 36-year-old, who holds the championship record of 13.55 from the Zurich 2014 edition, was cheered over every hurdle as he clocked 14.50, the eighth best time, to earn 911 points.&nbsp;
"This is the last decathlon for me, so it was special," Abele said. "I will always remember this. I wanted to do this decathlon with all the disciplines. So it was very emotional for me to end up like this. &nbsp;
"After the 110m hurdles, I was completely down. I said like, OK, this was it. But I stayed focused because I had all the ten things so I was cool. In front of the home crowd, it was very emotional today. I was like up and down, up and down and then down down down... It was tricky to race alone in front of all the people cheering for me but it was also unforgettable moment. &nbsp;
"The problem was that they told it to me after the first discus throw so that was very emotional. I though that I cannot race anymore. But it was cool and fun."
The sight of Abele making his way alone down the straight recalled the individual re-run that took place when the European Athletics Championships were last held in this stadium in 2002 when Irish 200m runner Paul Brizzel, running in the outside lane, had to duck as an overhead television camera impinged into his space.&nbsp;
After finishing last he appealed and was allowed to run against the clock to see if he could qualify as one of the four fastest losers. He failed by 0.15 of a second.&nbsp;
Carabana's selfless act in the 3000m steeplechase heats
The first of the men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase heats involved an example of sportsmanship that had echoes of the interaction at the Rio 2016 Olympics between Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand and Abbey D&rsquo;Agostino of the United States which earned both the IOC&rsquo;s Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship.&nbsp;
Denmark&rsquo;s European U20 cross country champion Axel Vang Christensen, contesting the lead, fell heavily over a barrier with three laps remaining and remained crumpled on the track until Andorra&rsquo;s back-marker Nahuel Carabana stopped to help him and move him away from the inside lanes before giving him a pat on the back and setting off to complete his own race.&nbsp;
Carabana instantly became the focus of the race, cheered to the echo on every subsequent lap for his sportsmanship and compassionate spirit.&nbsp;
Christensen, meanwhile, was attended to and left the arena on a stretcher.&nbsp;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1559487950278332417"]
The incident brought to mind what happened in the women&rsquo;s 5,000m heat where Hamblin and D&rsquo;Agostino collided early on, and the latter helped the former to her feet. When D&rsquo;Agostino went to ground again because of what turned out to be a torn ACL Hamblin returned the favour and the two made it to the line, where they embraced.&nbsp;
Italy&rsquo;s Osama Zoghlami won in 8:30.67 from home runner Karl Bebendorf on 8.31.67 and Norway&rsquo;s Tom Karbo on 8:32.22, and the second heat also went to Italy as Ahmed Abdelwahed clocked 8:30.92 ahead of Norway&rsquo;s Jacob Boutera on 8:31.03.&nbsp;
Bol barely breaks sweat in 400m semifinals
Femke Bol&rsquo;s hopes of achieving a 400m/400m hurdles double got off to a solid start as she qualified with ease for tomorrow&rsquo;s final by winning her semifinal in 50.60.&nbsp;
The 22-year-old Dutchwoman, who has won Olympic bronze and world silver at 400m hurdles in the space of the last year, will face strong opposition from Poles Natalia Kaczmarek and Anna Kielbasinska, fastest qualifiers in 50.40 and 50.45 respectively, and Great Britain&rsquo;s Victoria Ohuruogu, who ran a personal best of 50.50.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/97da02ce-3496-4fb3-b217-b6ab2ba83178?width=3838&amp;height=2559" alt="Athletics - Day 6 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Great Britain&rsquo;s defending men&rsquo;s 400m champion Matthew Hudson-Smith, who has already won world bronze and Commonwealth silver this season, looks on course to complete his medal set given the way in which he qualified for tomorrow&rsquo;s final.&nbsp;
Hudson-Smith led into the straight and shut down 30 metres from the line, clocking 44.98, with Switzerland&rsquo;s European U23 champion Ricky Petrucciani second in 45.55.&nbsp;
Fellow reigning champion Laura Muir, who added a Commonwealth gold to her collection earlier this month in Birmingham, qualified in imperious fashion for Thursday&rsquo;s final.&nbsp;
The Scot moved into the lead with two laps remaining, elongating the pack and remaining at the front all the way to the line, applying a touch on the accelerator in the final 50 metres as Italy&rsquo;s Ludovica Cavalli moved up to challenge.&nbsp;
Muir clocked 4:06.40, with Cavalli on 4:06.59, Sweden&rsquo;s Hanna Hermansson on 4:07.08, and home runner Katharina Trost, to much home satisfaction, earning the fourth automatic spot for Friday&rsquo;s final in 4:07.20.&nbsp;
Poland&rsquo;s silver medallist in Berlin four years ago, Sofia Ennaoui, overtook longtime leader Ciara Mageean in the final 50 metres to win the second semifinal in 4:02.73, with the Irish runner taking second place in a 4:03.03 ahead of Germany&rsquo;s Hanna Klein, who clocked 4:03.46, and Romania&rsquo;s Claudia Bobocea, who earned the last automatic place in 4:03.63. 
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Mihambo opens her title defence with 6.99m in long jump qualifying

For Antigoni Ntrismpioti, the Greek race walker who fits in her training around working as a waitress in her family&rsquo;s restaurant, a waiting game paid off with a breakthrough gold medal at the tender age of 38 in the women&rsquo;s 35km race walk at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the multi-sport European Championships.
For Spain&rsquo;s Miguel Angel Lopez, a long bid for home paid off with gold in the men&rsquo;s race as the former 20km world and European champion broke the challenge of favourite Perseus Karlstrom of Sweden, whose bronze medal exertions at 35km and 20km at the World Championships took an obvious toll as his brave challenge ground to a halt in gruelling heat as he bowed out with 10km to go.
In their contrasting ways, both victories were brilliantly executed victories in front of a sun-bathed crowd on the 17-and-a-half lap course in the heart of Munich old town, starting and finishing in Odeonsplatz.
It took Ntrismpioti until the 24km checkpoint - and almost two hours of toil - to pull decisively ahead of Spain&rsquo;s Raquel Gonzalez after the pair worked in tandem to catch and pass long-time leader Viktoria Madarasz of Hungary, who hung on for a richly-deserved bronze medal.
In the men&rsquo;s race, Lopez broke clear from the five kilometre mark, pouring the pressure on Karlstrom, who commendably battled on before exhaustion caught up with him after passing 25km.
To the delight of the home crowd, Germany&rsquo;s Christopher Linke worked his way through the field to take silver, his first international medal at the age of 33 &ndash; with just two weeks of training in the tank after being hit by coronavirus at the World Championships in Eugene. Matteo Giupponi of Italy claimed the bronze.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/8800a752-5e98-4d94-b990-8e0d769b991a?width=2750&amp;height=1833" alt="Athletics Race Walk - Day 6 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
At 38, Ntrismpioti nailed her first major championship medal &ndash; and a first for her country in race walking - three weeks after missing the podium by one place with fourth place in the 35km event in Eugene.
She had to bide her time after Madarasz &ndash; just a year younger, at 37 - tried to break the field from the off.&nbsp; The Hungarian reached the three kilometre mark in 14:37 with a lead of 16 seconds and still held an advantage of eleven seconds at 15km, with Ntrismpioti and Gonzalez plugging away in pursuit.
At 18 kilometres, the persistence of the chasing pair paid off as they drew level and overtook the tiring Madarasz.
Ntrismpioti was one cool customer in&nbsp; the heat, appearing to chat to a television cameraman getting a close up shot as she tried to break Gonzalez, who finished one place behind her, in fifth, at the World Championships.
&ldquo;I was actually talking to my husband, who was following the race on a scooter,&rdquo; she said later. I told him I was confident. I said, &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t worry. I have it.&rsquo;&rdquo;
The confidence was fully justified as Ntrismpioti pulled clear with 11 kilometres to go. She crossed the line, with bouzouki music ringing round Odeonsplatz, in 2:47:00.
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1559483298438684673"]
Gonzalez&nbsp; finished 2:10 in arrears in 2:49.10, with Madarasz taking bronze in 2:49:58,&nbsp; a lifetime best &ndash; ahead of Italy&rsquo;s Federica Curiazzi in fourth.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very happy to get my first major medal at 38,&rdquo; said Ntrismpioti. &ldquo;I worked really hard for it. I thought from the start of the race that I was going to win but I had to be patient with the pace.
&ldquo;The game was more with the Spanish girl than with the Hungarian who went out fast, but it came good for me in the end.&rdquo;
After an eight year wait, Lopez is crowned European champion again
In the men&rsquo;s race, it looked destined to come good for Lopez from a long way out.
The 34-year-old, the European champion at 20km in Zurich in 2015 and world champion in Beijing a year later, kept his powder dry in the opening stages as Miroslav Uradnik of the Slovak Republic blazed through the first kilometres in 14:07, opening a gap of seven seconds.
By the five kilometre mark, however, his advantage had disappeared as he settled back into the main group, with Lopez in the vanguard.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/b74d0b61-c707-4fa1-a04b-e1f868d25d62?width=3000&amp;height=1999" alt="Athletics Race Walk - Day 6 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
At that stage, with 23:05 on the clock, there were 15 men together but the Spaniard decided to make a kick, opening an eight seconds lead within two kilometres, with Karlstrom clear of the pack in attempted pursuit.
Lopez, however, kept his foot on the gas. Reaching 10km in 43:31, he had a 17-second gap on Karlstrom.
He kicked in again, trying to draw the sting out of Karlstrom, stretching his lead to 50 seconds and 1:32 at the 15km and 20km checkpoints respectively.
It was clear in the next two kilometres that the Swede was in distress. He slowed to everyday walking pace, stretched, and tried to kick-start but dropped back to fifth before finally stepping off the course with some assistance from the medics.
By the finish, Lopez had a comfort zone of 2:41. He could afford to slow, collect a Spanish flag in the home straight, and blow kisses to the crowd before crossing the line in 2:26:47.
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Linke claimed silver in 2:29:30 and Giupponi bronze in 2:32:31 &ndash; both personal bests &ndash; with Lopez&rsquo;s Spanish team-mate Manuel Bermudez in fourth.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Leading from the front on my own made it hard to keep the pace,&rdquo; said Lopez. &ldquo;It was a bit of a risk but it paid off. I felt strong and managed to maintain the pace throughout the race.&rdquo;
For Linke, having missed a 20km medal by one place in Zurich in 2014, the silver was a sweet consolation in his home country.
&ldquo;To get my first medal here in Germany is so special,&rdquo; said the Berliner. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe I have done it after Covid and just two weeks of training.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t finish in the 20km in Eugene and tested positive before the 35km race. I had ten days with no training - and then this! It&rsquo;s crazy. But sometimes when you are free in your head, you can walk easier.&rdquo;
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Ntrismpioti clinches breakthrough 35km race walk gold at the age of 38

There were historic shot put golds for Jessica Schilder from the Netherlands and Croatia&rsquo;s Filip Mihaljevic on the opening day evening session inside the grand Olympic Stadium at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, which run from 15-21 August as part of the multi-sport European Championships.
Having made a big breakthrough at global level with bronze medals at the world indoor and outdoor championships this year, Schilder found a Midas touch at continental level, her eleventh national record of the year &ndash; 20.25m &ndash; taking the 23-year-old to the European outdoor title ahead of world indoor and outdoor champion Auriol Dongmo.
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The pre-event favourite from Portugal had to settle for silver with 19.82m on a night of double Dutch medal celebration, Schilder&rsquo;s team-mate Jorinde van Klinken claiming bronze with 18.94m.
They were the first ever medals in the women&rsquo;s shot for the Netherlands, and Portugal, and Mihaljevic&rsquo;s success in the men&rsquo;s final was the first for his country in that event.
Unlike Schilder, who led from the opening round, the 28-year-old Croatian had to claw his way up from fifth to first, taking the lead in round three and finishing in style by equalling his lifetime best of 21.88m in the final round.
Seven-time Serbian champion Armin Sinancevic took silver with 21.53m and European indoor champion Tomas Stanek of the Czech Republic bronze with 21.26m.
In the women&rsquo;s final, Schilder threw down the gauntlet in round one, the 23-year-old&rsquo;s 19.47m leading the way from Dongmo&rsquo;s 19.29m.
She followed up in the second round by joining the 20-metre club, her 20.24m European lead improving her Dutch record of 19.84m she set in Chorzow on 6 August.
Dongmo responded with 19.82m, a Portuguese outdoor record, with Van Klinken moving up into third with 18.94m &ndash; just two hours after competing in the discus qualifying round.&nbsp;
The top three remained unchanged - Sweden&rsquo;s Fanny Roos moving up into fourth with a final round effort of 18.55m &ndash; ahead of German champion Sara Gambetta, who finished fifth with 18.48m.
&ldquo;This is really like a dream,&rdquo; said Schilder. &ldquo;I did not expect this to happen at the end of the season. I did not expect it tonight because the qualification in the morning did not go so well.&rdquo;
Schilder had been second best in morning qualifying with 18.60m, behind Dongmo&rsquo;s 19.32m.
&ldquo;I just needed a little more, an extra push, and it happened,&rdquo; she continued. &ldquo;I am especially happy for Jorinde, as she did a great job. I am so excited to share the podium with her.&rdquo;
Having fouled her first two attempts in the discus qualifying competition, van Klinken did well to steady her nerve for a successful third throw and maintain her composure through to the shot final.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I knew it was going to be an extremely tough day for me. I could not ask for more.&rdquo;
In the men&rsquo;s final, Sinancevic led the way with 21.07m in round one but found himself down in third place at the halfway stage.
Mihaljevic, the 2021 European indoor bronze medallist, stepped up from fifth to second to first, improving from 20,37m to 21.05m to 21.27m.
Stanek moved into second place with 21.26m, leaving just three centimetres between the top three after three rounds.
In round four Mihaljevic extended his lead to 21.53m, then Sinacevic took second spot with 21.39m in the penultimate round.
The Serbian dug deep with his last effort but his 21.32m was not enough to unseat Mihaljevic, who celebrated with a 35 centimetre improvement to 21.88m.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/7129379c-8a3d-4ee3-9b7f-a989401aafd0?width=4093&amp;height=2728" alt="Athletics - Day 5 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
&ldquo;I have been working hard all year and it paid off,&rdquo; said the mountainous Mihaljevic, whose father Mirko &ndash; presumably of a more slender build &ndash; won the Yugoslav cross country title in 1987 and 1988. "It was a tough competition, and very emotional. It was a tactical event, mentally and my mind was strong."
Sinancevic concurred. &ldquo;It was a great battle. I gave it my absolute everything.&rdquo;
It was such a good battle that the Poles who finished first and second in Berlin four years ago, Michal Haratyk and Konrad Bukowiecki could only finish fifth and sixth respectively, throwing 20.90m and 20.74m.
Ehammer embellishes day one decathlon lead
At the halfway stage in the decathlon, Simon Ehammer holds a commanding lead of 334 points and is marginally ahead of schedule to break the Swiss record he set at the Hypo Meeting in Gotzis in May.
At the Austrian event, the world indoor heptathlon silver medallist had 4636 points at the end of day one and proceeded to rack up 8377. In Munich he starts day two with 4661 after a trailblazing opening day in which world champion and world record-holder Kevin Mayer sadly failed to stay the course.
The Frenchman withdrew after the opening event, the 100m, citing post-Eugene fatigue and an adductor problem. Ehammer won that race, clocking 10.56, and followed up by uncorking a 8.31m long jump that erased Daley Thompson&rsquo;s 1978 championship decathlon best of 7.93m.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/d91aee15-2045-4e39-ba2b-627a84245d21?width=4686&amp;height=3124" alt="Athletics - Day 5 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
The 22-year-old, who was rewarded with a bronze medal for concentrating on the long jump at the World Championships, finished the morning with 14.24m in the shot and maintained his momentum in the evening, matching his lifetime best with a second time clearance at 2.05m in the high jump and then sailing over 2.08m at the third attempt.
Then came a flying finish to the day as Ehammer charged to victory in the 400m in 47.40. His closest pursuer, on 4327 points, is Italy&rsquo;s Dario Dester. Norwegian champion Sander Skotheim lies third with 4324.
Perkovic one step closer to sixth European discus title
Already the only athlete to have won five titles in any individual event, Sandra Perkovic will have the chance to match Marita Koch&rsquo;s record haul of six gold medals - three from the 400m, three from the 4x400m relay - in the final of the women&rsquo;s discus on Tuesday evening.
The 32-year-old Olympic champion, a one-time Croatian member of parliament and silver medal winner in Eugene, topped the list from Qualifying Group A with a third round mark of 65.94m.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/71048cde-ba67-42b2-92a5-35c8972980a9?width=5554&amp;height=3705" alt="Athletics - Day 5 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
&ldquo;I needed to find a final good throw,&rdquo; said Perkovic, who opened with 62.67m and fouled in the second round. &ldquo;My life depends on this.
&ldquo;The European Championships is always very special to me, because my first major medal was a European gold medal - in Barcelona in 2010. I am not that old, but I have so many medals. This is the reason why I keep pushing myself.
&ldquo;I am proud to be the number one in Europe and to represent Europe around the world. They all know who the discus girl is, and I think I want to stay in this position for a long time.&rdquo;
World and Olympic champion Pedro Pichardo was top qualifier in the men's triple jump, the Cuban-born Portuguese athlete jumping 17.36m. Italy's Emmanuel Ihemeje was next best with 17.20m.
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Schilder and Mihaljevic win historic shot put titles in Munich

Turkey&rsquo;s Yasemin Can, who completed a 5000/10,000m double at the 2016 European Championships, recaptured the longer title at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships on Monday (15) after breaking decisively clear with seven laps remaining of a race where Great Britain&rsquo;s Eilish McColgan added silver to Commonwealth 10,000m gold she collected earlier this month in Birmingham.&nbsp;
Can, 25, finished in 30:32.57 at these championships which are part of the wider multi-sport European Championships, with McColgan coming home in 30:41.05 after running stride-for-stride with Israel&rsquo;s defending champion Lonah Chemtai Salpeter for almost seven laps before moving clear with 200 metres remaining.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/2bfd05c3-56d5-4eee-b0c3-1c7bd24c4190?width=5797&amp;height=3864" alt="Athletics - Day 5 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Coming off a bronze medal in the marathon at the World Athletics Championships, Salpeter took bronze in an Israeli record of 30:46.37, lying prostrate after her efforts, with home runner Konstanze Klosterhalfen finishing fourth in 31:05.21, one place ahead of Israel&rsquo;s Selamawit Teferi - whose husband Maru Teferi had won men&rsquo;s marathon silver for Israel earlier in the day.&nbsp;
As is her wont, McColgan had pushed through to the front of the race to make it honest, her ponytail swishing, turning the pack swiftly into a ribbon of runners.&nbsp;With 20 laps to go, only four others were in touch with her - Can, Klosterhalfen, her fellow Briton Jessica Judd and Salpeter.&nbsp;
Four laps later Judd began to lose touch, and the four drove onwards, lapping again and again like coupled wagons, more than 100 metres clear of their nearest opposition.&nbsp;
McColgan, buoyed by her Commonwealth successes, looked strong and relentless, leaning into the task &ndash; but she wasn&rsquo;t shaking any of her three challengers off as the clock ticked down. Something, some time, had to give.&nbsp;
And with seven laps to go it did, as Can accelerated to the front and swiftly established a 15 metres lead which had grown 30 metres with six laps to go.&nbsp;
Klosterhalfen dropped back, with McColgan and Salpeter setting themselves up for the silver battle.
But Can was away and clear and won her second gold medal at this distance by almost the entire length of the home straight. And she will seek to make it another long distance 'double double' later in the championships in the 5000m.&nbsp;
"It is a very important result for me also because I did not start at the World Athletics Championships so I feel hungry for competing. I want to try the double and to run the 5000m as well," said Can.
On her bold, brave but ultimately successful surge with seven laps remaining, Can commented: "At 3000m, I was starting the kick. I was a bit worried they will get over me but I had a good feeling and I managed it. This year is really good for me. We will see what is coming up for me."
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/b16a3e6e-583e-4b59-adc2-d9be29436256?width=4967&amp;height=3311" alt="Athletics - Day 5 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Can is due to cross paths with McColgan in the 5000m later in the championships but the Brit admitted she was tired from her exertions at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon and Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where she contested both the 5000m and 10,000m.&nbsp;
"One of the toughest things has been gearing yourself up for more championships. We had such a high, and a lot of lack of sleep, so many emotions after that race [in Birmingham], the late night racing, and a whole lot of media which I am not really used to - 7am to 2pm on your feet - then, doing it all again for the 5K at the Commonwealth Games. To come here again, and try the whole emotions again it was probably a big ask to win a medal, but I did it.
"Deep down, I would have liked to be European Champion, I have silver already, but I gave it my best, so I can walk off the track saying that I am proud of that," said McColgan.
One race down, two to go for reigning champion Ingebrigtsen
Norway&rsquo;s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, starting his defence of the 1500m title he won along with the 5000m version at the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships, made a thoroughly professional job of winning the first heat ahead of Thursday&rsquo;s final.&nbsp;
The 21-year-old Olympic 1500m champion &ndash; and world 5000m champion - began very deliberately at the back of the group, keen to avoid any possible early trouble, and with two laps to go he had moved up by one place as Britain&rsquo;s Jake Heyward, ninth in the Tokyo 2020 final, set the pace at the front.&nbsp;
At the bell there was some bumping and jostling but Ingebrigtsen, who will also contest tomorrow night's 5000m final, came around the final bend he drifted to the front like a natural force, acknowledging his win 30 metres from the line before crossing with a pumped fist in 3:38.48.&nbsp;
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/ChSoxTsr9w-"]
He was followed home by Belgium&rsquo;s Ismael Debjani in 3:38.96, and Spanish athletes Ignacio Fontes in 3:39.00 and Gonzalo Garcia in 3:39.20.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Heyward finished one place outside the four automatic qualifying spots in 3:39.30 and faced an anxious wait.&nbsp;
The second heat was won in style by Poland&rsquo;s Michal Rozmys, eighth in the Tokyo 2020 final, who made a decisive move around the final bend and came home well clear to win in 3:37.36. He will carry Poland&rsquo;s middle distance hopes in the absence of the now-retired Poles Marcin Lewandowski and Adam Kszczot.&nbsp;
Also through in the automatic qualifying places were Italy&rsquo;s Pietro Arese in 3:37.95, Spain&rsquo;s Mario Garcia in 3:38.04 and Britain&rsquo;s Neil Gourley in 3:38.07.&nbsp;
The next three home earned minor qualification slots &ndash; Britain&rsquo;s Matthew Stonier in 3:38.37, Azeddine Habz of France in 3:38.47 and Ireland&rsquo;s Andrew Coscoran in 3:38.74.&nbsp; And the good news for Heyward, who squeezed through as the last time qualifier.
Davide Re of Italy was &ndash; just - the fastest qualifier for tomorrow&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s 400m semifinals, winning his heat by seven thousandths of a second from Switzerland&rsquo;s Ricky Petrucciani as both recorded 45.26.&nbsp;
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Top 12-ranked European athletes in events between 100 and 400m, including the sprint and 400m hurdles, are given a bye into the semifinals which means Great Britain&rsquo;s defending champion Matthew Hudson-Smith will enter the calculations at that point along with Femke Bol, Natalia Kaczmarek among others in the women&rsquo;s equivalent.
Pavel Maslak of the Czech Republic, who won gold in this event in Helsinki 10 years ago and has since secured three world indoor titles, moved through to the semifinals as a minor qualifier thanks to his season&rsquo;s best of 45.92 in the fourth and final heat.&nbsp;
In the first round of women&rsquo;s 400m racing Poland&rsquo;s relay stalwart Iga Baumgart-Witan was fastest qualifier in 51.09, from France&rsquo;s Amandine Brossier, who clocked 51.26, and Britain&rsquo;s Laviai Nielsen, who finished in 51.60.&nbsp;
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Former champion Can regains her 10,000m title with masterful surge in Munich

Already leading the way in the decathlon after world champion Kevin Mayer dramatically bowed out after the opening event, Simon Ehammer proceeded to put the hammer down with a monster championship best long jump of 8.31m on the opening morning (15) of action at the 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the multi-sport European Championships.
Fatigued after the exertions of regaining the world title in Eugene three weeks ago and wary of worsening an adductor problem, Mayer slowed to a jog in the third and final 100m, crossing the line in 11.67, before announcing his withdrawal from the competition.
As the Frenchman was making his exit, giving a farewell wave to the Olympic Stadium crowd, Ehammer bagged 961 points as winner of the race in 10.56 (+0.7).
Returning to decathlon after taking bronze in the long jump in Eugene, the 22-year-old Swiss athlete followed up with his superlative 8.31m leap into a headwind of 1.0 for good measure.
The previous best decathlon performance in the championship dated back to 1978 when Great Britain&rsquo;s two-time champion Daley Thompson jumped 7.93m in Prague.
Ehammer&rsquo;s mighty effort was just 14 centimetres down on the decathlon world best, and outright 2022 world lead, he set en route to third place in the Hypo Meeting across the Austrian border at Gotzis in May.
All of which left the world indoor heptathlon silver medallist 274 points clear of the field with 2102 after the opening two events. At that stage, Italy&rsquo;s Dario Dester was lying second with 1828 after clocking 10.81 in the 100m and a 7.46m (+0.3) long jump.
The morning session closed with the third event, the shot put, and Dester closed the gap to 246 points with a personal best of 14.56m.
Ehammer threw 14.24m, taking his points tally to 2845, with Dester on 2591 and Poland&rsquo;s European indoor bronze medallist lying third with 2563.&nbsp;
Former world champion Niklas Kaul was down in eleventh with 2447 albeit with some very strong events to follow with fellow Germans Kai Kazmirek, the 2017 world bronze medallist, 12th on 2435 and defending champion Arthur Abele, tackling his final decathlon at the age of 36, down in 16th with 2417.
Sadly, Mayer will have to wait another two years for a shot at a title that has eluded him thus far in his illustrious career.
The world record-holder and two-time world champion took silver in Zurich in 2014 but fouled out in the long jump in Berlin in 2018, a performance which spurred Mayer on to break the world record in Talence the following month.&nbsp;
In Munich his challenge came to grief in the opening event. Mayer was struggling to keep pace with Ehammer and the rest of his rivals in his 100m heat before slowing to a jog and crossing the line seventh and last in 11.67.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/a60dd050-8f5e-4bcf-a471-96a9b608bf4b?width=4725&amp;height=3346" alt="Athletics - Day 5 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
A pained expression on his face, he sat on the track clutching his left leg before waving farewell to the crowd as he exited the arena.
Attempting to mount another gold medal challenge so soon after his winning performance at the World Championships in Eugene had been too much.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really hard to do two decathlons in three weeks,&rdquo; said Mayer. &ldquo;I did everything I could to be competitive again but I stopped before the injury happened. I could feel it growing and growing.
&ldquo;I gave a lot to become the world champion in Eugene. I didn&rsquo;t expect to win there. It was a bonus and it gave me the chance to come here and be competitive. I took my shot. I didn&rsquo;t want to miss it but even before Eugene I had a little strain in my leg.
&ldquo;I just didn&rsquo;t want to injure myself for next year. Now I just need to recover and go on vacation with my family. I will come back stronger next year. Maybe the indoor season will be my next target.&rdquo;
Serbia's Sinancevic leads men&rsquo;s shot put qualifying
The next target for Tomas Stanek and Armin Sinancevic will be shot put gold in the opening day&rsquo;s evening session after the pair emerged as the only men to nail automatic qualifying mark of 21.15m.
Stanek, the reigning European indoor champion from Czech Republic, opened with a throw of 21.39m and Sinacevic was the only one of his rivals who managed to go even further.
Seventh in last year&rsquo;s Olympic Games, Sinancevic opened with a foul but made no mistake with his second effort, putting the shot out to 21.82m to top the qualifying list for the final.
Third and fourth best from the two groups were the Poles who took silver and gold at the last edition of the championships in Berlin four years ago: Konrad Bukowiecki throwing 20.96m and defending champion Michal Haratyk 20.85m.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve gained some self-confidence from throwing personal bests in training,&rdquo; said Stanek. &ldquo;The key thing in the final will be to stay calm and focused.&rdquo;
The leading qualifier for the women&rsquo;s shot final, which also takes place on the day one evening schedule, was pre-event favourite Auriol Dongmo of Portugal.
The 32-year-old reigning world and European indoor champion was the only woman over the 19m line, with 19.32m.
Just three other throwers bettered the automatic qualifying distance of 18.60m: world indoor and outdoor bronze medallist Jessica Schilder (18.95m), her Dutch teammate Jorinde van Klinken (18.62m) and Germany&rsquo;s Katherina Maisch (19.65m).
Mayer was not the only leading light to struggle on the opening morning in the stadium which staged the 1972 Olympic Games.
In the qualifying round of the women&rsquo;s pole vault, former Olympic and world champion Aikaterini Stefanidi&nbsp; registered two failures at 4.40m &ndash; 45cm lower than the championship record she set in Berlin in 2018 &ndash; before successfully negotiating her opening height.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/8f2f0e24-75c4-46f3-bb3b-5ee7a9e39c99?width=5574&amp;height=3716" alt="Athletics - Day 5 - European Championships Munich 2022" />
Not a fan of competing early in the morning, the 32-year-old Greek vaulter went on to secure her place in the final, and a shot at a third successive title, with a first time success at 4.50m. Only two other women managed that height at the first attempt: Slovenia&rsquo;s Tina Sutej and Lina Retzius of Norway.
Stefanidi&rsquo;s teammate Militadis Tentoglou was unable to reach the automatic qualifying distance of 8.05m in the men&rsquo;s long jump but the defending champion comfortably secured his passage with a leap of 7.94m (+0.4).
That proved to be the second best qualifying mark behind the 8.06m (-1.4) of Sweden&rsquo;s world indoor silver medallist Thobias Montler, also the silver medallist behind Tentoglou at the last two editions of the European Athletics Indoor Championships.
The top 12 ranked performers based on season&rsquo;s bests in the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 100m were all given byes from the first round heats. Fastest qualifier in the men&rsquo;s section was Israel Olatunde, whose 10.19 PB (+0.1) was just 0.01 outside the Irish record Paul Hession cocked at the European Cup First League A meeting in Vaasa in 2007.
Belgium&rsquo;s Delphine Nkansa topped the women&rsquo;s qualifiers with 11.33 (-0.7).
Full results <a title="" href="https://munich22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Ehammer in early command of the decathlon after 8.31m long jump

A pained expression temporarily flashed on to the face of Karsten Warholm when the Olympic 400m hurdles champion was asked whether he had any advice for Femke Bol as she prepared to embrace the challenge of the 400m flat and hurdles at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships.
&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t remind me!&rdquo; exclaimed Warholm, casting his mind back to the last European Athletics Championships in Berlin four years ago at the press conference on the eve of the athletics programme in Munich.
Back in 2018, the great Norwegian attempted the same one lap double. He finished doubled up in a state of exhaustion, placing eighth in the 400m final after flying to an emphatic victory over the 400m hurdles in a European U23 record of 47.64.
"It&rsquo;s the same double I attempted and I love that she&rsquo;s doing it," Warholm continued, shifting from painful personal memory to moral support for the Dutch athlete sitting alongside him.
&ldquo;I think she can pull it off. You need to be very fit, and she is right now. The schedule is very good, so that will help. I hope she can do it.&rdquo;
Turning to Bol, he concluded: &ldquo;I wish you good luck&hellip;You&rsquo;re going to need it!&rdquo;
Bol gave a quiet smile in acknowledgement.
Unlike Warholm, who is still on the way back to full fitness following the hamstring tear that rudely interrupted his season in June, the 22-year-old from Amersfoort is approaching her twin challenge in the form of her life.
Having smashed the world 300m hurdles best in Ostrava in May and taken world 400m hurdles silver in the wake of Sydney McLaughlin&rsquo;s stunning 50.68 world record in Eugene last month, Bol broke through the 50 second-barrier for the 400m with a Dutch record of 49.75 in Chorzow on 6 August.
"I&rsquo;m pretty excited," said Bol, who won the European indoor 400m title in Torun last year, before taking Olympic 400m hurdles bronze in Tokyo. "It&rsquo;s quite a challenge, but I feel good so I can really push for it and try to do it.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/8bbcc950-1196-47de-8039-92a4da63f42d?width=2072&amp;height=1381" alt="Press Conf Femke Boll A97 A5114" />
"I think the timetable will help, with the 400m flat first. It&rsquo;s a closer event in terms of PBs and it&rsquo;s a harder event for me at the moment.
"I&rsquo;m used to the rhythm of the 400m hurdles, with the barriers to guide me. In the flat 400m I have to feel how I am going to run. Going out of my comfort zone to do that event first and then returning to the 400m hurdles is the best way round for me."
The semifinal and final of the 400m are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. Meanwhile, the 400m hurdles semifinals follow on Thursday and Friday before Bol turns her duties to the 4x400m relay in which the Netherlands has a strong chance of winning a medal.
Reigning champion Warholm back in full training after injury-ravaged season
Warholm has to wait until Thursday afternoon before tackling the semifinals of the 400m hurdles &ndash; the event he took to a new dimension with his 45.94 world record at the Tokyo Olympics twelve months ago.
It is a credit to the former multi-eventer that he managed to reach the final at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, finishing seventh, after suffering his fateful hamstring tear while negotiating the first hurdle in his opening race of the season at the Rabat Diamond League meeting in June.
"It&rsquo;s the law of nature," Warholm said, musing on the turn of his fate in 2022. &ldquo;What goes up must come down. That&rsquo;s where I&rsquo;m at.&nbsp; But I&rsquo;m still hoping to bounce back.
"It&rsquo;s been a tough journey this season but I&rsquo;ve been getting in some good work since Eugene and I&rsquo;m looking forward to running here. I would say my fitness is better now because I&rsquo;ve been able to do some of the fitness training that I wasn&rsquo;t able to do before Eugene.
"The season hasn&rsquo;t gone the way that I planned, because of the injury, but I feel good about these championships. I will do everything I can to come home happy."
The 2021 European Athlete of the Year is certainly in a happier place than he was the last time he was in Munich, having travelled to the Bavarian capital for treatment and rehabilitation after suffering his injury.
&ldquo;For a long time when I was here, getting to the World Championships was a 50-50 thing,&rdquo; he confessed. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know if I would be able to run there.
&ldquo;All my training before Eugene was done here. I think the most I did was jogging at 5km an hour pace. Since then, I&rsquo;ve actually been able to do the work that I used to do with no pain, so that&rsquo;s good."
For that happy state of affairs, Warholm thanks the man known as &lsquo;Healing Hans.&rsquo;
He came to Munich to be treated by Dr Hans-Wilhelm M&uuml;ller-Wohlfahrt, the celebrated German physical therapist whose client list has included Usain Bolt, Michael Jordan, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luciano Pavarotti and Bono. 
"I&rsquo;ve invited him here as my guest on Friday," said Warholm.
As the long-time doctor-cum-physiotherapist to the Bayern Munich and German national football squads, Muller-Wohlfahrt is more than familiar with the Olympiastadion.
Warholm is also relishing the prospect of competing for the first-time in the arena where Uganda&rsquo;s John Akii-Bua blazed to a 47.82 world record in the 400m hurdles final at the 1972 Olympic Games.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen that race many times on YouTube,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s also an excellent documentary about John Akii-Bua.
&ldquo;It was a special race and, coming here and seeing the stadium, it&rsquo;s a very special venue. I&rsquo;m really looking forward to running here.&rdquo;
In Dutch sport, Munich&rsquo;s Olympic Stadium holds mixed memories: as the venue where the great &lsquo;totaalvoetbal&rsquo; side inspired by Johan Cruyff reached the 1974 football World Cup final - and were beaten 2-1 by the West German hosts.
For Bol, the historical inspiration will be attempting to follow in the footsteps of another all-time sporting great from the Netherlands.
At the 1950 European Championships in Brussels, Fanny Blankes-Koen attempted a hurdles and flat combination, winning the 100m, 200m and 80m hurdles, winning all three - and claiming a silver in the 4x100m relay for good measure.
"She is one of the greatest athletes in the Netherlands&rsquo; history, and we have our FBK Games in Hengelo named after her,&rdquo; said Bol.
"The 400m and the 400m hurdles is a hard double. I&rsquo;m not sure if I will do it any more in my life, but I have the chance to do it right now&hellip;"

Reigning champion Warholm backs Bol to complete 400m/400m hurdles double in Munich

Great Britain&rsquo;s newly established world 1500m champion Jake Wightman is &ldquo;excited&rdquo; to be running the 800m at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships, which start tomorrow (15) &ndash; and said the pre-event press conference he plans to double up at next year&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships in Budapest.&nbsp;
Wightman won 1500m bronze for Scotland last Saturday at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham but reflected: "My Commonwealth Games experience was the least enjoyable Championships I&rsquo;ve ever had, because I had to come back physically and mentally from what happened in Eugene.&nbsp;
"But coming here and doing an 800m is something I&rsquo;m excited to do. I hope I can still do all right because I&rsquo;ve never really had a chance to run an 800m at a championship before and I want to show I can be competitive over this distance as well as at 1500m.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;If I was to do the 1500m here I wouldn&rsquo;t have come. The 800m to me is like a real refresh.&nbsp;
"Even in March when we were planning my season out it was always going to be tough to do 1500m at the worlds, Commonwealths and Europeans, but of all the ones where I&rsquo;d rather do an 800m, this is it."
Wightman, who surprisingly beat Norway&rsquo;s Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen to the world 1500m title in Eugene, has an 800m best of 1:44.18, run in Ostrava two years ago.&nbsp;
He added: "At the Commonwealth Games it was important to me to win something for Scotland. The way it&rsquo;s turned out it looks like I&rsquo;m trying to duck doing the 1500m [in Munich] but I want to do the 800m because I still want to be known as an 800m runner as well as a 1500m runner.&nbsp;
"I rarely get the opportunity to run at 800m because Britain is so strong in the event, and I can&rsquo;t really miss the trials in the 1500m to do the 800m.&nbsp;&nbsp;
"Next year I get a wildcard to go to the World Athletics Championships next year to do the 1500m, so I&rsquo;d love to see if I can get into the 800m trials next year. I&rsquo;ve always wanted to add the 800m to the 1500m, but the way my championships go I have to do the 1500m there and that is always the priority.&nbsp;&nbsp;
"But I feel I&rsquo;ve already run a respectable time over the 800m and my aim for the season is to run another good time and hopefully try and medal. We&rsquo;ve had a pretty long-standing Scottish record over 800m; Tom McKean ran 1:43.88&nbsp; And I think I have the ability to hopefully do that at some point and that would be a nice way to round off my season.&nbsp;
"I see myself as a middle distance athlete rather than just a 1500m athlete, the same way that some athletes like Jakob are 1500m and 5000m guys."
Meanwhile Wightman&rsquo;s father Geoff, who represented Britain in the marathon at the 1990 European Athletics Championships in Split, will be concentrating on his duties as his son&rsquo;s coach rather than providing stadium commentary as he did at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene and at the Commonwealth Games.&nbsp;
"My dad&rsquo;s not doing the stadium announcing so he&rsquo;s actually my coach here." Wightman said with a grin. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if that will get on my nerves or not because I&rsquo;ve never had it. I&rsquo;m going to see him around the hotel, a lot more than I&rsquo;m used to, so I don&rsquo;t know how that will be for me. I hope it will be good!"
Asked about the comment made by Ingebrigtsen to the effect that he had been beaten to the world 1500m title by a lesser athlete, Wightman responded with a smile and a shrug.&nbsp;
"It wasn&rsquo;t the nicest thing to say, I don't think. In that moment I couldn&rsquo;t care less. I&rsquo;d won the World Championships, so if he thinks I&rsquo;m a worse athlete then I probably am throughout the year. For the rest of the season I might be a worse athlete &ndash; but on that one evening I wasn&rsquo;t the worst."
Sitting one place to his left was an athlete on the brink of a historic achievement. Sandra Perkovic of Croatia has already won five successive European discus titles and if she can add another she will become the athlete with the most European medals at one event &ndash; male or female.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/a167f5a6-4f7c-4ad2-8c46-594fbe3c0c63?width=2072&amp;height=1381" alt="Press Conf Sandra Perkovic A97 A4985" />
She currently shares the mark of five with Poland&rsquo;s Olympic hammer throw champion Anita Wlodarcyzyk and Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, who won five long jump medals for the Soviet Union between 1958 and 1971. A sixth gold medal would also tie Marita Koch who won six gold medals in the 400m and 4x400m relay between 1978 and 1986.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I have won the European title five times. I know the Germans are very strong &ndash; I need to beat them so I can achieve six golds. Competing in the Olympic stadium is always special. It&rsquo;s nice to change the stadium &ndash; but the medals are the same! I hope the crowd will help me achieve my goals and I think I can give them more than they will expect,&rdquo; said Perkovic who arrives fresh from winning silver in Oregon.
Meanwhile two home heptathletes are looking forward keenly to performing at the top level on home soil.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Competing in front of a home crowd is always very special,&rdquo; said Caroline Schafer, who won world silver in 2017 and added European bronze a year later. &ldquo;I had this experience at the last Championships in Berlin and it is still one of my favourite memories, so I can&rsquo;t wait to compete and have the crowd and my friends and family supporting me.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I chose not to compete at the World Championships in Eugene, although I followed the girls and the results were really impressive. Now we are in Munich, in my home country &ndash; let&rsquo;s see what&rsquo;s going to happen&nbsp;
Sophie Weissenberg, silver medallist in the 2016 world U20 long jump and 2019 European U23 heptathlon, reflected on her recent competition in Eugene. "The first days back were difficult because of jet lag and the fact that I was processing the whole competition. But I had planned some day off and I got back into training on August 11.&nbsp;
"It will be something very special to compete in a championship in front of a home crowd &ndash; that is something I have always wanted to have in my career."

Wightman: "I want to show I can be competitive over 800m as well as at 1500m"

The Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships take place from 15-21 August and are part of the wider multi-sport European Championships in the Bavarian capital from 11-21 August.
The European Athletics Championships will be streamed live thanks to our worldwide Broadcast Partner EBU/Eurovision Sport. &nbsp; Complementing the television exposure, the All-Athletics platform offers not only the integrated feed, but every second of action of all disciplines that are part of the European Athletics Championships programme. &nbsp; <a title="" href="https://athletics.eurovisionsports.tv/championships/ea-munich-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Follow on All Athletics.</a>&nbsp;
To discover where coverage may be in your country, please check the table below
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Editorial service &nbsp; Events previews and daily reports will be available on the European Athletics website. &nbsp; European Athletics Radio &ndash; LIVE RADIO &nbsp; For the first time European Athletics and Eurovision Sport will provide audio signal from the European Athletics Championships which will be available on the European Athletics website.
<a title="Register" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/why-register" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sign in</a> to listen to live radio coverage and get that championship atmosphere including full details of live results. &nbsp; &nbsp; Live Blog &nbsp; Follow the overview of the current session and do not miss anything from the seven days of competition in Munich. To make sure that you can follow the live blog please <a title="Register" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/why-register" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sign in</a> in advance.
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The official hashtags for the championships are #Munich2022 #BackToTheRoofs.

How to follow and where to watch Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships

How to follow Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships

How to follow the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships

More than a hundred of Europe&rsquo;s most talented future administrators and organisers are set to gather at this year&rsquo;s Young Leaders Forum that will be held during the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 17-21 August.
The aim, as always at the biennial event which celebrates its eight edition in 2022, is for the participants to share ideas and try to find solutions to contemporary issues, as well as learn from other countries and, this year, other sports. As has happened in the past, it is hoped that the participants will be energised and take with them their experiences back to their home countries and implement in a practical and real life context some of the ideas and knowledge they have acquired.
For the first time, the Forum will be open also for young leaders of other sports with representative from the other eight sports that make up the multi-sport European Championships in the Bavarian capital, joining the Forum workshops and seminars for the final two days.
European Athletics is the only sport that has a young leaders&rsquo; network and, as well as being a trailblazer and example for other sports to follow, wants to help create a community of future leaders and opinion formers across the broader sporting spectrum on the continent.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/6d163c9b-545e-4111-a9d2-e4e9432abf20?width=5223&amp;height=3482" alt="Image00005" />
The German financial services giant Allianz has recently agreed to become a partner of the Forum, which will now be called &lsquo;Young Leaders Forum meets Allianz&rsquo;.
On Day 3 of the Forum, participants will have two hackathon sessions &ndash; In which large groups will engage in collaborative exercises &ndash; with the Allianz Team and a welcome dinner will thenl be held at the Allianz Arena, home of the famous German football club Bayern Munich.
The day before, the futuristic BMW Doppelkegel venue will host the opening ceremony and during the evening European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov, Olympiapark Munchen GMBH CEO Marion Schoene, CEO of the Olympic Park and a representative of BMW will talk to the assembled young leaders.
High-quality speakers and high-profile presenters will deliver workshops with World Athletics President Sebastian Coe having what has now become a Young Leaders Forum tradition, a Q&amp;A session about the future of athletics in which participants will also be able to ask questions.
The participants discuss topics such as event organising of the future, sustainability in sport, and building the leaders of the future.
In addition, there will also be roundtable discussions about the strengths and weaknesses of our sport with former world and European medallists Hannah England, Periklis Iakovakis and Paula Radcliffe.
Case studies will include the European Olympic Committee Sports Director Peter Br&uuml;ll talking about the European Games and European Championships Management Event Director Colin Hartley presenting a detailed overview of the multi-sport European Championships.
European Athletics Council member Karin Grute Movie and safe sport expert, and founder of the safeguarding consulting firm En Garde, Mathilde Grenet will share what European Athletics is doing with regards to safeguarding in our sport and in particular athletics, talk about how European Athletics has made this a policy priority and look at its new safeguarding guidelines and how to prevent various forms of abuse in sport.

2022 Young Leaders Forum to show the way for other sports

The presence on the final entry-list of the Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs adds a huge and intriguing element to the sprints at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships.
The 27-year-old Italian was a surprise winner at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in a European record of 9.80, although his win over 60m at the European Athletics Indoor Championships earlier in the year indicated his rising potential having started his career primarily as a long jumper.&nbsp;
In March this year he beat the defending world indoor champion Christian Coleman to the world indoor 60m title in Belgrade but Jacobs&rsquo; outdoor season has been undermined so far by illness and muscle problems which forced him to scratch from the semifinals at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.
It will be a huge feature of the Munich 2022 athletics programme if he can toe the line in the 1972 Olympic stadium &ndash; and it will be fascinating to see what degree of fitness he has been able to reclaim.&nbsp;
On the eve of the championships, Jacobs&rsquo; coach Paolo Camossi was optimistic about his prospects in the Munich Olympic Stadium next week. "He's running free, he's having fun, the workouts are promising. If we are here in Munich it is because he is fine and can compete&hellip;Marcell is the Olympic gold medalist and he is here to win, but it is not a race to be taken lightly," said Camossi as quoted by FIDAL.
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/ChKsNM0Kxuh"]
Among his prospective rivals include Great Britain&rsquo;s Zharnel Hughes who stands ready to defend the 100m title he won in Berlin four years ago in a championship record of 9.95.
Hughes had an ultimately frustrating time at last summer&rsquo;s Olympics, false-starting in the individual 100m final and then seeing the 4x100m silver-medal winning performance to which he had contributed annulled because of a positive doping test for team-mate CJ Ujah.&nbsp;
Last week he indicated he is in fine racing form as he won Commonwealth silver in the 200m in Birmingham and helped England win 4x100m gold.&nbsp;
While Jacobs won the Olympic title in 9.80, he has only run 10.04 this year although he did open his season with a marginally wind-aided 9.99. Hughes is second fastest this season with 9.97 but top spot goes to his enigmatic fellow Briton Reece Prescod, who ran 9.93 this season at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava &ndash; into a significant headwind.&nbsp;
France&rsquo;s Meba-Mickael Zeze is the third sub-10 second performer this season with 9.99 and will be in medal contention along with home sprinter Lucas Ansah-Peprah, who has clocked 10.04 this season.&nbsp;
And it doesn&rsquo;t do to rule out the experienced French performer Jimmy Vicaut, who has run 10.10 this year but has a best of 9.86 - the former European record which Jacobs surpassed when he blazed to the Olympic title in Tokyo last summer.
A clash of youth and experience in the 200m
Fresh from a medal at the Commonwealth Games Hughes will also fancy his medal chances in the 200m, where his British teammate Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, silver medallist four years ago, is also entered.&nbsp;
Turkey&rsquo;s defending champion Ramil Guliyev, who has a best of 19.76 from the 2018 European Athletics Championships where he came within 0.04 of Pietro Mennea&rsquo;s long-standing European record, has run 20.21 this year.&nbsp;
Zeze will also double up, and is looking good for a podium place given his 19.97 personal best this season.&nbsp;
But the most intriguing presence will be that of 18-year-old Israeli Blessing Afrifah, who won the world U20 title in Cali in a European U20 record of 19.96 - to surpass Guliyev&rsquo;s previous mark of 20.04 - and in so doing beat Botswana&rsquo;s hugely favoured Letsile Tebogo, who had earlier won the 100m title in a world U20 record of 9.91 despite showboating over the final 30 metres.&nbsp;
Afrifah was born in Tel Aviv and raised in Israel to parents from Ghana - his father came to Israel as an employee of the Ghanaian consulate &ndash; and was granted permanent residence in 2010.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/f4344302-a290-4d92-820e-8f7de5cf50eb?width=3370&amp;height=2242" alt="World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 2022 - Day 5" />
Will this hugely talented runner be able to adapt to the pressures and rigours of a senior international competition less than two weeks after his record-breaking exploits in Cali? It will be fascinating to see.&nbsp;
Also in the 200m mix will be a sprinter who brought home the baton for a historic 4x100m victory at last year&rsquo;s Tokyo 2020 Games - Italy&rsquo;s Filippo Tortu - who has run a personal best of 20.10 this season and harbours aspirations of broaching the 20 second-barrier for the first time.&nbsp;
Jacobs and Tortu are also named in an Italian 4x100m relay squad that could produce another historic performance in Munich although a squad - admittedly devoid of Jacobs who was injured - didn&rsquo;t make it through the heats at the World Athletics Championships.
Reigning champions Great Britain, France, hosts Germany and Turkey will all offer strong opposition along with surprise Tokyo 2020 Olympic finalists Denmark.
A rejuvenated Hudson-Smith targeting back-to-back 400m titles&nbsp;
Meanwhile in the 400m Britain&rsquo;s Matthew Hudson-Smith appears well set to defend the title he won in Berlin. After years of injury that were so testing that he admitted he had had suicidal thoughts at one point, the 27-year-old has returned to form in a big way this year.&nbsp;
Having taken 0.01 off the British record of 44.36 set by Iwan Thomas, who won the European title the following year, Hudson-Smith came away with world bronze in Oregon before upgrading to silver on his home track at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham earlier this month.
Can he complete the set of medals this year and join Martyn Rooney (2014-16) in defending his European title?
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/ba1a4ddb-9f90-4b5e-b18c-0c1c0537956c?width=4371&amp;height=2914" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Eight" />
Nobody else in the field has bettered the 45 second-barrier this season &ndash; with Great Britain&rsquo;s Alex Haydock-Wilson closest on 45.08.&nbsp;
But there are hugely experienced operators who have been in that territory on many occasions including Belgium&rsquo;s Kevin and Dylan Borlee. Kevin, individual champion in Barcelona some 12 years ago, is still a potent force aged 34.&nbsp;
His 29-year-old brother Dylan is also in the mix, and both are in the 4x400m relay list, where they will seek to earn Belgium their third successive gold medal. The nations looking most likely to deny them that ambition are the Netherlands &ndash; who are Tokyo 2020 silver medallists - the Czech Republic, Great Britain, France and Spain.&nbsp;
Kevin, who has a best of 44.56, has run 45.12 this season, and Dylan has run a personal best of 45.18 this year.&nbsp;
Liemarvin Bonevacia is another potential medallist, having run 44.48 and with a season&rsquo;s best of 45.34. The 33-year-old Dutch runner won bronze on home soil in 2016 and is hugely experienced in the relay, where he helped the Netherlands take the European indoor title last year before their achievement in Tokyo.&nbsp;
Spain&rsquo;s Oscar Husillos, the European indoor champion, will be another serious challenger in the individual event and will carry through to the relay, where he helped his country win bronze in Berlin.&nbsp;
Warholm: "I have been able to train without worry since the Worlds"
Like Jacobs, Karsten Warholm arrived at the World Athletics Championships short of form due to a hamstring but the Norwegian put up a resolute defence of his world title, matching eventual winner Alison Dos Santos for the first 300 metres before fading in the home straight to seventh.&nbsp;
But with three weeks of uninterrupted training under his belt since those championships, expect to see a different version of Warholm to the version we saw in Oregon.
"I have been able to train without worry since the Worlds. Whereas before the Worlds, it was a race against time to be ready, very stressful. Now I was able to prepare myself more calmly, and it's a very good feeling," he told VG ahead of the championships.
The road to gold in Munich will not be without its challenges though. France&rsquo;s Wilfried Happio was one of the athletes to overhaul a tiring Warholm over the last two barriers in the Oregon final, finishing fourth in a massive lifetime best of 47.41 - just 0.04 shy of Stephane Diagana&rsquo;s French record - and only missing out on a medal on the dip.
There will be a strong French presence in the 110m hurdles. Reigning champion Pascal Martinot-Lagarde will defend his title but he is only their fourth fastest entrant (13.40) behind his younger teammates Sasha Zhoya (13.17) and Just Kwaou-Mathey (13.27) and Aurel Manga (13.29).
A precocious junior who won European and world U20 titles in a five week period in 2021, Zhoya&rsquo;s transition to the senior ranks has been somewhat jolted by injuries but the 20-year-old has adjusted to the challenges posed by the senior height barriers by clocking a joint European leading time of 13.17.
Zhoya shares the European lead with Spain&rsquo;s vastly improving Asier Martinez who won a surprise bronze in a dramatic and eventful 110m hurdles final at the World Athletics Championships.
Can the European U23 champion graduate to European senior champion for Spain in the space of a year?
The Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships will be streamed live in its entirety through the European Athletics website.
Useful links:
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/final-entries-published-for-munich-2022-european-athletics-championships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final entries</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/4a5c979d-721a-47d8-8896-13c64ce6501c/Munich_2022_Timetable_Athletics_incl_start_times.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/top-list/season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 season's lists</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/3692f95e-ded7-4d23-b46a-e9976dc4f85f/ECH-2022-Statistics-Handbook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munich 2022 statistics handbook</a></li>
</ul>
<a title="" href="https://www.munich2022.com/en/tickets" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/67c12cb4-4f65-4033-865b-94a3c157eb81?width=1200&amp;height=300" alt="Fe3448ce Efda 4af5 B117 2fc5ca874655 (1)" /></a>

Jacobs given the green light to chase the European 100m title in Munich 2022

Femke Bol is not the first Dutch athlete of distinction to attempt an ambitious combination over the flat and hurdles at the European Athletics Championships.
In Brussels back in 1950, the great Fanny Blankers-Koen contested the 100m, 200m and 80m hurdles, winning all three - and claiming a silver in the 4x100m relay for good measure.
Still, no woman of any nationality has accomplished the double over the 400m flat and 400m hurdles which Bol has boldly chosen to attempt at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.
"It&rsquo;s going to be a tough week but I&rsquo;m ready for the challenge," the 22-year-old insisted, announcing her intentions on an Instagram post headed &lsquo;Double Trouble&rsquo;.
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/ChC0hx5IwKm/?hl=en"]
The formbook suggests the 400m hurdles ought to be as much of a formality as anything can be in the cut and thrust of major championship competition.
The time of 52.27 that Bol clocked as the silver medal winner behind Sydney McLaughlin&rsquo;s breathtaking world record of 50.68 at the World Championships in Oregon put her an incredible 2.66 seconds clear of the only other European in the final, Ukraine&rsquo;s Anna Ryzhykova, who finished eighth in 54.93.
The Olympic bronze medallist also tops the 2022 European list in the 400m, having broken through the 50 second-barrier in Chorzow last Saturday (6) with a Dutch record of 49.75.
The two Europeans who made the 400m final in Oregon, however, will be keen to assert their specialist authority. Bol&rsquo;s training partner Lieke Klaver, the former Dutch record-holder with 50.18, finished fourth in the world final.&nbsp;
Anna Kielbasinska, who also trains with Bol, Klaver and co under the tutelage of Laurent Meuwly, finished eighth, while Polish teammate Natalia Kaczmarek is the only woman other than Bol to have broken 50 seconds this season, with a 49.86 lifetime best to become only the second Pole after Irena Szewinska to achieve this distinction.
No Dutchwoman has won the European outdoor 400m title - or the 400m hurdles for that matter - though Bol is the reigning indoor 400m champion, having triumphed in Torun last year. And if she does triumph in the 400m hurdles, it would be a poignant win as Bol would follow in the footsteps of her now-retired training partner Lea Sprunger from Switzerland who won gold four years ago.
Behind her, the competition for medals over the barriers in Munich promises to be intense.&nbsp;
Ryzhykova may have reached the World Championships final but three other Europeans clocked faster times than her in the semifinals in Eugene.
Fellow Ukrainian Viktoriya Tkachuk registered a season&rsquo;s best of 54.24, and was just 0.03 slower while getting the better of Ryzhykova in Monaco on Wednesday (10).
Italy&rsquo;s Ayomide Folorunso set an Italian record of 54.34 in the Eugene semifinals, while Spain&rsquo;s Sara Gallego ran 54.49. And Finland&rsquo;s Viivi Lehikoinen clocked a national record of 54.60. Second and third behind Bol on season&rsquo;s bests are Norway&rsquo;s Line Kloster (53.91) and Britain&rsquo;s Jessie Knight (54.09).
Bol plans to go for a third medal in the 4x400m relay, though gold in that event might be a stretch, given the presence of a British quartet that took bronze at the World Athletics Championships and the potential of a Polish squad that won Olympic silver behind the United States last year.
The Pole also won gold in Berlin 2018 courtesy of a blitzing anchor leg from Justyna Swiety-Ersetic who had won individual 400m gold earlier in the programme.
Treble champion Asher-Smith is back on the comeback trail
The star of the women&rsquo;s sprints in Berlin four years ago, of course, was Dina Asher-Smith, who won the 100m and 200m and anchored Britain to gold in the 4x100m relay.
The former world 200m champion will be attempting the same treble in Munich &ndash; with justifiable hope, given her form at the World Athletics Championships, where she finished fourth in the 100m, equalling her British record 10.83, and won bronze in a loaded 200m final.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/1b1a752a-6370-4ba1-a9ab-609962455b6a?width=5203&amp;height=3468" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Seven" />
A mild hamstring pull in the 4x100m relay in Oregon persuaded Asher-Smith to sit out the Commonwealth Games but if the 26-year-old is fit and ready to go in Munich she will start favourite in both individual events.
Mujinga Kambundji was the only other European finalist in the 100m and 200m at the World Athletics Championships. The world indoor 60m champion from Switzerland finished fifth in the 100m, one place and 0.08s behind Asher-Smith. In the 200m, she clocked a national record 22.05 in the semifinals but was eighth in the final in 22.55, the Briton taking bronze in 22.02.
A possible threat to both women in the 100m could be Asher-Smith&rsquo;s teammate Daryll Neita, who missed out on a place in the final at the World Athletics Championships by 0.01 and has clocked 10.90 - and a wind-aided 10.81 - this summer.&nbsp;
Germany&rsquo;s Gina Luckenkemper, runner-up to Asher-Smith in Berlin in 2018, is the only other sub-11 sec performer in the field.
Neita is also entered for the 200m but is only seventh fastest on the list on season&rsquo;s bests behind Asher-Smith (21.96), Kambundji (22.05), Germany&rsquo;s Corinna Schwab (22.51), Ireland&rsquo;s 19-year-old European U20 100m and 200m champion Rhasidat Adeleke (22.59), who also ranks sixth at 400m, Denmark&rsquo;s Ida Karstoft (22.67) and Klaver (22.71).
Despite Asher-Smith suffering her hamstring pull on the third leg, Great Britain still managed to finish sixth in the 4x100m relay final in Oregon but in Munich they will face a German quartet high in confidence after taking world bronze behind the USA and Jamaica.
Great Britain&rsquo;s Cindy Sember will be looking to follow her Commonwealth bronze medal-winning performance in Birmingham with gold in the 100m hurdles in Munich.
Fifth at the World Athletics Championships, where she broke her sister&rsquo;s national record with a 12.50 clocking in the semifinals, Sember is likely to have a tough battle on her hands in pursuit of a title won by her elder sibling &ndash; Tiffany Porter &ndash; in Zurich in 2014.
Poland&rsquo;s Pia Skrzyszowska, winner of the European U23 title last year, was in scorching form on home ground in Chorzow last Saturday (6), clocking 12.51 to smash the European U23 record set of 12.59 set by East Germany&rsquo;s Anneliese Ehrhardt coincidentally at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
Reigning European indoor champion Nadine Visser from the Netherlands also boasts a lifetime best of 12.51 while France&rsquo;s world indoor champion Cyrena Samba-Mayela and Switzerland&rsquo;s European U20 champion Ditaji Kambundji, the younger sister of Mujinga, also have clear medal potential.
The Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships will be streamed live in its entirety through the European Athletics website.
Useful links:
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/final-entries-published-for-munich-2022-european-athletics-championships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final entries</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/4a5c979d-721a-47d8-8896-13c64ce6501c/Munich_2022_Timetable_Athletics_incl_start_times.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/top-list/season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 season's lists</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/3692f95e-ded7-4d23-b46a-e9976dc4f85f/ECH-2022-Statistics-Handbook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munich 2022 statistics handbook</a></li>
</ul>
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"I’m ready for the challenge." Bol aiming for double gold in Munich 2022

There were many great moments in Steve Backley&rsquo;s career, but one of the finest was surely his celebration in Helsinki after retaining his European javelin title at the 1994 Championships.&nbsp;
The field that night in what many regard as the world capital of javelin throwing included the 1992 Olympic champion Jan Zelezny of the Czech Republic and home thrower Seppo Raty, who had won world gold in 1987 and silver four years later.&nbsp;
But a second-round effort of 85.20 metres from Backley, who had taken bronze at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, proved enough for a win that saw him side-stepping exuberantly down the length of the javelin throwing area.&nbsp;
All the world&rsquo;s best had gathered &ndash; and he was the best of them.&nbsp;
In the two Olympics that followed, Backley, who had earned bronze in 1992, earned silver behind Zelezny, setting a Games record in Sydney before his Czech rival bettered it. The Olympic title would never be his.&nbsp;
But by the same token, the European title, which always evaded Zelezny, was something he earned on four consecutive occasions, running parallel to the track victories of his British teammate Colin Jackson in the 110m hurdles.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Everything I do all year is geared to doing well in the championships and the European title is as good as a world or Olympic title because all the best guys are here,&rdquo; Backley said with reference to his four continental titles.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/4b7f2374-05bd-4fde-bc3c-53b553d79320?width=2685&amp;height=1960" alt="Steve Backley of Great Britain" />
That sentiment held true eight years later when Backley, by then 33, sought his fourth European title in the Munich Olympic Stadium against a field that included his perennial Olympic bete noire Zelezny, 36, who by then had won two more golds in 1996 and 2000.
The in-form thrower, however, was the powerfully built Russian Sergey Makarov, who had bettered 90 metres on three occasions earlier in the year.&nbsp;&nbsp;
He beat Backley at the European Cup in Annecy and on the home soil of Sheffield the following week when he sent the javelin out to 92.61m, putting him third on the all-time list ahead of Backley&rsquo;s lifetime best and former world record of 91.46m from 1992.&nbsp;
Some British bookmakers were firmly backing Makarov to prevail in Munich, offering modest odds of 10-1 on another Backley victory at the European Championships.&nbsp;
But the Briton was in the zone given his season&rsquo;s best of 87.29m.&nbsp;&nbsp;
On a cool and drizzly evening in Munich, Makarov applied pressure with his opening throw of 88.05m.&nbsp;
It was good, but not insurmountable &ndash; and Makarov couldn&rsquo;t improve upon his first round throw whereas Backley was on an upward trajectory, improving to 86.37m in the third round. Zelezny&rsquo;s quest for the European title fell apart again as he recorded three no-throws.&nbsp;
Taking to the runway for the fifth time in the final, Backley put everything together to land the spear beyond Makarov&rsquo;s opener, registering 88.54m.&nbsp;
Makarov's fifth round throw of 86.31m didn't trouble the lead and he tumbled over the boundary line on his sixth attempt in his efforts to surpass Backley with the last throw of the final.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Backley was European champion for a fourth time. "This victory is sweeter than the three others simply because it was harder," he said. "The javelin has become more competitive over the past 12 years. I remember winning my first title in Split with a margin of more than four metres."
On that occasion in 1990 he threw 87.30m, with silver going to the Soviet Union&rsquo;s Alexander Zaytsev on 83.30m.&nbsp;
After his sidestepping triumph in Helsinki, the Brit completed a hat-trick of titles at the 1998 European Athletics Championships in Budapest with a first-round championship record of 89.72m that settled the result from the off.&nbsp;
His victory in Munich was harder won against an opponent who would go on to win the world title the following year.&nbsp;&nbsp;
"It is more satisfying to do it that way," said Backley, reflecting on Munich. "You have got to really dig deep and it is a real test of your concentration. But as you get older you enjoy the championship atmosphere and I certainly rise to that."
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_4RVrlHCbEo" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

Munich Magic | Backley rules the javelin again with fourth title in 2002

Norway&rsquo;s Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be heavily involved in the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships, as he defends the 1500m and 5000m titles he won as a 17-year-old at the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships.&nbsp;
The Olympic 1500m champion and world 5000m champion will not, however, face the either of his brothers Filip and Henrik who are both injured nor the Brit who unexpectedly beat him to the world 1500m title in Eugene last month, Jake Wightman.&nbsp;
The latter is concentrating on the 800m in Munich &ndash; the event he originally planned to do at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games until he was nudged back to the longer distance because of the number of friends and family who had bought tickets for the final last Saturday when he won bronze in a high quality final in 3:30.53.&nbsp;
With a personal best of 1:44.18 from 2020, Wightman has a realistic chance of adding another European medal to the bronze he won over 1500m in Berlin four years ago &ndash; and his victory over 1000m at the Monaco Diamond League meeting on Wednesday night in 2:13.88, ninth fastest of all-time, will have done his confidence no harm at all.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/e3bb7dae-53b0-4885-b6f9-4f010eeb9870?width=3599&amp;height=2399" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Five" />
France&rsquo;s Benjamin Robert has the fastest 2022 time of all entrants &ndash; the 1:43.75 he clocked in winning at the Paris Diamond League on 18 June in boisterous fashion, squeezing in between the two leaders with enough physicality to be disqualified before being reinstated on appeal.&nbsp;If things get physical in Munich, Robert is unlikely to come off second best.&nbsp;
Tony van Diepen is also well acquainted with the hurly-burly of the track having been a part of the Dutch teams that won 4x400m silver at the Tokyo 2020 Games and mixed 4x400m silver at the World Championships in Oregon.&nbsp;
Individually, van Diepen has won European indoor silver in 2021 and bronze in 2019 over 400m and has a best 800m time of 1:44.14 set this year in Paris after M. Robert had burst past him at the Stade Charlety.&nbsp;
Robert&rsquo;s compatriot Gabriel Tual, seventh in last year&rsquo;s Olympic final, is third fastest on this year&rsquo;s European list with 1:44.23, set in &ndash; you&rsquo;ve guessed it &ndash; Paris. But the French team will be without the popular Pierre-Ambroise Bosse, the 2017 world champion, due to injury.
Poland&rsquo;s Patryk Dobek has run 1:44.59 this year and even though he exited in the heats at the World Athletics Championships, he can also draw upon the experience of winning bronze at last year&rsquo;s Olympics in Tokyo.&nbsp;
Other medal prospects include Sweden&rsquo;s Andreas Kramer (1:44.59), Ireland&rsquo;s Mark English (1:44.76), fellow Brits Ben Pattison (1:44.60) and Kyle Langford (1:44.61), Spain's reigning world indoor champion Mariano Garcia (1:45.12) and the very experienced former two-time world medallist Amel Tuka from Bosnia and Herzegovina (1:46.15) whose lifetime best of 1:42.57 dates back to 2015.
Aside from Bosse, another notable absentee will be the three-time reigning champion Adam Kszczot from Poland who retired at the start of the year.
Ingebrigtsen's path to double gold is clearer although not without challenges
With Wightman elsewhere, Ingebrigtsen will surely feel happier about the prospect of his 1500m defence, but he will still face a field full of Spanish and British medal threats.&nbsp;
Second on this year&rsquo;s European list with 3:30.20, Spain&rsquo;s Mario Garcia will be looking to give the Norwegian wonderboy another run for his money after finishing fourth - two places behind Ingebrigtsen - in Oregon.&nbsp;
The Brits dominate the 2022 European list with six athletes in the top nine and despite the absence of Wightman and Olympic bronze medallist Josh Kerr, Jake Heyward (3:31.08), Neil Gourley (3:32.93) and Matt Stonier (3:32.50) form a trio with clear medal-winning ability.
But Ingebrigtsen, who ran 3:29.47 to take world silver, and ran an Olympic and European record of 3:28.32 at the Tokyo 2020 Games, should have enough to cover any challenge in both events.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/55b4d22c-7109-4a40-8f57-a947b7d9ef67?width=4662&amp;height=3108" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Ten" />
In the 5000m, it might be the athlete who appears second from last on the entry-list in terms of season's bests who could provide the biggest challenge to Ingebrigtsen. That athlete is Spain&rsquo;s Mohammed Katir who won a bronze medal behind Ingebrigtsen in the 1500m at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon and will be focusing solely on the longer event in Munich.
Katir, 24, has a modest season's best of 13:43.61 from the Spanish Championships but he showed what he can do over the longer distance by running a national record of 12:50.79 in Rome last summer in the same race where Ingebrigtsen broke the European record with 12:48.65.
Another strong potential challenger is the experienced Spaniard Adel Mechaal, who was fifth in the Olympic 1500m final last year and set a 5000m personal best of 13:06.02 in Oslo in June. Mechaal didn't make it through to the final of the World Athletics Championships but that wasn't too surprising as he had only just recovered from an untimely bout of coronavirus which forced him to miss the 1500m.
In both the 5000m and 10,000m, watch out for Italy&rsquo;s Yemaneberhan Crippa, 25, who has been a star performer in numerous European competitions, winning bronze at the 2019 European Cross Country Championships and the European 10,000m Cup in the same year.&nbsp;
Crippa has the fastest time among the entrants based on season&rsquo;s best performances in the 10,000m with 27:16.18 ahead of another showboating, talented figure in Jimmy Gressier of France &ndash; he of the famous faceplant as he won the 2018 European U23 cross country title. This didn&rsquo;t stop him from walking through the line to win the same title the following year, demonstrating just how much time he had to spare.&nbsp;
There weren&rsquo;t quite the same histrionics at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Dublin last December but Gressier let his running do the talking and he came away with his first senior medal in a race where Ingebrigtsen ruled triumphant once again.
Gressier will be focusing solely on the 10,000m in Munich and the Frenchman is the second fastest performer this year with 27:24.51 which he set at the European 10,000m Cup on home soil in Pac&eacute; in May when he ran away from the field for the individual title.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/40520f27-c836-4e65-8edc-da102c7c4928?width=5213&amp;height=3475" alt="European 10,000m Cup Pace 2022" />
Belgium&rsquo;s Isaac Kimeli is another familiar fixture on the European scene who will go for both the 5000m and 10,000m along with Great Britain's Sam Atkin and Germany's Mohamed Mohumed, the latter second to Ingebrigtsen on the 5000m season's list with 13:03.18.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Italy&rsquo;s middle distance prospects continue through to the 3000m steeplechase in which they field the two fastest entrants on paper in Ahmed Abdelwahed and Osama Zoghlami, who finished sixth and seventh in Rome in 8:10.29 and 8:11.00 respectively.&nbsp;&nbsp;
But they will be wary of the presence of France&rsquo;s Djilali Bedrani, who finished fourth in the 2018 European Championships and was fifth at the World Athletics Championships the following year.&nbsp;
Bedrani has only run 8:26.18 so far this year but the potential is obvious. He could very possibly keep the title in French hands with four-time champion Mahiedine Mekhissi ruled out of the championships due to injury.
Others to look out for include home runner Frederik Ruppert, who has clocked 8:15.58 this year, Spain&rsquo;s Daniel Arce, who has a 2022 personal best of 8:14.31 and Bedrani&rsquo;s compatriot Mehdi Belhadj, who has clocked 8:16.35 this season.&nbsp;
The Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships will be streamed live in its entirety through the European Athletics website.
Useful links:
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/final-entries-published-for-munich-2022-european-athletics-championships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final entries</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/4a5c979d-721a-47d8-8896-13c64ce6501c/Munich_2022_Timetable_Athletics_incl_start_times.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/top-list/season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 season's lists</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/3692f95e-ded7-4d23-b46a-e9976dc4f85f/ECH-2022-Statistics-Handbook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munich 2022 statistics handbook</a></li>
</ul>
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Ingebrigtsen to launch another 1500/5000m double attempt in Munich 2022

For Keely Hodgkinson, another silver lining would come as nothing close to consolation at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.
Having finished in the runner-up position in the 800m finals at the World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games in the past three weeks - and in the Olympic final in Tokyo a year ago, for that matter &ndash; the 20-year-old Briton will be on a redemption run for gold in the Bavarian capital.
After missing out by a tantalising 0.08 in a titanic home straight tussle with Athing Mu at the World Championships in Oregon on 22 July, Hodgkinson had Commonwealth gold within her grasp on home ground in Birmingham last Saturday (6) until Kenya&rsquo;s Mary Moraa came charging past halfway down the home straight.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/34d5ffc3-7d23-422b-b6ce-3509c52f06e1?width=4875&amp;height=3250" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Ten" />
It is a measure of the meteoric progress Hodgkinson has made under the guidance of Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows that major championship silver medals have come as a disappointment. It was only last year that she made her senior breakthrough, winning the European Indoor title in Torun at the age of 19.
First place in an outdoor European 800m final would be one better than her co-coach managed. Meadows finished second to Yvonne Hak of the Netherlands in Barcelona 2010 albeit after initial winner Mariya Savinova was disqualified for an anti-doping violation.
There have been two British winners of the two-lap event: Lynsey Sharp in Helsinki in 2012 - again retroactively - and the great Lillian Board in Athens in 1969. A third British success in Munich would be a poignant one, given the prodigiously talented Board&rsquo;s tragic fate.
A 400m silver medallist at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, she was cruelly cut down by cancer before she had a shot at 800m gold at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. After travelling to Munich in search of a cure, she died in a clinic in the city in December 1970, 13 days past her 22nd birthday.
Second fastest on the 800m entry-list - both in personal and season&rsquo;s bests - is Hodgkinson&rsquo;s British teammate Jemma Reekie. The 24-year-old Scot finished fourth in the Olympic final last year but has been struggling for form this summer in the wake of glandular fever, placing fifth in the Commonwealth 1500m final last Sunday (7).
Three other women in the field have run inside 1:59 this year: Slovenia&rsquo;s former 400m specialist Anita Horvat, who finished a surprise seventh in the World Championships; France&rsquo;s Renelle Lamote, silver medallist at the last two European Championships; and Elena Bello of Italy.
Switzerland also boasts two potential medal contenders: in 18-year-old world U20 silver medallist Audrey Werro, who clocked 1:59.53 in that race in Cali, and Lore Hoffmann, who narrowly missed out on a place in the final in Oregon.
Ukrainians Nataliya Krol (formerly Pryshchepa) and Olha Lyakhova, who won gold and bronze in Berlin 2018, are also on the entry-list but neither athlete has broken the sub-2:00 barrier so far in 2022.
A fourth major 1500m medal in 12 months beckons for Muir
Hodgkinson&rsquo;s compatriot Laura Muir defends the 1500m crown she gained in Berlin four years ago in buoyant mood, having collected world bronze and Commonwealth gold at the distance in successive weeks, together with Commonwealth 800m bronze.
The Scot&rsquo;s closest challengers are likely to be Poland&rsquo;s fast-finishing Sofia Ennaoui, who took silver behind Muir in 2018 and who showed a timely return to form with fifth place in the Oregon final, and Ireland&rsquo;s Ciara Mageean, who was an impressive runner-up to Muir in the colours of Northern Ireland in last Sunday&rsquo;s Commonwealth final.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/8007d0d9-8b02-4e66-83c0-73aa500572b1?width=5064&amp;height=3376" alt="Athletics - Commonwealth Games: Day 10" />
Another Scot who struck gold on the Commonwealth stage in Birmingham, Eilish McColgan, is entered for both the 5000m and 10,000m in Munich.
A stunning winner of the 10,000m in Birmingham, and silver medallist in the 5000m, the 31-year-old is due to tackle her third championship double in less than a month, having placed tenth in the 10,000m and eleventh in the 5000m at the World Championships.
McColgan, who is preparing to make her marathon debut in London in October, is as indefatigable as her celebrated mother and coach Liz, the 1991 world 10,000m champion, but cumulative championship fatigue could well undermine her &ndash; particularly in the 5000m.
Norway&rsquo;s Karoline Grovdal finished eighth in the World Athletics Championships final and the 2018 steeplechase bronze medallist, who also finished third in the 10,000m in 2016, could start the marginal favourite.
Weakened after a bout of coronavirus, Germany&rsquo;s Konstanze Klosterhalfen failed to make it beyond the 5000m heats in Eugene but should be in more robust form for her second home European Athletics Championships where she is planning to contest both the 5000m and 10,000m along with Turkey&rsquo;s Yasemin Can.
Can completed a 5000/10,000m double in Amsterdam 2016 and will be contesting both events again in Munich. Other challengers to McColgan at the longer distance will be fellow Briton Jess Judd - who finished one place behind her, in eleventh, in the World Athletics Championships final - and reigning 10,000m champion Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel who won gold on a brutally hot and humid evening in Berlin four years ago.
Salpeter has set herself a challenging schedule as she will be attempting to defend her European title only one month after winning bronze in the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.&nbsp;
Could the British success extend to the 3000m steeplechase in Munich?
There looks likely to be a big British influence right across the board in the women&rsquo;s distance programme.
A first gold medal for Albania appeared to be beckoning in the 3000m steeplechase following Luiza Gega&rsquo;s brilliant run for fifth place at the World Championships.
At 33, Gega &ndash; whose silver in Amsterdam in 2016 remains her country&rsquo;s sole European Championships medal &ndash; has stepped up to world class this summer, improving her national record from 9:19.93 to 9:10.04.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/83a2ddf4-05d6-41ef-aaf1-be6fb39450ba?width=3000&amp;height=2000" alt="Athletics - Olympics: Day 9" />
After the Diamond League meeting in Monaco on Wednesday night (10), though, she has a potentially formidable challenger for gold in Munich in the shape of Great Britain&rsquo;s Lizzie Bird.
Just five days after running a lifetime best 9:17.79 to take Commonwealth silver in Birmingham, the Colorado-based Bird catapulted herself from 19th to fourth on the European all-time list as she outsprinted former world champion Emma Coburn for third place in Monaco in 9:07.87.
France&rsquo;s Alice Finot, has also been knocking lumps off her times in 2022. The European indoor 3000m silver medallist started the season with a PB of 9:45.37 but clocked a French record 9:19.59 at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm on 30 June, improving it to 9:14.34 in the heats at the World Championships.
Having finished tenth in the final in Oregon despite falling at one of the water jumps in 9:21.40 &ndash; as third European, behind Gega and Aimee Pratt, seventh in a then-British record of 9:15.64 &ndash; the 31-year-old will not be short of motivation in Munich.
The flying Bird and the in-form Pratt will form a twin British medal challenge, while Slovenia&rsquo;s Marusa Mismas-Zrimsek &ndash; sixth in last year&rsquo;s Olympic final &ndash; also has podium potential.
The Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships will be streamed live in its entirety through the European Athletics website.
Useful links:
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/final-entries-published-for-munich-2022-european-athletics-championships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final entries</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/4a5c979d-721a-47d8-8896-13c64ce6501c/Munich_2022_Timetable_Athletics_incl_start_times.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/top-list/season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 season's lists</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/3692f95e-ded7-4d23-b46a-e9976dc4f85f/ECH-2022-Statistics-Handbook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munich 2022 statistics handbook</a></li>
</ul>
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Hodgkinson and Muir lead the British charge in the middle and long distances in Munich 2022

The August 2022 issue of the European Athletics biannual newsletter Inside Track has been published to accompany next week&rsquo;s Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships.
It can be viewed as an online interactive flipping book&nbsp;<a href="https://online.flippingbook.com/view/601696299/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>&nbsp;or downloaded as a pdf file&nbsp;<a href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/b4825313-8449-4c29-8ef9-1eeba172c3cc/Inside%20Track%20Jul%2022-Web2.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
This issue looks back over the last seven months which sae a variety of competitions around Europe, notably the Jerusalem 2022 European Athletics U18 Championships which is given extensive coverage.
Much of this issue is given over to looking at Munich&rsquo;s place in athletics history with the 1972 Olympic Games and 2002 European Athletics Championships as well as a glance ahead to the most important athletics competition in European Athletics history which is almost upon us.
Other content includes a preview of the Young Leader Forum in Munich, updates on new European Athletics Partners as well as, sadly, commemorating some of the greats in European athletics who are no longer with us,

August 2022 issue of Inside Track now available to view and download

The Opening Ceremony for the European Championships Munich 2022 came spectacularly to life inside the iconic Olympic Park, setting the stage for 11 days of world class multi-sport action.
The event ebbed and flowed throughout the entire park, allowing performers to interact with spectators and get them involved in the action as much as possible. Live DJ sets, graffiti walls, mirror installations, performance artists, jugglers, marching bands, acrobats and laser light shows met the crowds at every turn.
The 55,000-strong turnout inside the Olympic Park was so great that the local organisers at one point advised people on social media to avoid travelling to the site and to watch the show live on television instead.&nbsp;
The Central Roof area acted as the fulcrum for the festivities, which featured a blend of music, dance, and artistic activities. Rock band Sportfreunde Stiller kicked off the evening, bringing the sizeable crowd to its feet in celebration.
<img src="https://directus.european-athletics.com/assets/5e5e4593-605b-43e3-9bd2-688b24fa1cb2?width=6000&amp;height=4000" alt="Opening Ceremony - European Championships Munich 2022" />
This was followed by a Flag Ceremony, highlighting the nine sports whose athletes will compete to be crowned European Champions: Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, Cycling, Gymnastics, Rowing, Sport Climbing, Table Tennis and Triathlon.
Athletes such as gymnast Felix Remuta, German 800m prospect Christina Hering and 1972 Olympic rowing champion Hans-Johann F&auml;rber took to the stage with flags to the sound of the 10-strong Munich brass band Moop Mama.
Titled &lsquo;Back to the Roofs&rsquo;, the night celebrated the 50 years since Munich hosted the Olympic Games in 1972, with a fitting audio-visual tribute that took the audience on a journey from the events of a half-century ago to today and beyond.
The show closed out with a thumping set from Rostock rapper Marteria, who earlier had performed a song from the top of the Olympic Stadium &ndash; perfectly in tune with the Back To The Roofs theme.
The Olympic Stadium will be the venue for the European Athletics Championships which begins in four days' time on 15 August.
<a title="" href="https://www.munich2022.com/en/tickets" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://directus.european-athletics.com/assets/67c12cb4-4f65-4033-865b-94a3c157eb81?width=1200&amp;height=300" alt="Fe3448ce Efda 4af5 B117 2fc5ca874655 (1)" /></a>

55,000 spectators flock to watch European Championships Munich 2022 launch in style

Malaika Mihambo was one of the unexpected gold medallists in Berlin 2018 but the German has seldom faced a worthy challenger in a major event since her breakthrough win four years ago.
Mihambo was crowned world champion in Doha the following year before completing the set with a last-gasp sixth round winning jump at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
A second gold medal was to follow at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon which under normal circumstances would make her the natural favourite to defend her European title on home soil in Munich from 15-21 August.
But her participation is now in some danger as she has revealed she caught coronavirus after returning home from Oregon where she won gold with a season&rsquo;s best of 7.12m.&nbsp;&nbsp;
"I got infected with coronavirus after the World Championships. It was a mild course, but I felt tired and listless and didn't train for 10 days. Unfortunately, the quarantine and the symptoms made optimal preparation for the competition impossible.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
"I was in great shape and wanted to show at the European Athletics Championships&nbsp; that I can jump even further this year than in Eugene.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;Despite the forced break and the lack of training, I will try to get to the start and do my best, knowing full well that I probably won't be able to match Eugene's level of performance,&rdquo; said Mihambo in a statement released by Leichtathletik.de.&nbsp;
<img src="https://directus.european-athletics.com/assets/1bbafe0f-65b9-4541-b2d2-e62754234eff?width=4200&amp;height=2801" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Ten" />
Unfortunate as this state of affairs is for the world and Olympic champion, this opens even wider the window of opportunity for Serbia&rsquo;s Ivana Vuleta who will be eager to regain the title she won in Amsterdam in 2016, after an Achilles injury knocked her out of the final in Berlin 2018 when she led qualifying.
So dominant and brilliant indoors, that injury in Berlin was one of a succession of misfortunes and mishaps for Vuleta in outdoor championships. Most recently Vuleta finished seventh in Oregon but the Serbian had a contentious foul which would have put her in medal contention.
But there will be other threats in the form of Sweden&rsquo;s Khaddi Sagnia, who has reached 6.95m this season, and Ukraine&rsquo;s robustly competitive Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk.&nbsp;
Like her Ukrainian compatriots such as high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Bekh-Romanchuk has found a way to train and achieve despite the traumatic circumstances currently afflicting her country, recording a best of 6.88m so far this year.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The reigning European indoor champion - a title she won by beating Mihambo in Torun last March - will also seek a medal for her beleaguered country in the triple jump. She has recorded a best of 14.74m this season and won world indoor silver in Belgrade in one of her first significant competitions in her secondary event.&nbsp;
Portugal&rsquo;s Patricia Mamona will also be seeking the European triple jump title in Munich six years after winning gold for the first time in Amsterdam.
In winning Olympic silver behind the unearthly Yulimar Rojas at last year&rsquo;s Olympics, Mamona set the best European mark of the year with 15.01m - her first and only jump in excess of this vaunted barrier.&nbsp;
But the presence in the field of the competitive and resilient Bekh-Romanchuk of Ukraine will make that a big challenge.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Bekh-Romanchuk, who has been training in Brescia in Italy having been forced to leave Ukraine due to the Russian invasion, is currently the top-ranked European in 2022 courtesy of the 14.54m she achieved at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.
<img src="https://directus.european-athletics.com/assets/4e922c1a-02c9-48d6-8644-bb82544fc064?width=5134&amp;height=3343" alt="World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 2022 - Day Three" />
Home hopes will be carried by Neele Eckhardt-Noack, whose 14.48m this year makes her the joint second highest on the 2022 European season&rsquo;s list. That mark has also been recorded by Finland&rsquo;s Kriistina Makela, one of two strong Finns on the entry-list along with Senni Salminen.&nbsp;
Israel&rsquo;s Hanna Minenko will also have strong medal ambitions having achieved a mark of 14.47m this year. Originally from Ukraine, she married the Kazakh-born Israeli decathlon champion Anatoly Minenko and subsequently changed her allegiance.&nbsp;
Can Mahuchikh complete the set of European high jump titles?&nbsp;
Given the conflict raging in her home country since February this year, the achievements of Ukraine&rsquo;s high jump Yaroslava Mahuchikh - and indeed so many of her teammates - has been extraordinary.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The 20-year-old had to flee her native city of Dnipropetrovsk under Russian bombardment in March and made an arduous three-day journey to the Serbian capital of Belgrade to compete in the World Athletics Indoor Championships where she cleared 2.02m for gold.&nbsp;
Last month in Oregon she won a second world outdoor silver medal to set alongside the Olympic bronze she won in Tokyo last summer.&nbsp;
But this hugely talented athlete, who has cleared 2.04m outdoors and 2.06m indoors, is now seeking a first major outdoor title &ndash; and she wants that to happen in Munich. If she does so, she will have captured European U18, U20, U23 and senior indoor and outdoor titles in just over a four year window.&nbsp;
<img src="https://directus.european-athletics.com/assets/af73f958-10ef-4b25-932a-3484b030fc2b?width=4590&amp;height=3061" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Five" />
That will be anything but a foregone conclusion in the Bavarian capital given the presence of talents such as Italy's Elena Vallortigara who has returned to her very best form this season by winning a surprise bronze medal behind Mahuchikh in Oregon.
Mahuchikh&rsquo;s compatriot Iryna Gerashchenko has also cleared 2.00m this season while Yuliya Levchenko is a regular 2.00m-plus operator although surprisingly didn&rsquo;t make it through qualifying in Oregon last month.
Others likely to challenge include Bulgaria&rsquo;s two-time European silver medallist Mirela Demireva; Montenegro&rsquo;s Marija Vukovic who cleared 1.97m last year; Serbia&rsquo;s 17-year-old Angelina Topic, the European U18 champion, who has cleared 1.96m to claim a share of the European U18 best along with Estonia&rsquo;s Karmen Bruus who recently won the world U20 title in Cali.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Aikaterini Stefanidi of Greece will seek a third consecutive European pole vault title against a field that will sadly lack Olympic and European bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The 30-year-old Brit, who injured her hamstring when her pole broke during final warm-up at last month&rsquo;s World Championships in Oregon, had to pull out of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham after warming-up for the competition, after which she ended her season.&nbsp;
Stefanidi, 32, has recorded 4.70m this season, having finished fifth at the World Athletics&nbsp; Championships in Oregon, one place behind Slovenia&rsquo;s Tina Sutej who could quite possibly land her first major title at the age of 33.
The 33-year-old from Ljubljana, who exited in qualifying in Berlin 2018, has cleared 4.80m indoors and 4.72m outdoors this season.
The top five on the entry-list also includes Italy&rsquo;s Roberta Bruni (4.71m) and France&rsquo;s Margot Chevrier and Norway&rsquo;s Lene Retzius, both of whom have cleared 4.70m.
The Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships will be streamed live in its entirety through the European Athletics website.
Useful links:
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/final-entries-published-for-munich-2022-european-athletics-championships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final entries</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://directus.european-athletics.com/downloads/4a5c979d-721a-47d8-8896-13c64ce6501c/Munich_2022_Timetable_Athletics_incl_start_times.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/top-list/season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 season's lists</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://directus.european-athletics.com/downloads/3692f95e-ded7-4d23-b46a-e9976dc4f85f/ECH-2022-Statistics-Handbook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munich 2022 statistics handbook</a></li>
</ul>
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&nbsp;

Reigning champion Mihambo faces one of her biggest challenges yet in Munich 2022

Having edged ahead of Sergey Bubka with the highest number of 6.00m-plus pole vault clearances, Armand Duplantis can go one better than the great Ukrainian by retaining his first major senior title at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.
For all of his trailblazing achievements, Bubka only ever gained one European outdoor crown, in Stuttgart in 1986 (although Bubka admittedly had fewer opportunities with the European Championships taking place every four years in his day) and Duplantis has the chance to gain his second in the Munich Olympic Stadium at the age of 22.
It was at the last European Athletics Championships in Berlin in 2018 that the American-born Swede announced his arrival on the senior scene, triumphing with a first-time championship record and world U20 record 6.05m clearance at the age of 18 to become the youngest member of the 6.00m club.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/a07d97e2-d01f-4560-9caa-e16740278e49?width=4460&amp;height=3016" alt="24th European Athletics Championships - Day Six" />
Four years on, Duplantis has won every title available to him &ndash; Olympic, world outdoor and indoor, European outdoor and indoor &ndash; and has advanced the world record from 6.16m to 6.21m, the latest clearance coming at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon where Duplantis completed the full set.
Bubka, who raised the global bar from 5.83m to 6.14m, was the first vaulter to breach the 6.00m-barrier and proceeded to notch 46 clearances in total at that height or above.
Duplantis took his tally to 49 with his 6.21m world record clearance in Oregon last month before adding two more for posterity at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Silesia last Saturday (6), passing the half-century mark with a total that now stands at 51.
Unbeaten in 18 competitions indoors and outdoors and with the six best vaults outdoors to his name this summer, Duplantis will start as the clearest favourite in any event at Munich 2022.
Not that there will be any shortage of vaulters vying for a medal, and ready to take advantage of an exceedingly unlikely slip-up on Duplantis&rsquo; part.
Renaud Lavillenie, the previous world record-holder and three-time European champion, was back in form and in the hunt for a medal at the World Athletics Championships, the ultra-competitive Frenchman finishing just shy of the podium in joint fifth-place with Germany&rsquo;s Oleg Zernikel.
Lavillenie and Zernikel both cleared 5.87m in the Oregon final, as did Zernikel&rsquo;s German teammate Bo Kanda Lita Baehre, the 2019 European U23 champion, who placed seventh.
The other five Europeans who made the World Athletics Championships final will all be in Munich: Turkey&rsquo;s Ersu Sasma, Norwegian youngsters Pal Lillefosse and Sondre Guttormsen, Belgian Ben Broeders and Menno Vloon of the Netherlands.
Also on the entry list is Poland&rsquo;s Piotr Lisek, who boasts five world indoor and outdoors medals. The 29-year-old sadly didn&rsquo;t make it beyond the qualifying round in Oregon having amassed an incredible 14 successive top six finishes in major events between 2014 and 2021 but Munich offers another opportunity for Lisek to reach yet another final and possibly another medal.
Tentoglou poised to join exclusive club with successful long jump title defence
Unlike Duplantis, Greek long jumper Miltiadis Tentoglou was unable to complete a full set of major championship gold medals in Oregon.
Denied victory by a last round 8.36m leap by China&rsquo;s Wang Jianan, the 24-year-old will have to wait until next year&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships in Budapest for another chance to plug that one and only gap on his otherwise gleaming resume.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/eef7bbb3-049c-4dfc-b904-a7452b2dc5c0?width=5204&amp;height=3469" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Three" />
In the meantime, Tentoglou has the opportunity to become only the fourth man to successfully defend the European long jump title, following in the footsteps of Germany&rsquo;s Wilhelm Leichum (1934/1938), the Ukrainian-Soviet Igor Ter-Ovanesyan (1958/1962, also a winner in 1969) and Great Britain&rsquo;s Greg Rutherford (2014/2016).
Simon Ehammer heads the 2022 world outdoor list with 8.45m but the multi-talented Swiss athlete, who took bronze behind Wang and Tentoglou in Oregon, will be concentrating solely on the decathlon in Munich.
Tentoglou heads the entry list with a season&rsquo;s best of 8.36m (although he did jump 8.55m to win the world indoor title in Belgrade this March) but he can expect strong competition from his long-time Thobias Montler who has come close but is yet to defeat the Greek in a major competition.
The Swede won world indoor silver behind Tentoglou in Belgrade in March and silver behind his redoubtable nemesis at both the 2019 and 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
Other medal contenders include Spaniards Eusebio Caceres and Hector Santos, the latter a silver medal-winner behind Tentoglou at the 2019 European Athletics U23 Championships, France&rsquo;s Jules Pommery and the experienced Czech long jumper Radek Juska.
Like Duplantis, the Cuban-born Portuguese triple jumper Pedro Pablo Pichardo will be looking to complete a World and European Championships double, having triumphed in Oregon with a world lead 17.95m.
And like the Swedish pole vaulter, Pichardo will start clear favourite, although young Italian jumpers Andrea Dallavalle and Emanuel Ihemeje are both taking notable steps - plus hops and jumps, naturally - in the event.
Dallavalle, 22, was just six centimetres shy of the podium in Oregon, finishing fourth with 17.25m while Ihemeje, 23, was fifth with 17.17m.
The entry list also includes 2014 European champion Benjamin Compaore, 35, a 17.48m jumper with a season&rsquo;s best of 17.07m and 40-year-old Dimitrios Tsiamis from Greece, the bronze medallist from Berlin 2018, whose lifetime best of 17.55m dates back to 2006.
Champions past and present gather for the high jump
The men&rsquo;s high jump features the last three winners of the European title: Germany&rsquo;s reigning champion Mateusz Przybylko (2018), Italy&rsquo;s joint Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi (2016) and Ukraine&rsquo;s former world champion Bohdan Bondarenko (2014), the latter on the comeback trail from a series of knee injuries.
Tamberi produced a season&rsquo;s best clearance of 2.33m in the World Athletics Championships final but had to settle for fourth place, missing bronze on countback to Ukrainian veteran Andriy Protsenko who spent the early weeks of the Russian invasion training in a field with makeshift equipment before arriving in Portugal with his family who were displaced from the war-torn Kherson region of Ukraine.&nbsp;
&ldquo;There was no high jumping, but I found the possibility to run. It was not so difficult to find something to create the equipment. The main thing was to find the motivation to train &ndash; but fortunately I could do it,&rdquo; said Protsenko.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/95ca264c-09df-4316-994a-438b3adb5e23?width=4966&amp;height=3311" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Four" />
Since Oregon, Tamberi has been waylaid by coronavirus but he recovered sufficiently to make a winning return to competition in Szekesfehervar earlier this week albeit with a relatively modest height of 2.24m which is unlikely to challenge for a medal in Munich.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Other likely medal contenders in a largely open contest include Israel&rsquo;s 19-year-old Yonathan Kapitolink, who won World and European U20 titles last year, and Turkey&rsquo;s Enes Senses and Germany&rsquo;s former European U20 champion Tobias Potye, who have jumped 2.31m and 2.30m respectively this year.
The Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships will be streamed live in its entirety through the European Athletics website.
Useful links:
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/final-entries-published-for-munich-2022-european-athletics-championships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final entries</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/4a5c979d-721a-47d8-8896-13c64ce6501c/Munich_2022_Timetable_Athletics_incl_start_times.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/top-list/season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 season's lists</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/3692f95e-ded7-4d23-b46a-e9976dc4f85f/ECH-2022-Statistics-Handbook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munich 2022 statistics handbook</a></li>
</ul>
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Record watch on? Duplantis looks destined to defend his European title in Munich

The bespectacled Kristjan Ceh and Pawel Fajdek will bring something of the Clark Kent &ndash; and probably not a little of the Superman - to the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August, which forms part of the wider multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.
The pair are a decade apart in age but Ceh, the 23-year-old newly dominant force of the discus from Slovenia, and Fajdek, the 33-year-old master of the hammer from Poland, will step into the throwing circle in the Munich Olympic Stadium with the status of world champions.
At the World Athletics Championships in Oregon last month, Ceh claimed his first global crown with a championship record of 71.13m, while Fajdek won his fifth consecutive world title with a world leading 81.98m.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/b32b22fb-10ed-4e3d-8b9b-66c02f32f9cb?width=4855&amp;height=3236" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Five" />
In the heat of battle in Munich, both men will probably need to be at their best again to finish on top in fields both featuring the top-five finishers from Eugene.
Ceh, the European U23 champion in 2019 and 2021, will be making his senior European Athletics Championships debut. Fajdek, meanwhile, will be looking to regain the crown he won in Amsterdam in 2016 &ndash; and for his fourth European senior medal, having taken silver medals in Zurich in 2014 and Berlin in 2018.
Twelve months ago, after retaining his European U23 title in Tallinn, Ceh finished fifth in the Olympic final in Tokyo. Since subsequently moving his training base to Estonia and working under the guidance of Gerd Kanter, the agricultural student has established himself as the preeminent performer in a hugely competitive event.
Ceh has lost just once in 16 competitions in 2022. At the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku on 14 June, the giant figure of Ceh placed third behind Sweden&rsquo;s Olympic and 2019 world champion Daniel Stahl and reigning European champion Andrius Gudzius from Lithuania.
Stahl holds the 2022 world lead with 71.47m but the 29-year-old Swede was unable to make the podium in Eugene, finishing fourth with 67.10m &ndash; behind Ceh (71.13m), and Lithuanians Mykolas Alekna (69.27m) and Gudzius (67.55m).&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/79369729-e1bf-40c2-98f1-14ec6d13a0de?width=5300&amp;height=3533" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Six" />
The 19-year-old Alekna, the son of double world and Olympic champion Virgilijus Alekna, came close to breaching the 70.00m barrier with a 69.81m throw, the longest ever throw by a teenager, for second place behind Ceh at the Stockholm Diamond League last month.
Stahl&rsquo;s compatriot and training partner, Simon Pettersson, joined the elite club with a 70.42m effort at the Swedish Championships last Saturday (6). He took Olympic silver behind Stahl in Tokyo and was one place behind him in Eugene, where he finished fifth with 67.00m.
For Stahl, the 2018 silver medallist, and now Pettersson, there is the motivation of becoming the first Swedish winner since Willy Schroder in Paris in 1938. And for Stahl, there is further motivation of completing the set of major titles in Munich after just missing out on gold in Berlin four years ago.
This is just one of many intriguing storylines in what could be one of the highest quality events of the championships.
For Alekna, there is the chance to emulate his father&rsquo;s 2006 success in Gothenburg, while Gudzius has the opportunity to become only the third back-to-back winner after Italy&rsquo;s Adolfo Consolini in 1946, 1950 and 1950 and Germany&rsquo;s Robert Harting in 2012 and 2014).
And for Ceh, there is a chance to outdo his coach. Kanter&rsquo;s highest placing at a European Championships was silver three times including in 2006 behind Alekna senior.
The field also includes Lukas Weisshaidinger, the Austrian who took Olympic bronze in Tokyo but finished a disappointing tenth in Eugene, and Lawrence Okoye, who won his first senior medal at the age of 30 last week, a silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The 117th installment of the Fajdek-Nowicki rivalry to play out in Munich
In the hammer, the biggest threat to Fajdek regaining the title would appear to be his Polish teammate Wojciech Nowicki, who beat him to gold in Berlin four years ago.
Nowicki also claimed Olympic gold last year in Tokyo where Fajdek finished with bronze, behind Norway&rsquo;s Eivind Henriksen. At the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Nowicki took silver with 81.03m and Henriksen bronze with 80.87m.
Fajdek has a career head-to-head record of 90-26 against his compatriot although the score this summer stands at 5-4 in Nowicki&rsquo;s favour following his victory in Szekesfehervar on Monday.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/aab2b42f-a17e-4cb7-bdb7-4e0b4ee2e5f9?width=4958&amp;height=3305" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Two" />
France&rsquo;s Quentin Bigot (80.24m) and Bence Halasz of Hungary (80.15m) also breached the 80m barrier to make the top five in Oregon and will be aiming to figure in the medal mix in Munich along with the precocious Ukrainian Mykhaylo Kokhan who has won European titles at U18, U20 and U23 level.&nbsp;&nbsp;
German hopes of a javelin clean sweep on home ground at the last European Athletics Championships were met with a tinge of disappointment in Berlin as Thomas Rohler and Andreas Hofmann secured gold and silver but Johannes Vetter finished out of the medal frame in fifth place.
Four years on, Vetter is out with a recurring shoulder problem while Rohler and Hofmann are both struggling for form.
Rohler has had only two outings this season, finishing seventh in the Doha Diamond League in May with 72.51m and fifth in the German Championships in Berlin last month with 71.81m. Meanwhile, Hofmann registered three no-throws in the qualifying round at the World Athletics Championships.
This means that Julian Weber will carry the home hopes this time around. The 27-year-old from Mainz has thrown consistently beyond 83.00m all summer and finished fourth in the final in Eugene with 86.86m.
Jakub Vadlejch from the Czech Republic, prot&eacute;g&eacute; of world record-holder Jan Zelezny, beat the German to take bronze in Oregon and the Olympic silver medallist also heads the 2022 European list with 90.88m, his first and only throw in excess of the 90 metre-line.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/f8ff5c1f-be17-4931-bbc5-bc1aeea13f41?width=4499&amp;height=2998" alt="Athletics - Olympics: Day 15" />
The field features the two Finns who made the top eight in the World Championships, Lassi Etelatalo and OIiver Helander, fifth and eighth respectively, and Olympic bronze medallist Vitezslav Vesely of the Czech Republic, the oldest thrower in the field at 39.
Ukraine&rsquo;s Artur Felfner will be looking to make an impact at senior level following his victory last week at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali. Only 18, Felfner has improved to 84.32m this year and is closing in on the European U20 record of 84.69m set by Latvian Zigismunds Sirmais in 2011.
No shot putter has made a greater impact at the European Athletics Championships than David Storl, a three-time winner in 2012, 2014 and 2016.
Also a bronze medallist in Berlin in 2018, and fourth in Barcelona in 2010, the 32-year-old German will be making his sixth successive European Championships appearance in Munich, this time as a long shot for a place on the podium. His season&rsquo;s best, 20.32m, ranks him 28th in Europe in 2022.
Poles Michal Haratyk and Konrad Bukowiecki, the gold and silver medallists in Berlin four years ago, will be looking to challenge for podium places, as will Serbia&rsquo;s Armin Sinancevic, who finished seventh in the Olympic final last year.
The in-form contenders, however, are the trio who made the World Championships final &ndash; Croatia&rsquo;s Filip Mihaljevic (sixth in Eugene with 21.82m), Italy&rsquo;s Nick Ponzio (ninth with 20.81m) and Norwegian Marcus Thomsen (tenth with 21.96m) &ndash; plus Tomas Stanek of the Czech Republic.&nbsp;
Stanek missed the World Athletics Championships but since then, the Czech thrower set a season&rsquo;s best of 21.94m which tops the 2022 European list.
Useful links:
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/final-entries-published-for-munich-2022-european-athletics-championships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final entries</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/4a5c979d-721a-47d8-8896-13c64ce6501c/Munich_2022_Timetable_Athletics_incl_start_times.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/top-list/season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 season's lists</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/3692f95e-ded7-4d23-b46a-e9976dc4f85f/ECH-2022-Statistics-Handbook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munich 2022 statistics handbook</a></li>
</ul>
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World champions Ceh and Fajdek tipped for throwing titles in Munich 2022

Sandra Perkovic will seek a record-breaking sixth successive discus title at the European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships, when she moves into competitive action in Munich&rsquo;s Olympic Stadium.&nbsp;
The 32-year-old Croatian, who also won back-to-back Olympic titles in 2012 and 2016, made history last month in Oregon as she became the first athlete in the women&rsquo;s discus to win five world medals - starting at Moscow 2013, where she won the first of her two world titles. &nbsp;
In so doing, Perkovic earned sweet revenge over the American who took her Olympic women&rsquo;s discus title last year, Valarie Allman, as she beat her to world silver in Eugene with a season&rsquo;s best of 68.45m.&nbsp;&nbsp;
That was not quite enough to prevent China&rsquo;s Bin Feng from earning a surprise win after adding more than three metres to her personal best with her first-round throw of 69.12m.&nbsp;Silver, however, clearly meant a huge amount to Perkovic and now she arrives in Munich with renewed vigour and confidence.&nbsp;
And if she is successful in the stadium constructed to host the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, she will further extend her record of most titles in the same event to six after becoming the first athlete in history to win five successive titles in Berlin 2018.
A sixth gold medal in Munich would also match the accomplishments of East German sprinter Marita Koch who has won an unmatched six gold medals at the European Athletics Championships - three in the 400m and three in the 4x400m relay - between Prague 1978 and Stuttgart 1986.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/0f951637-30d8-4b5e-850e-10a1fa8ea29b?width=3000&amp;height=2038" alt="24th European Athletics Championships - Day Six" />
Among those most eager to deny Perkovic another crowning glory will be 22-year-old Dutch thrower Jorinde van Klinken, a top level discus thrower and shot putter.&nbsp;Currently based at Arizona State University, van Klinken last year became only the second European after Perkovic to surpass 70 metres this century when she threw 70.22m.&nbsp;
Since then there has been palpable frustration for this rising talent as she failed to reach the Olympic final and last month missed out on a world medal by one place despite throwing 64.97m. She will be out for a tangible reward in Munich.&nbsp;
Another strong challenge looks likely to come from Kristin Pudenz, who achieved the second best European mark of the season, a personal best of 67.10m, in Berlin&rsquo;s Olympic Stadium at the German Championships two months ago.&nbsp;
Pudenz, who won Olympic silver last summer with what was then a personal best of 66.86m, will be part of a strong home challenge who will be looking to match - if not better - their achievements of four years ago where Nadine Muller and Shanice Craft won silver and bronze respectively behind an all-conquering Perkovic.
A serial bronze medallist in major championships, Craft is also part of the home triumvirate along with world fifth-placer Claudine Vita.
At 43, France&rsquo;s Melina Robert-Michon is still a serious force and will be seeking to add to her list of accomplishments in her seventh European Athletics Championships which dates back to Budapest 1998 and also includes an appearance in Munich 2002 where she made her first major final.
She has thrown 62.61m this season and has a best of 66.73m dating back to the 2016 Olympic Games where she won silver behind who else but Perkovic.&nbsp;
Who will emerge from Wlodarczyk&rsquo;s shadow in the hammer?
The absence of the incomparable world record-holder Anita Wlodarczyk, who has won the last four European titles having taken bronze in 2010, means the women&rsquo;s hammer throw is more open than it has been in a decade.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Among those best placed to take advantage will be Wlodarczyk&rsquo;s compatriot Malwina Kopron, who won bronze at the 2017 World Athletics Championships and at last year&rsquo;s Olympic Games but surprisingly exited in qualifying at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Kopron, 27, won bronze at the 2015 European U23 Championships but has yet to earn a medal at the senior event, having finished sixth in 2016 and fourth in Berlin four years ago. Can she atone for Oregon by reaching the rostrum for the first time in Munich?&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/136098fc-cb4d-459e-9593-69c5fb6cb3fb?width=3135&amp;height=2091" alt="Athletics - Olympics: Day 11" />
The Pole, who has a best of 76.85m, has been in fine form this year, throwing 75.08m. But Italy&rsquo;s Sara Fantini has gone even further with a personal best of 75.77m to head the 2022 European lists. Never before has an Italian won a title in a women&rsquo;s throwing event at the European Athletics Championships.
Also bang in form are two Nordic throwers who have set personal bests this season - Finland&rsquo;s Krista Tervo, who has recorded 74.40m, and Denmark&rsquo;s Katrine Koch Jacobsen, who has improved from 71.09 to 74.09m in 2022.&nbsp;
France&rsquo;s Alexandra Tavernier brings a wealth of experience to this competition having won world bronze in 2015 and European silver in Berlin four years ago. She has thrown 71.97m this year but has a best of 75.38m.&nbsp;
Others to watch out in this year&rsquo;s European list are Azerbaijan&rsquo;s Hanna Skydan (73.23m), Romania&rsquo;s former world and European U20 champion Bianca Ghelber (73.15m) and Moldova&rsquo;s Zalina Marghieva (72.62m).&nbsp;
Spotakova against the new guard for the javelin title
There is a similar dynamic to the women&rsquo;s discus in the women&rsquo;s javelin, where another double Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova - one of four athletes who also competed when Munich staged the 2002 edition of these championships - seeks a fourth European medal at the age of 41.&nbsp;
The Czech thrower won her only previous European title in 2014 to complete the Grand Slam of major javelin titles, having previously won silver in 2006 and bronze in 2010.&nbsp;
It is 14 years since Spotakova set her world record of 72.28m in Stuttgart, but a recently set season&rsquo;s best of 62.29m puts her very much in the medal reckoning in an event sorely lacking a standout gold medal favourite.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/9290cda4-9cfb-4e5d-88e7-a5ff2cbdb654?width=3000&amp;height=2181" alt="22nd European Athletics Championships - Day Three" />
Two of Spotakova&rsquo;s principal rivals for the javelin title are more than 20 years her junior. Only 20, Greece&rsquo;s reigning European U20 champion Elina Tzengko leads the European list with 65.40m while 18-year-old Adriana Vilagos will be a threat for senior gold if she can replicate the 63.52m she threw last week to regain her world U20 title in Cali, Colombia.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Other medal contenders include Croatia&rsquo;s 2016 Olympic champion Sara Kolak and reigning European silver and bronze medallists Nikola Ogrodnikova from the Czech Republic and Lithuania&rsquo;s Liveta Jasiuniaute.
Sadly for the hosts, reigning champion Christin Hussong has been ruled out of the championships due to illness.&nbsp;
In the women&rsquo;s shot put, the chances look good for Auriol Dongmo to secure an outdoor gold following her victories in last year&rsquo;s European Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun and this year&rsquo;s World Athletics&nbsp; Indoor Championships in Belgrade where she set a massive national record of 20.43m.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The 32-year-old missed out on a medal by one place at last year&rsquo;s Olympics and finished fifth in last month&rsquo;s World Championships but there will be added eagerness to reach the podium this time around in Munich.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/444d2fa4-f947-4b28-b440-f41fd42d8250?width=4657&amp;height=3094" alt="World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 2022 - Day One" />
Dongmo has serious opposition in the form of in-form Dutch thrower Jessica Schilder, who took bronze behind Dongmo in Belgrade but won world bronze last month with a fifth-round national record of 19.77m.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The 23-year-old is clearly a rising force in the event along with her aforementioned compatriot van Klinken who threw a personal best of 19.08m indoors earlier this season.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Sweden&rsquo;s Fanny Roos, European indoor silver medallist last year, set a personal best of 19.42m this year and will be another strong medal contender.&nbsp;
Meanwhile watch out for the home challenge of Sara Gambetta, who threw a personal best of 19.05m indoors this season; Katharina Maisch, who did likewise with 18.88m; and Julia Ritter, who also has a personal best to her credit this year of 18.60m.&nbsp;
The Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships will be streamed live in its entirety through the European Athletics website.
Useful links:
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/final-entries-published-for-munich-2022-european-athletics-championships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final entries</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/4a5c979d-721a-47d8-8896-13c64ce6501c/Munich_2022_Timetable_Athletics_incl_start_times.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/top-list/season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 season's lists</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/3692f95e-ded7-4d23-b46a-e9976dc4f85f/ECH-2022-Statistics-Handbook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munich 2022 statistics handbook</a></li>
</ul>
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Perkovic primed to challenge for a record sixth European discus title in Munich

Perseus Karlstrom has a bounty of bronze medals from major championships but the popular Swedish race walker is yet to win gold in a major championships.
But maybe this will change at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships? Karlstrom has entered both the 20km and 35km race walk which will take place in the heart of the Bavarian capital which stages the wider multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/93f92ed3-03e5-4d6f-b93c-e7a9103d5631/cdcb653b-3d2f-413e-b5ca-ecec10ad3d81.jfif" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marathon course</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/2e78e066-897c-4f07-a8ca-325e508a74c6/Race%20Walking%20course.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Race walking course</a></li>
</ul>
And if he does prevail, don't be surprised to see Karlstrom donning a mock Viking hat which is fast becoming his trademark celebration on the Odeonplatz.
Karlstrom won bronze medals in both events at the World Athletics Championships and he leads the European lists in both events with 1:19:18 and 2:23:44 respectively. And his gold medal prospects in the 35km race walk have been heightened by the fact that recently crowned world champion Massimo Stano from Italy will only be contesting the 20km race walk in Munich.
For Stano, Munich offers the opportunity of completing the Grand Slam of major race walk titles in just over a twelve month window as he defied the heat and humidity to win 20km race walk gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games - one of five gold medals for Italy at those dream Olympics.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/aee14735-4ed2-4198-833a-8e3c76fdf81b?width=3681&amp;height=2454" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Ten" />
The Spaniards will pose the biggest threats in both events. The gold and silver medallists from four years ago Alvaro Martin and Diego Garcia are among four Spaniards entered for the 20km race walk while former world and European champion Miguel Angel Lopez steps up to the 35km race walk.&nbsp;
Stano completed one-half of an Italian double in the 20km race walk in Sapporo with Antonella Palmisano coolly winning the women&rsquo;s title. Unfortunately, Palmisano is a notable absentee due to injury along with her teammate Eleonora Giorgi albeit for the happier reason that she is expecting her first child.
The two principal contenders for the women's 20km race walk title are Spain&rsquo;s reigning champion Maria Perez and Poland&rsquo;s Katarzyna Zdzieblo who had significantly contrasting performances at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.&nbsp;&nbsp;
While Perez was disqualified in the relatively early stages of the 20km race walk, Zdzieblo was one of the breakout performers of the championships where the qualified doctor came away with silver medals in both the 20km and 35km race walk events.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/03405880-c8c3-4f59-900d-a12a8cc64b99?width=4872&amp;height=3249" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day One" />
Zdzieblo will be focusing solely on the shorter distance and an exciting head-to-head with Perez beckons in Munich. They are ranked first and second based on season&rsquo;s bests with 1:27:31 and 1:27:40 respectively although Zdzieblo&rsquo;s performance in Oregon demonstrates we cannot discount a less established performer emerging from the pack.&nbsp;
In the 35km race walk, Greece&rsquo;s Antigoni Ntrismpioti looks poised to win her first medal in a major championships at the age of 38.
Ntrismpioti, who works full-time as a waitress in her family restaurant, has taken seamlessly to the newest event on the major championships schedule. She finished fourth at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon and also won gold in the first staging of the event at the European Race Walking Team Championships last May.&nbsp;
Other notable entrants for the 35km race walk include Portugal&rsquo;s 2018 European 50km race walk champion Ines Henriques - one of four athletes who also competed when Munich staged the 2002 European Athletics Championships - and Spain&rsquo;s Raquel Gonzalez who finished one place behind Ntrismpioti in Oregon.
Veterans Lamdassem and McCormack among the favourites in high quality marathons&nbsp;
And there could be even more Spanish success on the roads, especially in the men&rsquo;s marathon.
One of the standout entrants in a wide open but high quality men&rsquo;s race is Ayad Lamdassem who just missed out on the medals at the Tokyo Olympics where he finished fifth, only losing contact with the medalists in the last two kilometres.
Success at the distance wasn&rsquo;t immediately forthcoming for Lamdassem but the 40-year-old regained sole ownership of the Spanish record with 2:06:25 in Seville this February from Hamid Ben Daoud, also Munich-bound, who tied Lamdassem&rsquo;s mark with 2:06:35 in Valencia last December. 
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/89ec22db-d43b-4625-8028-6cd7021e21f3?width=5691&amp;height=4070" alt="Athletics Marathon - Olympics: Day 16" />
With challenging conditions expected for the marathon, both races are likely to favour experienced runners with a proven championship background. One athlete who fits that bill is Belgium&rsquo;s Koen Naert who won gold four years ago in Berlin in a championship record of 2:09:51 and finished tenth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
German hopes will be centred on Amanal Petros who improved the German record to 2:06:27 in Valencia last year while other sub-2:07 performers due to compete are Sweden&rsquo;s Samuel Tsegay (2:06:53) and Israel&rsquo;s Maru Teferi (2:06:58).
The fastest entrants in the women&rsquo;s race based on lifetime best performances are Nienke Brinkman from the Netherlands (2:22:51) and Ireland&rsquo;s Fionnuala McCormack (2:23:58), two runners with significantly contrasting backgrounds in the sport.&nbsp;&nbsp;
While Brinkman only took up running as a serious pursuit during the coronavirus-enforced lockdowns in 2020, McCormack picked up her first Irish vest more than 20 years ago at the 2001 SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
McCormack has won countless European medals at cross country and a bronze medal indoors over 3000m but she is yet to win a medal at the European Athletics Championships, just missing out on the medals in the 10,000m in 2012 and 2016. This could be her best chance yet.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/eb08014c-9418-4caa-9e66-c42e8fb11a78?width=3318&amp;height=2212" alt="Athletics Marathon - Olympics: Day 15" />
After winning silver in the 3000m steeplechase four years ago, Switzerland&rsquo;s Fabienne Schlumpf will be looking to rejuvenate her promising marathon career which has been punctuated by illness by reaching the podium again. And a strong German contingent which includes Miriam Dattke and Katharina Steinruck should be in contention for both individual and team medals.&nbsp;
Honourable mentions are also in order for Portugal's Sara Moreira, the 2016 European half marathon champion; Anna Incerti, the 2010 European champion who will be representing Italy for the first time in a major championships since the 2016 Olympics; and Finland&rsquo;s Annemari Kiekara, the oldest competitor in the race at 45.
Kiekara might be an unfamiliar name but under her maiden name, Annemari Sandell was one of the standout European distance runners of the mid-1990. Among her list of honours was the gold medal she won at the 1995 European Cross Country Championships in Alnwick at the age of 18.
The Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships will be streamed live in its entirety through the European Athletics website.
Useful links:
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/final-entries-published-for-munich-2022-european-athletics-championships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final entries</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/4a5c979d-721a-47d8-8896-13c64ce6501c/Munich_2022_Timetable_Athletics_incl_start_times.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/top-list/season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 season's lists</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/3692f95e-ded7-4d23-b46a-e9976dc4f85f/ECH-2022-Statistics-Handbook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munich 2022 statistics handbook</a></li>
</ul>
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Can Karlstrom win his first major race walking gold medal in Munich?

Nafissatou Thiam could very possibly complete the set of major heptathlon titles for the second time in her career at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.
After retaining her Olympic heptathlon title in Tokyo last summer, Thiam recaptured her world title at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon last month and the Belgian will be looking to conclude her season in the combined events with a successful defence of her European heptathlon title in Munich.&nbsp;
Since winning her first Olympic heptathlon title in 2016, Thiam has only lost one combined events in the ensuing six years - that sole defeat came at the hands of Katarina Johnson-Thompson at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha - but the 27-year-old faced a resolute challenge from Anouk Vetter from the Netherlands for the world title in Oregon.
After throwing a massive 58.29m in the javelin, Vetter went into the concluding 800 metres with the blue bib to denote her position as competition leader adorned to the chest. Thiam responded to the challenge magnificently, producing a near two-second lifetime best of 2:13.00 to win her fourth global title at the age of 27.
Thiam&rsquo;s winning score of 6947 was the second highest of her career and Vetter&rsquo;s silver medal-winning total of 6867 points was also significant. Not only was it a Dutch record, it was also the second highest non-winning score in heptathlon history after Sabine John scored silver at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul with 6897 points behind Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/0c3728b5-86ec-4bd8-a819-32a05e04739c?width=3716&amp;height=2477" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Four" />
All being well, the heptathlon in Munich looks set to be a near re-run of the World Athletics Championships with six of the top seven from Oregon due to compete - the exception being Anna Hall from the United States who completed the podium in Oregon.
Among those with medal aspirations include the indefitable Pole Adrianna Sulek who has already contested four pentathlon and four heptathlons in 2022. Her season&rsquo;s highlights so far include silver at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade and a fourth-place finish in Oregon where she scored 6672 points to surpass the Polish record which had stood since 1985.
But a Benelux shutout of the medals cannot be discounted. World indoor champion Noor Vidts from Belgium and Olympic bronze medallist Emma Oosterwegel from the Netherlands are also doubling back after finishing fifth and seventh respectively in Oregon. The latter also won a surprise bronze in Tokyo behind Thiam and Vetter.
There will also be significant representation from the newer generation of combined eventers, all of whom will be looking to make an impact in Munich. The 2000s generation in action includes Switzerland&rsquo;s world sixth-placer Annik Kalin; former European U18 and U20 champion Maria Vicente; and 19-year-old Saga Vanninen from Finland who will be making her second championship debut having recently retained her world U20 heptathlon title in Cali.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The championship record still belongs to Jessica Ennis-Hill who scored 6823 points to win this title in Barcelona 2010.&nbsp;
Does a first European title beckon for Mayer?
If everything follows the script, Kevin Mayer will follow his world decathlon title in Oregon by winning his second major title of the season in Munich 2022.
But decathlons seldom follow the script. The clearest example of this was the last European Athletics Championships in Berlin four years ago when Mayer&rsquo;s title hopes evaporated in a flash after incurring his third successive foul in the long jump.
Another variable is the relatively short turnaround between the two championships with only 23 days in between Oregon and Munich. For an athlete who tends to compete very sparingly in combined events, how will Mayer cope with the rigours of back-to-back championships?
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/767442c0-1b94-4f21-9eed-4803471f97bd?width=5890&amp;height=3927" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Ten" />
But if the decathlon does follow the script, Mayer should enjoy a relatively safe passage to his first senior European title. The world record-holder scored 8816 points to win gold in Oregon - his highest score since setting the world record of 9126 points in Talence 2018 - and he leads the European season&rsquo;s list by almost 400 points.
The Germans won this title four years ago courtesy of Arthur Abele which means the home nation will be represented by a quartet of decathletes with reigning champions now receiving a wildcard to compete at the next edition.
Their strongest contender is likely to be Niklas Kaul who won world decathlon gold in Doha 2019 in between Mayer&rsquo;s triumphs in 2017 and 2022 respectively. Kaul is coming off a sixth-place finish in Oregon where he scored 8434 points and was only beaten by Mayer from a European standpoint.
The home contingent also features the newcomer to the German twam Leo Neugebauer, the 22-year-old who studies economics and trains at the University of Texas. He set his lifetime best of 8362 points at the NCAA Championships earlier this summer.
While Kaul and Neugebauer represent the new generation, Kai Kazmirek and Abele are the two elder statesmen of the German decathlon team at 31 and 36 respectively.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/a47c32f6-d515-4538-b4f9-e790c75b21d1?width=4800&amp;height=3270" alt="24th European Athletics Championships - Day Two" />
Abele battled back from a plethora of injury and health problems to win an emotionally-charged gold medal four years ago, one of seven gold medals for the host nation in Berlin 2018 and perhaps the most popular of those triumps. Abele will begin as a sentimental favourite with the Munich crowd but he is unlikely to challenge having not completed a decathlon in almost four years.
Like the Germans, the Estonians have a proud heritage in the decathlon and their trio of Maicel Uibo, Janek Oiglane and Karel Tilga. Uibo, who will accrue big points in the high jump and pole vault, finished seventh at the World Athletics Championships and is third on the European season's list with 8425 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Like Mayer, Simon Ehammer will be looking to win his second major medal of the summer after a bronze in the long jump in Oregon. The Swiss is yet to unlock his full potential in the decathlon but the 22-year-old, who has the distinction of leaping out to 8.45m in a decathlon long jump, has been focusing specifically on these championships.
The championship record in the decathlon is one of the most enduring records with Daley Thompson&rsquo;s mark of 8811 points from Stuttgart 1986 still on the books some 36 years later.
The Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships will be streamed live in its entirety through the European Athletics website.
Useful links:
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/final-entries-published-for-munich-2022-european-athletics-championships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final entries</a></li>
<li><a href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/4a5c979d-721a-47d8-8896-13c64ce6501c/Munich_2022_Timetable_Athletics_incl_start_times.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/top-list/season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 season's lists</a></li>
<li><a href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/3692f95e-ded7-4d23-b46a-e9976dc4f85f/ECH-2022-Statistics-Handbook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munich 2022 statistics handbook</a></li>
</ul>
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World champions Thiam and Mayer headline strong combined events line-ups in Munich

Final entries for the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships have been published and are available to view in pdf format.
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/d25ea5a2-dc38-4a65-a524-85ab1603d074/ECH%202022%20-%20Final%20Entries%20Athletes%20List%20By%20Event%20-%20Season%20Best%20(1).pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final entries by event by season's best</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/8861cd54-4478-48a0-a2a0-ba9199333e4b/ECH%202022%20-%20Final%20Entries%20Athletes%20List%20By%20Event.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final entries by event by country&nbsp;</a></li>
</ul>
The European Athletics Championships take place from 15-21 August and are part of the wider multi-sport European Championships in the Bavarian capital from 11-21 August.
The entry-lists feature no fewer than 31 reigning individual champions from Berlin 2018 including Croatia&rsquo;s Sandra Perkovic who is targeting a record-breaking sixth successive title in the discus.
All 10 European gold medallists from the World Athletics Championships in Oregon are due to compete although not necessarily in the event in which they struck gold. World 1500m champion Jake Wightman will drop down to the 800m and world 35km race walk champion Massimo Stano will contest the 20km race walk.
At least four athletes on the entry-list competed when Munich hosted the 2002 edition of the European Athletics Championships. Those four are Czech Republic&rsquo;s world javelin record-holder Barbora Spotakova, France&rsquo;s 2016 Olympic discus silver medallist Melina Robert-Michon and Portuguese race walkers Joao Vieira and Ines Henriques.&nbsp;
By contrast the youngest athlete on the entry-list is Sarolta Kriszt, 15, who is part of Hungary&rsquo;s women's 4x400m relay team.
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Final entries published for Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships

At least 40 EBU Members will offer in-depth television, radio, and digital coverage of the European Championships Munich 2022, the second edition of the multi-sport event taking place from 11-21 August with the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships occupying the last seven days of the programme from 15-21 August.
The European Championships takes place every four years, in partnership with Europe&rsquo;s free-to-air broadcasters. This year&rsquo;s edition will aggregate the existing continental championships of nine sports: Athletics; Cycling (road, track, mountain bike and BMX freestyle); Gymnastics (artistic); Rowing; Triathlon; Beach Volleyball; Sport Climbing; Canoe Sprint; and Table Tennis.
EBU Members that will broadcast the European Championships Munich 2022 include:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>ORF (Austria)</li>
<li>RTBF &amp; VRT (Belgium)</li>
<li>BNT/BNR (Bulgaria)</li>
<li>HRT (Croatia)</li>
<li>CYBC (Cyprus)</li>
<li>CT/CR (Czech Republic)</li>
<li>DR (Denmark)</li>
<li>ERR (Estonia)</li>
<li>YLE (Finland)</li>
<li>France Televisions/SRF/RFI (France)</li>
<li>ARD &amp; ZDF (Germany)</li>
<li>ERT (Greece)</li>
<li>MTVA (Hungary)</li>
<li>RUV (Iceland)</li>
<li>RTE ( Ireland)</li>
<li>RAI (Italy)</li>
<li>LT/LR (Latvia)</li>
<li>LRT (Lithuania)</li>
<li>NOS (Netherlands)</li>
<li>NRK (Norway)</li>
<li>TVP/PR (Poland)</li>
<li>RTP (Portugal)</li>
<li>RTR (Russia)</li>
<li>RTS (Serbia)</li>
<li>RTVS (Slovakia)</li>
<li>RTVSLO (Slovenia)</li>
<li>RTVE (Spain)</li>
<li>SVT/SR (Sweden)</li>
<li>SRG-SSR (Switzerland)</li>
<li>TRT (Turkey)</li>
<li>BBC (United Kingdom)</li>
</ul>
More than 3500 hours of live, delayed, and digital programming has so far been scheduled across more than 50 channels. This compares with just over 3000 hours of intentions for the inaugural European Championships Glasgow/Berlin 2018 edition.
EBU Members&rsquo; coverage is supplemented by The Sports Channel (Israel), Prima Sport (Romania) and Eurosport (pan-Europe) through media rights agreements on behalf of rights-owner European Championship Management (ECM) by Eurovision Sport. ECM has also secured a number of media rights agreements for free-to-air coverage including with CBC Sport (Azerbaijan).
Eurovision Services, an EBU company, is providing services for the distribution of the international signal for the event, making it available across Europe, Asia, and the Americas on six separate multilateral feeds. The company is also providing dedicated services to seven EBU members.
Marc Joerg of ECM said: &ldquo;It is very exciting to see that Europe&rsquo;s biggest free-to-air broadcasters will once again be giving the &lsquo;major event&rsquo; treatment to the second edition of the multi-sport European Championships in Munich.
&ldquo;The Broadcasters appear to have embraced our revamped sports programme featuring nine Olympic sports judging by their commitments to broadcast live, delayed and digital programming from morning till evening &ndash; once again helping to create a must-watch, must-attend event that elevates the Champions of Europe and gives the opportunity for hundreds of millions of fans to enjoy the best of European sport.&rdquo;
Glen Killane, Executive Director of Eurovision Sport, said: &ldquo;The second edition of the European Championships is the pinnacle of what has been an incredible summer of Sport. Munich hosts these championships 50 years after it hosted the Olympics, and this event will be the biggest multi-sport event staged in Germany since then.
&ldquo;EBU Members across over 40 countries will bring the action to audiences in a way that no other organisation can and ensure maximum exposure for the best athletes in Europe across nine sports.&rdquo;
The second edition of the European Championships follows the outstanding success of the inaugural edition, which took place in Glasgow and Berlin in 2018. Now, Munich will come alive during 11 days of high-level competition centred on the city&rsquo;s Olympic Park and featuring 50 participating nations, 177 medal events and 4700 athletes, all captured by EBU Members&rsquo; cameras and microphones.

EBU Members to broadcast more than 3500 hours of European Championships Munich 2022

Poland will be sending a team of 81 athletes to the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August which forms part of the wider multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.
The Polish team includes four reigning individual champions from Berlin 2018 in Justyna Swiety-Ersetic (400m), Paulina Guba and Michal Haratyk (shot put) and Wojciech Nowicki (hammer) along with reigning five-time world champion Pawel Fajdek.&nbsp;
After winning silver medals in the 20km and 35km race walk events at the World Athletics Championships, Katarzyna Zdzieblo will be focusing solely on the 20km race walk in Munich.&nbsp;
Other medal contenders include European silver medallist Sofia Ennaoui in the 1500m, recent sub-50 second performer Natalia Kaczmarek in the 400m, European U23 record-holder Pia Skaryszewska in the 100m hurdles and world fourth-placer Adrianna Sulek in the heptathlon.
Poland enjoyed their most successful campaign at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin where they won seven gold medals and finished a close second on the medal table to Great Britain &amp; NI.
The full Polish team can be found <a title="" href="https://www.pzla.pl/aktualnosci/12911-reprezentacja-polski-na-mistrzostwa-europy-monachium-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.&nbsp;

Four individual reigning champions feature on Poland’s team of 81 athletes for Munich

Austria&rsquo;s Ilona Gusenbauer, the 1971 European champion and world record-holder, was favourite to win the women&rsquo;s high jump title at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.&nbsp;
As for the hosts &ndash; they had three contenders in Ellen Mundinger, Renate Gartner and a 16-year-old who had finished third at the recent West German Championships.&nbsp;
This 1.90m-tall jumper, who had embraced the backward jumping-style pioneered by the 1968 Olympic champion Dick Fosbury, was definitely one for the future.&nbsp;
But nobody realised how soon that future would come around.&nbsp;
Meyfarth, who hails from Frankfurt, had arrived at her home Olympics with a personal best of 1.86m, so the qualifying mark of 1.76m was something she managed without blemish &ndash; and she was joined by 22 rivals in the final who had also surmounted that height. It was going to be a very long final.
Gusenbauer ran into a spot of early trouble in the final, requiring two attempts to clear 1.71m and 1.76m although she recovered her form to clear 1.79m and 1.82m on her first attempts.&nbsp;
However, six other jumpers, including Meyfarth, had cleared up to 1.82m without blemish.&nbsp;
The next height, 1.85m, sorted the field out ruthlessly, as only three jumpers cleared it without incurring any faults &ndash; Great Britain&rsquo;s Barbara Inkpen, Bulgaria&rsquo;s Yordanka Blagoeva and Meyfarth.&nbsp;
Gusenbauer had managed 1.85m at her third attempt to become one of the four others to qualify for a go at 1.88m.&nbsp;
Only three managed that height &ndash; with the Austrian managing it on the second attempt to move into third position behind Blagoeva and Meyfarth, who went over first time.&nbsp;
These three, certain of medals, moved on to 1.90m &ndash; which only the German teenager would clear on her second attempt, meaning Blagoeva, who had also cleared 1.88m on the first attempt, won silver ahead of the Austrian jumper.&nbsp;
Could Meyfarth go even higher?
Established as an unlooked-for home champion &ndash; Mundinger and Gartner had both gone out at 1.85m &ndash; Meyfarth decided to up the ante and set the bar at 1.92m, the world record height that had been set by Gusenbauer in Vienna the previous September.&nbsp;
By now the youngest &ndash; and still the youngest athlete &ndash; to win an individual athletics title at the Olympics, Meyfarth became joint world record-holder as she cleared the height at her first attempt.&nbsp;
As Athletics Weekly reported: &ldquo;The bar was raised to 1.92m and Ulrike took a customary close look at it before striding off to her check mark. The stadium was hushed. She ran up&hellip;and then someone shouted out. Well meant, probably, but it put her off, and she stopped and went back, while the crowd turned and glowered at the well-wisher.
&ldquo;She ran in again, and amid a noise like a bomb explosion, flopped cleanly over the world record height. It was like a fairytale.&rdquo;
Follow that! It was not easy, and her form ebbed and flowed over the next few years as, by her own admission, she struggled to cope with the attention and celebrity that came her way in the wake of her stunning breakthrough performance at the 1972 Olympic Games.&nbsp;
She finished seventh at the 1974 European Championships before failing to qualify for the defence of her title at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.&nbsp;
In 1977, she moved clubs from Cologne to the famed Bayer Leverkusen - of which she is still a member today - and changed coaches to Gerd Osenberg who had worked with the 1972 Olympic long jump champion Heide Rosendahl and was later to guide the 1992 Olympic high jump champion Heike Henkel.&nbsp;
&ldquo;In 1977, I just decided to start all over again and that&rsquo;s what I did,&rdquo; Meyfarth said. "Gerd wasn&rsquo;t really a high jump coach, so we learnt together. It was a long road but by 1982 I was back on the international scene."&nbsp;
Gold again twelve years later in Los Angeles
She might well have been a medal contender at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games but for the West German boycott. However, after almost a decade of East Germany&rsquo;s Rosemary Ackermann and Italy&rsquo;s Sara Simeoni taking top billing, she won at the 1981 World Cup and also won the 1982 European indoor title with what was then a national indoor record of 1.99m.&nbsp;
At the 1982 European Athletics Championships in Athens, Meyfarth amassed a flawless record as the only one of the trio to clear 2.00m, equalling the West German record she had set in the national championships in Munich seven weeks earlier.&nbsp;
With the bar raised to 2.02m, Meyfarth brought it down twice but on her third attempt &ndash; her tenth jump of the competition &ndash; she cleared it with her torso passing well clear and the backs of her legs merely tickling it.&nbsp;
That added one centimetre to the world record that had been set by Simeoni at the previous European Championships in Prague four years earlier.&nbsp;
The following summer, Meyfarth improved the world record again to 2.03m at the European Cup in London and while Bykova cleared the same height and was given a share of the world record.
Meyfarth&rsquo;s career was to be capped by a second Olympic gold medal 12 years after her first, in Los Angeles, and having been the youngest Olympic athletics champion in an individual event, in 1984, she was at the time the oldest ever women&rsquo;s Olympic high jump winner.&nbsp;
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Munich Magic | Meyfarth's teen triumph in the high jump at the 1972 Olympic Games

Host nation Germany will be represented by 112 athletes at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August which forms part of the wider multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.
The team is spearheaded by reigning long jump champion Malaika Mihambo who has won every major outdoor championship since striking gold in Berlin 2018.&nbsp;
Fellow Berlin 2018 gold medallists Mateusz Przybylko (high jump), Thomas Rohler (javelin) and Arthur Abele (decathlon) have also been selected although reigning women&rsquo;s javelin champion Christin Hussong and two-time European 3000m steeplechase champion Gesa Felicitas Krause have been ruled out.
Germany finished third on the medal table at the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships although the home contingent did accrue the most number of medals, accruing 19 medals across the programme.
The full German team can be found <a title="" href="https://www.leichtathletik.de/news/news/detail/76918-dlv-nominiert-112-athletinnen-und-athleten-fuer-die-heim-em-in-muenchen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.&nbsp;
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Hosts Germany to send 112 athletes to Munich 2022

By the time Polish race walker Robert Korzenioski arrived at the 2002 European Athletics Championships in Munich for the defence of his 50km race walk title he had pretty much done all there was to do in his sport &ndash; but he still hadn&rsquo;t set a world record.&nbsp;
But that would change in the space of just over three-and-a-half hours on the perimeter of the Olympic Park in the Bavarian capital.&nbsp;
As the respected newsletter Athletics International&nbsp;edited by Mel Watman and Peter Matthews wrote: "This latest exploit has ended all argument: Korzeniowski is the greatest walker ever to put heel in front of toe. Already the only man to have won the Olympic 20k/50k double and successfully defended his 50k laurels, plus two world titles, the 34 year-old Pole not only retained the European championship but set a fabulous world best into the bargain."
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1552322933472862209"]
Having discovered race walking at the age of 15, thanks to his sports teacher, the young man from Lubaczow moved to northern France in the early 1990s in order to access better training conditions.&nbsp;
But the route to the top was not a straightforward one.&nbsp;
A chequered debut to his Olympic career
At his first Olympic Games in Barcelona 1992, Korzeniowski dropped out of the 20km race walk before he was disqualified from the 50km race walk a little over a week later while in second place for lifting.
Now there was a challenge to onward progress. But the diminutive &ndash; 1.68m (5ft 6in) - talent pushed on.&nbsp;
Four years later, the Polish walker earned his first Olympic title in the damp humidity of Atlanta in 1996, finishing 16 seconds clear of his opposition in the men&rsquo;s 50km race walk - an event which he would dominate for the next eight years.
The 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney witnessed an unprecedented performance from this Polish walking phenomenon. In the space of seven days, Korzeniowski became the first athlete - and remains the only athlete - to win the 20km and 50km race walking events at the same Olympics.&nbsp;
Korzeniowski would bow out with a third successive Olympic 50km race walk title in Athens but two years before that final flourish in Athens, Munich offered Korzeniowski the opportunity to make another indelible mark upon the event.&nbsp;
The world record - or the world best as it was still formally known in 2002 - for the 50km race walk had been set two years before the European Athletics Championships by Russia&rsquo;s Valeriy Spitsyn, who had recorded 3:37:26 while the championship record of 3:40:55 had stood to East Germany&rsquo;s Hartwig Gauder since the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart.&nbsp;
At the height of his powers in Munich
Both marks would be expunged from the record books as Korzeniowski marched his way to victory on a two-kilometre looped circuit of the Olympic Park which finished inside the Olympic Stadium in 3:36:39.
"The public welcomed with enchantment the first world best performance of these 18th European championships," reported World Athletics on Korzeniowski&rsquo;s latest triumph.&nbsp;&nbsp;
"The spectators in the Munich stadium should have guessed something great would happen today, as one of the world&rsquo;s all-time great athletes across all disciplines, Poland's Robert Kozeniowski was performing in the men&rsquo;s 50km walk.&nbsp; &nbsp;
"For the first time in two days, the sun was out and a strong contingent of Polish fans were seated, furiously waving their flags, and singing &lsquo;the red and white are invincible&rsquo; as early as 9 am.&nbsp;
"They expected their national hero Korzeniowski to win and he didn't disappoint them as he arrived in the stadium 3:36.39 hours later to set a new world best and championship record, as well as lowering his personal best by more than five minutes."&nbsp;
After the race, Korzeniowski said: "I felt I could break this world record after 20km in the race. I knew the pace was fast and it is then I decided to focus on this world record."
<img src="https://directus.european-athletics.com/assets/cc0d9ad6-e5a1-4705-b4fa-dde470ac428b?width=1654&amp;height=1214" alt="Robert Korzeniowski of Poland" />
Korzeniowski finished clear of Spitsyn&rsquo;s Russian compatriot Aleksey Voyevodin (3:40:16) with bronze going in 3:44:33 to Spain&rsquo;s Jesus Angel Garcia who would go on to compete in eight Olympics, his most recent appearance being at the Tokyo 2020 Games aged 51.&nbsp;
And Poland&rsquo;s prospects in the race walking events in Munich look healthy some twenty years after Korzeniowski&rsquo;s heroics.&nbsp;
Katarzyna Zdzieblo, a qualified doctor, emulated Korzeniowski by coming away with two medals at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.&nbsp;
Zdzieblo won silver on the first day of the championships in the 20km race walk behind Peru&rsquo;s Kimberly Garcia Leon before picking up her second silver medal in Oregon in the inaugural staging of the 35km race walk, once again behind Garcia Leon.
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Munich Magic | Korzeniowski is at the height of his powers in Munich 2002

France will be sending a team of 101 athletes to the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August which forms part of the multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.
Pascal Martinot-Lagarde will defend his European title in the 110m hurdles although fellow Berlin 2018 champions Morhad Amdouni (10,000m) and Mahiedine Mekhissi (3000m steeplechase) have been ruled out due to injury.
Reigning world champion Kevin Mayer will be looking for his second major title in less than three weeks in the decathlon while Sasha Zhoya will be targeting his first senior medal after winning U20 titles in the 110m hurdles at the European and World Athletics U20 Championships last summer.
The team also features former three-time European pole vault champion Renaud Lavillenie who will be making his 43rd major appearance in a French vest as well as 43-year-old Melina Robert-Michon who was part of the French team when Munich held the 2002 European Athletics Championships.
The full team can be found <a title="" href="https://www.athle.fr/asp.net/main.html/html.aspx?htmlid=6386" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
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Mayer and Martinot-Lagarde spearhead France’s team for Munich 2022

The 1972 Olympic Games began and ended in triumph for home athlete Heide Rosendahl as she earned long jump gold on day one of the Games and anchored the 4x100m relay team to a final-day victory in a world record of 42.81 ahead of a mighty East German team anchored by Renate Stecher.
Had it not been for the indefatigable competitiveness of Great Britain&rsquo;s Mary Peters, the West German would have made it a historic hat-trick of gold medals in a dramatic pentathlon competition.&nbsp;
Peters was 33 at the time of Munich and competing in her third and final Olympic Games while Rosendahl was eight years her junior and coming off the back of a gold medal at the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki 1971.&nbsp;
Both had earned their first international medals in 1966, with the former earning shot put silver for Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica and the latter claiming silver at the European Championships in Budapest where she was competing in the pentathlon.&nbsp;
A year before the Olympics, Rosendahl had won pentathlon gold and long jump bronze at the European Championships in Helsinki, while Peters &ndash; a qualified teacher who held down a full-time job and had to take her shot and starting blocks through a two-bus journey to her local athletics track &ndash; had won two Commonwealth titles in 1970.
The Belfast-based athlete, who had moved to Northern Ireland aged eight following a work transfer for her father, had also competed in two previous Olympic pentathlons &ndash; at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo she missed a medal by one place, and four years later in Mexico City she finished ninth.&nbsp;
Rosendahl came to the pentathlon event in Munich with a spring in her step having won the long jump title by a centimetre with a first-round effort of 6.78m &ndash; just six centimetres shy of the world record she had set two years earlier at the World University Games in Turin.&nbsp;
One of the greatest clashes in Olympic history begins&nbsp;
But in front of 80,000 fans - including a large contingent of travelling British fans which included Mary&rsquo;s father who had travelled from Australia - who packed eagerly into the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Peters made the ideal start. She equalled her personal best in the opening 100m hurdles with a time of 13.29, the second best in the event, before winning the shot put with a mammoth 16.20m.&nbsp;
After two events she led the overall standings with 1920 points and she would never be overtaken &ndash; although it would be an extremely close-run thing in the end.&nbsp;
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Peters was to further extend her lead in the high jump, raising her lifetime best all the way up 1.82m. Having not got to grips with the Fosbury Flop technique which had revolutionised the event, Rosendahl was limited to a 1.65m clearance with the increasingly out-of-favour straddle-technique in the high jump and ceded a 301-point deficit to Rosendahl overnight.&nbsp;
Peters&rsquo; prospects of victory looked exceedingly healthy but she knew that the concluding long jump and 200m were Rosendahl&rsquo;s specialities and her own weakest events.&nbsp;
The West German made up huge ground by winning the long jump with 6.83m, just a centimetre shy of her own world record although admittedly wind-assisted, while Peters underperformed to the extent that she failed even to register a six-metre jump, having to settle for 5.98m, which meant her lead going into the final event had been reduced to 122 points and an anxious wait before the concluding 200m later in the day.&nbsp;
"I went back to my room, I couldn&rsquo;t even eat. Tears again, nerves, apprehension. As I lay there some of the girls came in and they were saying what are you worrying about, you&rsquo;ve got a gold medal. I said 'I know, but I want the gold. I wanted it so much,'" said Peters in an in-depth interview with Athletics Weekly after the 1972 Olympic Games.
Peters holds on for gold...but only just
Both rivals competed in the fourth and final heat, which was won by Rosendahl in 22.96, the fastest time of the day.&nbsp;
As she crossed the line the West German finished with 4791 points, surpassing by 16 points the world record held by East Germany&rsquo;s Burglinde Pollak who would come away with bronze - one of many silver and bronze medals in her career.
It was a record Rosendahl held for all of 1.12 seconds before Peters, straining every sinew, came home fourth in the heat, and sixth overall, in 24.08.&nbsp;
There was an agonising wait until the totals were confirmed &ndash; but it ended in triumph for Peters, who had earned gold by just 10 points and one-tenth of a second, setting a world record of 4801.&nbsp;
Rosendahl moved on to another golden compensation in the women&rsquo;s sprint relay, where she brought her team home ahead of an East German quartet boasting the mighty individual 100 and 200m champion Renate Stecher.&nbsp;
Further accolades awaited the pair later in the year as Rosendahl was chosen for the second time as German Sportswoman of the Year and Peters &ndash; who had to stay away from her Belfast flat for three months upon her return after receiving death threats from republican terrorists - was named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year award after securing Britain&rsquo;s only athletics gold of the Games.
Peters&rsquo; gold medal in the pentathlon was just one of a slew of British successes in the combined events beginning with Mary Rand&rsquo;s silver medal at the 1964 Olympic Games and continuing through until the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha where Katarina Johnson-Thompson won gold, surpassing Jessica Ennis-Hills&rsquo;s British record in the process.
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Munich Magic | Peters clinches Olympic pentathlon gold from Rosendahl in dramatic finale

The biggest ever Italian team will compete at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships with 101 athletes selected for this year&rsquo;s event which forms part of the multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.
The 101-strong team is replete with Olympic champions with Marcell Jacobs (100m, 4x100m), Gianmarco Tamberi (high jump) and Massimo Stano (20km race walk) all named in the team.&nbsp;
Stano won gold at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon last month in the 35km race walk but the Italian will contest the shorter distance in Munich twelve months after winning 20km race walk gold in Sapporo.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/9a842fec-0b04-4ec2-881d-2b857ae2f59d?width=2999&amp;height=2000" alt="Athletics Race Walk - Olympics: Day 13" />
As well as Jacobs, the Italian team also includes the three other members of their gold medal-winning team in the 4x100m: Eseosa Desalu (200m, 4x100m), Filippo Tortu (200m, 4x100m) and Lorenzo Patta (4x100m).
Italy&rsquo;s sole gold medal four years ago in Berlin came in the men&rsquo;s marathon team race and their team of five athletes for the event includes Daniele Meucci, the 2014 European marathon champion.
One significant absentee from the Italian team is Olympic 20km race walk champion Antonella Palmisano due to injury.&nbsp;
The full Italian team can be found <a href="https://www.fidal.it/content/Europei-101-azzurri-per-Monaco-di-Baviera/142313">here</a>.
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Jacobs and Tamberi among 101 Italians selected for Munich 2022

The Netherlands will be sending a team of 61 athletes to the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August which forms part of the wider multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.&nbsp;
The team is headed by world 400m hurdles silver medallist Femke Bol who could leave the Bavarian capital with three medals for posterity. Bol will be contesting the 400m hurdles in Munich and she is also entered in the 400m and 4x400m relay.
World heptathlon silver medallist Anouk Vetter will be looking to regain the European title she won on home soil in Amsterdam 2016 and Jessica Schilder will be looking for her second major medal of the season after winning shot put bronze at the World Athletics Championships.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/45b31f73-fe20-4969-b377-552259e5d898?width=4135&amp;height=2756" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Four" />
After missing the World Athletics Championships, Dafne Schippers returns to the Dutch team for Munich. Schippers, who has won medals at the last four European Championships including four gold medals, will contest the individual 100m and has been named in their 4x100m relay pool.
One notable absentee on the Dutch team is Sifan Hassan who has elected not to defend her European 5000m title.&nbsp;
The full Dutch team for Munich 2022 can be found <a title="" href="https://twitter.com/Atletiekunie/status/1554814344856215552" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Mujinga Kambundji is the star name on Switzerland's team for Munich
Reigning world indoor 60m champion Mujinga Kambundji spearheads the team of 46 Swiss athletes for the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships.
Kambundji is due to compete in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay just a fortnight after reaching the final in all three events at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon. Her sister Ditaji will also make her senior European Championships debut in the 100m hurdles.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/d65823b3-da33-4644-88e8-f010508aeec8?width=4679&amp;height=2995" alt="World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 2022 - Day One" />
Switzerland won one gold medal at the last edition in Berlin 2018 courtesy of the now-retired Lea Sprunger in the 400m hurdles.
The full Swiss team for Munich 2022 can be found <a title="" href="https://www.swiss-athletics.ch/de/blog/2022/08/02/swiss-athletics-selektioniert-46-koepfiges-team-fuer-em-in-muenchen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
A large Finnish contingent to compete in Munich
The biggest ever Finnish team will be competing at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships.
From 42 athletes in Berlin 2018, a team of roughly 70 athletes will represent Finland in Munich including Saga Vanninen and Silja Kosonen who won both the European and world U20 titles in the heptathlon and hammer respectively last year.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/2a8f0a1e-e6ff-4b71-ad27-01da38241378?width=3800&amp;height=2533" alt="European Athletics U20 Championships - Day 3" />
At the other end of the age spectrum, 45-year-old Annemari Kiekara, the 1995 European cross country champion when she was competing under her maiden name of Sandell, will be competing for Finland in the marathon.&nbsp;
The full Finnish team for Munich 2022 can be found <a title="" href="https://www.yleisurheilu.fi/uutinen/suomi-ennatyssuurella-yleisurheilujoukkueella-munchenin-em-kisoihin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. 
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Bol poised to target a 400m/400m hurdles double in Munich 2022

Spain is sending their biggest ever team of 93 athletes to the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.
The 93-strong team features their two individual champions from Berlin 2018 with Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez looking to defend their titles in the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 20km race walk respectively.
The team also includes their two medal winners from the recent World Athletics Championships in Oregon. Asier Martinez will be looking to improve on his bronze medal in the 110m hurdles and Mohamed Katir will be looking for his second major medal of the season.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/36792040-0fac-4520-af40-21cb840a0809?width=5018&amp;height=3345" alt="World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Five" />
Katir won bronze behind Jake Wightman and Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 1500m in Oregon but he will be stepping up in distance to contest the 5000m in Munich.&nbsp;
Other title contenders include world indoor champion Mariano Garcia in the 800m, world 1500m fourth-placer Mario Garcia and Olympic fifth-placer and national record-holder Ayad Lamdassem in the marathon.
Spain has won 75 medals in European Athletics Championships history and they enjoyed their best ever campaign to date when Munich staged the 2002 edition of the championships, winning six gold medals and 15 medals in total.
The full Spanish team can be found <a title="" href="https://twitter.com/atletismoRFEA/status/1554386666508394496" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.&nbsp;
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Reigning champions and world medallists headline Spain's team for Munich 2022

Germany&rsquo;s Carina Post started her journey in the European Athletics Youth Team shortly after the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships.
She joined the Young Leaders Forum as a local organisational volunteer and she liked it so much that she then applied to be part of the group of young leaders that help European Athletics in developing the Forum.
Post is among the main organisers of this years Forum which will be held from 17-21 August during the European Athletics Championships.
European Athletics: What is your role in athletics?
Carina Post: Within athletics, I&rsquo;m part of the German Youth Council. I&rsquo;m responsible for the volunteers and society-related issues. I&rsquo;m still in the German Youth Team where we do small programmes and I&rsquo;m part of the Senior Team of European Athletics. I&rsquo;m also working at the Koblenz University of Applied Sciences as an assistant professor in sport management.
EA: Why did you join the volunteer team for the Berlin 2018 Young Leaders Forum and why did you join the European Athletics Youth Team?
CP: A friend of mine was working for the Berlin 2018 Local Organising Committee and she was responsible for the Young Leaders Forum during those European Athletics Championships. European Athletics wanted two volunteers there and she asked me if I wanted to be involved. I knew that the Young Leaders Forum in Amsterdam in 2016 was really good so I said yes. I really enjoyed the sessions at the Forum and after that I applied to be part of the European Athletics Youth Team.
<img src="https://directus.european-athletics.com/assets/b921334d-3a1f-480d-adaf-84e3c32daaba?width=6000&amp;height=4000" alt="Engagement" />
EA: Which was the best part of the Young Leaders Forum?
CP: I clearly remember one night in the stadium; it was raining and we couldn&rsquo;t leave the stadium so they turned up the music and everyone was dancing. I love the energy of people that don&rsquo;t know each other but love the same sport and do the same things.
EA: Why you think that the Young Leaders Forum is important?
CP: For me, it&rsquo;s good to know that there are a lot of people that love the same sport, do the same thing and work within the same sport. I think that is really important to have a good network; you can ask people to help you and see how they work. It&rsquo;s amazing to know people in different roles. I know that if I have a question I can just go to one of them and ask. This is really needed for youth involvement. It&rsquo;s easier to talk with someone who is part of the same generation, a &lsquo;digital native&rsquo;.
EA: Do you think that the Young Leaders Forum and and being part of the Youth Team has helped you in some way?
CP: Yes, I got elected to the German Youth Council and I think that I got that position because of my background in athletics.
EA: Do you have many young people involved in athletics outside of competition in Germany?
CP: In Germany the situation is pretty good. The Youth Council changed everything last year. They created a position for people under the age of 27 so they are trying to represent these young people. I think that is pretty good. The Council is elected and then we have different groups related to different topics so for athletes in this age group it is easier to raise their voice.
EA: Where do you see yourself in five years&rsquo;time?
CP: Certainly In athletics. I would like to do something for the German federation, maybe in the development area. We have a age limit in the Youth Team and we&rsquo;re trying to understand what to do with the people that move on. We want to create a network with them and focus groups that work on various topics. I really see myself there.

European Athletics Youth Team's Carina Post goes from volunteer to leader

Wladyslaw Komar was many things in a tumultuous life cut short by a car crash &ndash; a refugee, an orphan, a boxer, a wrestler, a high-profile film actor and a shot putter who won gold for Poland at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich with an Olympic record.
Born in 1940 into an aristocratic Polish family of landowners, Komar inherited sports genes from his father, who had competed as Vladas Komaras for Lithuania in the high jump and 110m hurdles at the inaugural 1934 European Athletics Championships, and his mother, who had set a Polish record in the shot put in the early 1930s.
During the war his father helped the Polish Resistance against German occupation, and was murdered in 1944 by German Security Police. When the Red Army arrived in 1945 Komar&rsquo;s mother feared they might be deported to Siberia as other landowners had been, so she fled with her young son to Warsaw before placing him in an orphanage near Poznan.
In 1953 he rejoined his mother in the Polish capital and soon took up amateur boxing, competing as a heavyweight and progressing to the point where he was representing his country at U20 level.
A first-round knockout by an Italian opponent convinced him that he might have a better sporting future in athletics, where he was a talented shot putter who also excelled in the high jump and decathlon, setting a Polish record in the latter event in 1963.
A long road to Olympic success
At the 1962 European Athletics Championships in Belgrade he missed a shot put medal by one place. Two years later he went to the Tokyo Olympics with high hopes, having improved the Polish record to 19.50m, just six centimeters shy of the European record, but he finished ninth with 18.20m.
Four years later he finished sixth in the 1968 Olympic final in Mexico City, won by Randy Matson of the United States, who had thrown an Olympic record of 20.68m in qualifying. By the time Komar was preparing for Munich he had added another European bronze to his collection at the 1971 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki.
Before the event there was much attention on the prospects of the throwers from East Germany, the rapidly rising athletics force of that era, although the silver medallist from Mexico, George Woods, was also favoured to maintain a United States winning tradition in this Olympic event that went back to before the Second World War.
But Komar, now a three-time Olympian and operating under a nickname of King Kong that had been traced to an article in Sports Illustrated, was far from being disregarded.
Matson&rsquo;s Olympic record was beaten by the first round effort of 20.97m by East Germany&rsquo;s Hartmut Briesenick, who was the sixth thrower in the order. That in turn was beaten by the tenth of the first-round throwers, Briesenick&rsquo;s compatriot Hans-Peter Gies, who recorded 21.14m.
Komar's first round KO in Munich
Komar was the fourteenth thrower to go &ndash; and with his opening effort he extended the Olympic record to 21.18m, a distance none of his rival could match. 
That said, they came close. Briesenick matched Gies&rsquo; 21.14m effort, and ultimately displacing him from the podium through having a better second-best effort, and with Woods making a huge final effort to turn silver into gold but having to settle for silver again with 21.17m.
Komar&rsquo;s victory was achieved by dint of one extra centimetre. As such it was the narrowest margin in an Olympic men&rsquo;s shot put final. That is, once the gold medal won in the Ancient Stadium of Olympia by Ukraine&rsquo;s Yuriy Bilonoh during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens had been stripped following a positive finding when his sample was re-tested in 2012.
Komar continued to compete at the highest level for several years, earning his last big medal, a bronze, in 1977 at the European Athletics Indoor Championships, where he had previously earned three silvers and a bronze.
Even before retiring he had become an actor and in the space of more than two decades, his IMDb listing had grown as lengthy as his list of athletics medals. Komar appeared in more than 10 films, starting with Kazimierz Wiekli, released in 1975, in which he played Wladzio and including Roman Polanski&rsquo;s 1986 comedy film Pirates, in which he played Jesus.
He was also part of a wrestling show organised by Poland&rsquo;s former Olympian Andrzej Supron which toured the Soviet Union in 1989 and 1990.
Komar died on August 17 1998 after a car crash when he was returning from an athletics meeting in Miedzyzdroje together with another famous Polish Olympian, pole vaulter Tadeusz Slusarski, who won gold at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and silver four years later in Moscow.
Slusarski was also killed, and the two men are buried together. By a morbid coincidence, the other car involved in the collision was driven by another athlete, former sprinter Jaroslaw Marzec, who died a few days later.
A memorial athletics meeting in honour of all three victims is held annually in Miedzyzdroje.
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Munich Magic | The incredible life of Wladyslaw Komar

Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Karsten Warholm will spearhead Norway&rsquo;s team for the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships in the Bavarian capital from 11-21 August.
Ingebrigtsen famously broke through at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin where he won an unprecedented 1500m and 5000m double on back-to-back nights at the age of 17.
Now 21, Ingebrigtsen is the reigning Olympic 1500m champion and arrives fresh from winning the 5000m title at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon. He also holds the European records in both events.
Ingebrigtsen looks set to defend both his 1500m and 5000m titles in Munich and the timetable is amenable to such a double. The 5000m final is scheduled for 16 August with the 1500m final due to take place two nights later on 18 August.&nbsp;
Warholm will be seeking to become the first athlete since the great Harald Schmid in 1986 to win back-to-back European titles in the 400m hurdles.&nbsp;
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The world record-holder&rsquo;s season has been disrupted by a thigh injury which he sustained on his season&rsquo;s opener in the Rabat Diamond League but Warholm has battled back to fitness and put up a staunch defence of his world title in Oregon where he finished seventh.&nbsp;
The Norwegian team also features reigning Olympic hammer silver medallist Eivind Henriksen and European 3000m steeplechase bronze medallist Karoline Bjerkeli Gr&oslash;vdal who has registered for the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m.
There will be high expectations in both pole vault competitions as well. Brothers Sondre and Simen Guttormsen form a strong triumvirate in the men's pole vault competition alongside Pal Haugen Lillefosse while Lene Retzius will be a medal contender in the women's pole vault having improved the Norwegian record to 4.70m this season.
Norway won three gold medals at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin and finished eighth overall on the medal table.
The full Norwegian team for Munich 2022 can be found <a href="https://www.friidrett.no/nyhet/2022/alt-du-behover-a-vite-om-em-friidrett-2022-munchen/">here</a>.
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Olympic champions Ingebrigtsen and Warholm to defend European titles in Munich

Great Britain &amp; NI will be sending their biggest ever team to the European Athletics Championships in Munich from 15-21 August, part of the wider multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.
A team of 115 athletes have been selected for the championships which are part of the wider multi-sport European Championships, surpassing the previous record of 97 from Berlin 2018.
The team is headed by recently crowned world 1500m champion Jake Wightman although he will be dropping down in distance to contest the 800m instead.
All five reigning individual champions from Berlin have also been named on the team: Dina Asher-Smith (100/200m), Laura Muir (1500m), Zharnel Hughes (100m) and Matthew Hudson-Smith (400m). Hughes will also be contesting the 200m in Munich.
Other significant names on the team include Olympic and world silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson in the 800m and Olympic bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw in the pole vault.
Great Britain topped the medal table at the last edition in Berlin 2018 with seven gold medals and 18 in total.&nbsp;
The full British team can be found <a href="https://www.britishathletics.org.uk/news-and-features/great-britain-and-northern-ireland-select-115-athletes-for-the-2022-european-championships-in-munich/">here</a>.

Great Britain names biggest ever team for European Athletics Championships

With the qualifying window for the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships now closed and the Road to Munich completed, the fields for this year's championships are beginning to take shape.
The following athletes and teams are eligible to compete in this year's championships from 15-21 August which forms part of the wider multi-sport European Championships from 11-21 August.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/513a3893-0f19-4d2d-a939-760385a88d15/ECH 2022 - Eligible Athletes Men - FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munich 2022 - Eligible Athletes (Men)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/6b55d988-2f49-4dd2-8755-2bd677ba9fc1/ECH 2022 - Eligible Athletes Women - FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munich 2022 - Eligible Athletes (Women)</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/0f4d2ae5-d902-435b-8765-924b17fd229c/ECH 2022 - Relays Qualification List.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Munich 2022 - Relays Qualification List</a></li>
</ul>
The final entries for the 2022 European Athletics Championships will be published on 8 August.
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Road to Munich: how they got there! Qualified athletes for Munich 2022

As the Israeli national anthem played defiantly at the 2002 European Athletics Championships in Munich&rsquo;s Olympic Stadium, almost 30 years to the day to the murder of 11 Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympic Games, the gold medallist in men&rsquo;s pole vault stood wrapped in the national flag, weeping uncontrollably.&nbsp;
Born of a Jewish family in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, Aleksandr Averbukh had competed for Russia before switching citizenship to Israel in 1999, and this was the first time he - or any Israeli athlete for that matter - had stood atop the podium at a major outdoor championship for the country of his forefathers.&nbsp;
But it was the geography, rather than the chronology, that prompted his emotions.&nbsp;
At the time of Averbukh&rsquo;s move there were, according to the Jerusalem Post, some in Israel who questioned his motivation, suggesting he had made the move because he wasn&rsquo;t good enough to represent his country of birth.&nbsp;
That was manifestly untrue, for the adaptable Averbukh had already competed for Russia at the European Junior Championships in 1993, finishing 13th in the pole vault, and at the 1998 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Valencia, where he was sixth in the heptathlon.&nbsp;
Moving up the pole vault ranks
If anyone in Israel had doubted his sincerity, their doubts would surely have been dissipated by his demeanour after earning gold in Munich with a vault of 5.85m, with home athletes Lars Borgeling and defending champion Tim Lobinger taking silver and gold respectively on 5.80m.&nbsp;
That medal ceremony scene, given the context of the tragic events that had taken place 30 years earlier, was one of the most significant moments in Israel&rsquo;s sporting history.&nbsp;
By the time Averbukh made that first appearance at the senior European Athletics Championships he had established himself as a serious medal contender.&nbsp;
In 1999 he won his first big medal for his adopted country as he took world pole vault bronze in Seville with an effort of 5.80m followed by the European indoor title in Ghent the following year with 5.75m.&nbsp;
Averbukh was equally consistent in the year preceding the European Championships in Munich. He missed a medal by one place at the World Indoor Championships in Lisbon before claiming a silver medal at the summer World Championships in Edmonton, Canada.&nbsp;
By 2002, then, Averbukh was firmly in the medal zone at the highest level of competition and his prospects of making the podium in Munich&rsquo;s 1972 stadium looked bright.
He did not disappoint, and his joy was evident as he performed a strange, triumphant arm-pumping dance on the landing mat.&nbsp;
A poignant victory
Reflecting on his victory in subsequent years, Averbukh said: &ldquo;In the summer before the 2002 Championships, I hadn't spent much time in Israel, besides competing at the national championships which I won with 5.71m. The month before Munich, I had competitions all over Europe, but unfortunately none in Israel.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I also didn't understand Hebrew so well at that stage, so I didn't read newspapers and had no connections whatsoever with the Israeli media. I arrived in Munich with a clear mind, without any pressure, and was only with my family at the athletes' village.
&ldquo;As I started the final, I thought of my father and wanted to win the medal honouring his memory and that was the true reason I had tears in my eyes during the medal ceremony. Only few years later, I learned more fully about the legacy of the 11 Israeli Olympians that were murdered at the 1972 Olympics; and it was only then that I understood more completely about what my win meant for the Israeli nation, coming 30 years after the sport biggest tragedy in history.&rdquo;
Averbukh had a rather chequered record in major events in the years following his emotional and poignant triumph in Munich but he did retain his European title four years later, his experience proving a crucial factor in a final which played out in blustery and rainy conditions on a chilly afternoon in Gothenburg.
Comparing his victories in 2002 and 2006, Averbukh said: &ldquo;Each victory came with a different feeling. In Munich, I was still an athlete driven just by serious ambition; whereas in G&ouml;teborg, I won the gold medal thanks to my experience as an athlete, understanding every aspect of the tactics and mental preparations required.&rdquo;
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Munich Magic | Averbukh's poignant pole vault victory in Munich 2002

European Athletics Partner Mondo has been chosen as the <a title="" href="https://www.mondoworldwide.com/na/en/sport/track-and-field/#equipment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Official Athletics Equipment Supplier</a> for the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships.
For the seven-day Championships, which will be staged between 15-21 August, Mondo will be supplying products covering approximately 125 top-of-the-range categories of athletics equipment to the Local Organising Committee to be used in the iconic Munich Olympic Stadium which staged both the 1972 Olympic Games and 2002 European Athletics Championships.
The various items&nbsp;&ndash; characterised by the use of Mondo's most cutting-edge and innovative technology including important innovations incorporating the use of LED technology &ndash; have a customised design especially created for the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships and many incorporate new materials and stylings such as rotational mouldings.
The athletics equipment line will comprise of hurdles, high jump and pole vault landing areas and uprights, the throwing cage, lane markers, equipment carts, relays batons and podiums.
<img src="https://directus.european-athletics.com/assets/c4563282-3d18-4b6c-93a0-e995c6278ae0?width=2975&amp;height=1885" alt="World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 2022 - Day Three" />
The range made its debut during the&nbsp;Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games&nbsp;and was again used in March 2022 for the&nbsp;World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 2022,&nbsp;where Mondo also served as Official Supplier of the event.
Mondo&rsquo;s aim with its range of equipment provided to the Munich 2022 Local Organising Committee is to contributes to the week-long spectacle and bring and added dynamism to the championships to help create a memorable and unique experience for spectators to enjoy the action, whether they are in the Munich Olympic Stadium itself or in front of a screen somewhere else in the world watching a television or online broadcast.

Mondo to help make Munich 2022 the best ever European Athletics Championships

Bulgaria&rsquo;s Ivan Zlatev is part of the European Athletics Youth Team that will be involved in the Young Leaders Forum that will be held during the European Championships Munich 2022.
He was a participant at the 2016 European Athletics Young Leaders Forum in Amsterdam and afterwards he decided to join the Youth Team to try to help others develop their skills and knowledge.
This year, and for the first time, the Forum will be open also for Young Leaders of other sports; a representative of rising young leaders from the other eight sport will join the workshops and seminar during the third and fourth days.
European Athletics is the only sport that has a Young Leaders network and events such as Young Leaders Forum and is a trailblazer for other sports organisations which want to create a community of youngsters.
From 17-21 August, Forum participants &ndash; aged between 20 and 30 &ndash; will discuss about the athletics&rsquo; situation in their countries, will share ideas and try to find solutions, will learn from other countries and from other sports. 
European Athletics: When did you start athletics?
Ivan Zlatev: My first involvement in athletics was when I was nine years old. I competed in a school competition but, at the same time, I was also involved in ice hockey. At that competition I got a good result, so I decided to try athletics and I competed for the next 13 years, I started doing sprints and hurdles, and I&rsquo;ve also run the 800m.
When I was 14 or 15, I decided to be an official so that I could participate in competitions with different age ranges and standards. Once I got to 17, I got involved in the organisation of important meetings purely by coincidence. After being an official, people in the federation were aware that I was able to do certain things and they offered me a chance to join their organisational teams, mainly like an intern.
In 2016, I was chosen by my federation to attend the Young Leaders Forum in Amsterdam and that&rsquo;s when I decided to join the facilitators in Berlin in 2018 and, in 2020, I joined the team for the online event.
EA; What&rsquo;s your involvement in athletics now?
IZ: I&rsquo;m not an employee of the Bulgarian federation, I have a job outside of athletics, but I&rsquo;m helping them during the events and I&rsquo;m also a part of the I Run Clean project as one of the ambassadors.
EA: Why did you decide to be part of the European Athletics Youth Team?
IZ: One of the most life-changing things that happened was my participation at the 2016 Young Leaders Forum. After the Forum, I thought: &ldquo;I can help other people to realise that they can be good leaders too.&rdquo; Many people have good ideas and I want to help them in developing them.
I also really enjoyed the full experience of the Forum. It wasn&rsquo;t just the conferences and the workshops; it was the contact with other people and the friendships that started there, even though we were together for just one week.
EA: Why you think athletics off-the-track need more youth involvement?
IZ: No matter how old you are, there is no age barrier for good ideas and young people are the ones that are the ones developing and establishing new and popular trends. Look at social media, at big events such as the European Athletics Championships, the teams with young people are the ones working better on social media and they are helping athletics&rsquo; popularity grow.
I&rsquo;d really love to see the federations to hear more the voice of the young people. Also, we have a lot of young athletes but it&rsquo;s disappointing that they don&rsquo;t really want to join &lsquo;the other side&rsquo; and cease their involvement with the sport when they finish their careers.
EA: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
IZ: One big dream of mine is of having an innovative meeting in my country. I want to implement a more popular way of showing athletics. I&rsquo;d like to put athletics in the centre of the city, having different disciplines there so that it can be a part of the cultural life in my country.
I&rsquo;ll continue helping my federation as I&rsquo;m doing now but I definitely see myself as an organiser of a huge event that is a little bit extraordinary.

European Athletics Youth Team's Ivan Zlatev dreams big

By the time Ashia Hansen arrived in Munich to compete at the 2002 European Athletics Championships she was the world indoor record-holder in the triple jump and had an impressive list of titles to her credit &ndash; but not so much as a single medal in that competition.
By the time she left that anomaly had been corrected in golden fashion.
After failing to qualify for the final at the 1994 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki and missing the Budapest edition four years later with a foot injury, it turned out to be third time lucky for the US-born athlete who had been adopted and raised in Great Britain since she was eight.
Hansen&rsquo;s eventual triumph in Munich mirrored her experience at the European Indoor Championships where she failed to make the final in 1994 and having reached the final two years later, failed to record a legal jump. Such was her disappointment in the latter competition, Hansen even contemplated walking away from athletics altogether.
But when she arrived at the 1998 European Indoor Championships in Valencia, however, she saw off the challenge of the Czech world champion Sarka Kasparkova with a fourth-round effort of 15.16m - adding 13 centimetres to the world indoor record that had belonged to Russia&rsquo;s Yolanda Chen since 1995.
While she had to miss out on Budapest, she recovered in time to win the 1998 Commonwealth Games title in Kuala Lumpur, and four years later she had prepared ideally for the European Championships in Munich by retaining her Commonwealth title in Manchester just over a week beforehand but only with her last jump of the competition.
Fittingly, the 30-year-old also had to be patient in Munich to make sure of her gold. Finland&rsquo;s former European U23 bronze medallist Heli Koivula, giving the performance of her career, took a first-round lead with a wind-assisted effort of 14.83m that she kept until the sixth and final round.
At that point, Hansen stood second with her second-round jump of 14.60m which was followed by three fouls. A silver medal beckoned before her concluding effort of 15.00m exactly displaced the Finn. Job done. It was a season&rsquo;s best, and the first time she had reached the 15 metre-mark in three years.
&ldquo;She [Koivula] piled on the pressure in the first round and I was making mistakes because I was trying so hard,&rdquo; recalled Hansen, whose only two counting marks before her final flourish were her first two of 14.54m and 14.60m.
&ldquo;I did one in the fifth round but it was a no-jump. I knew it was in me and when the sixth round came I just had to relax and do exactly the same thing.
&ldquo;It gave me confidence knowing I could do it in the last round but I don&rsquo;t like doing it like that because it&rsquo;s too much to handle,&rdquo; said Hansen.
On the winning jump itself, Hansen almost bailed the attempt, believing she overstepped the board. "I thought it was a no jump and nearly aborted the jump," she said.
Luckily for her sake, Hansen committed to the jump and she was rewarded with her second major title in as many weeks. It was also a significant victory in the context of British athletics as Hansen became the first female athlete since 1954 to win a European title in a horizontal or vertical jumping event.&nbsp;
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It would turn out to be Hansen&rsquo;s last big outdoor title. After winning world indoor gold for a second time in her adopted city of Birmingham in 2003 she suffered a dreadful knee injury at the 2004 European Cup in Bydgoszcz, Poland that effectively ended her career in the very highest echelons of the sport.
After undergoing three operations she recovered to the point where she won a silver medal at the 2006 British Championships and gold at the 2007 British Indoor Championships albeit with distances far below the 14 metre-barrier let alone the 15 metre-barrier.
And after being unable to compete in the 2008 British Olympic Trials at Birmingham&rsquo;s Alexander Stadium, she drew the curtain on her illustrious and esteemed career.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It had just become clear to me that I can no longer train through the pain of injury as I used to do. It&rsquo;s time to take the pressure off myself.
&ldquo;I can have few complaints though given what I have achieved in my career. Looking back I held a world record and I earned an MBE as well as all the pleasure I have taken from being involved in athletics,&rdquo; she said.
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Munich Magic | Hansen saves her best for last in Munich

By the time Wilson Kipketer toed the line for Denmark at the 2002 European Athletics Championships in Munich&rsquo;s Olympic Stadium his place in athletics history was already assured as a world record-holder and three-time world champion in the 800 metres.&nbsp;
But he still had a score to settle with Nils Schumann from Germany as well as with the European Athletics Championships, a stage which had not served Kipketer well over the years.
The Kenyan-born runner, talent-spotted by double Olympic champion Kip Keino and directed to the coaching of Father Colm O&rsquo;Connell - who would later coach the Kenyan who currently holds the world 800m record David Rudisha &ndash; had achieved all his main career goals in the colours of Denmark.&nbsp;
The link occurred when Kipketer travelled to this Scandinavian country in 1990 as a foreign exchange student, studying electronic engineering, and liked it so much that he applied for Danish citizenship. However, his transfer was not in time for Kipketer to compete at the Helsinki 1994 European Athletics Championships where he would have been a significant favourite.&nbsp;&nbsp;
To witness the next chapter of Munich athletics history in person, visit <a title="" href="www.munich2022.com/en/tickets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>&nbsp;for ticket details
Kipketer seizes his chance in Gothenburg
In 1995, wearing Danish colours, he won the first of his three world titles in Gothenburg. But he was not yet a full Danish citizen and was thus unable to compete in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He remained unbeaten throughout that year, setting a personal best in Rieti of 1:41.83 &ndash; just a tenth of a second off Sebastian Coe&rsquo;s 1981 world and European record &ndash; and beating all three Olympic medallists from Atlanta in the process.&nbsp;
In 1997 Kipketer&rsquo;s graceful running reached sublime heights as he floated to consecutive world indoor records at the World Indoor Championships in Paris, smashing Paul Ereng&rsquo;s mark of 1:44:84 with a time of 1:43.96 in the heats, and then taking more than a second off that mark as he ran 1:42.67. That mark still stands - and looks set to stand for the foreseeable - some 25 years later.
On 7 July Kipketer equalled Coe&rsquo;s world record in Stockholm, and a month later successfully defended his world title, leading from start to finish in Athens. On 13 August, in Zurich, he claimed the world record for himself, running 1:41.24, and 11 days later he lowered that mark to 1:41.11 in Cologne.
In 1998 Kipketer contracted malaria and initially planned to miss the season, but he recovered sufficiently to contest the European title in Budapest. He reached the final but three races in quick succession proved too much at this point of his recovery and he faded out of the medal positions after Schumann, en route to victory, had bustled past him in the home straight.&nbsp;
"My defeat in Budapest at the European Championships was a shock. I came eighth in 1:51 and I couldn&rsquo;t understand. Had I just run badly or were my opponents better or was I ill? Again I had to start again from zero. Everyone was running away from me, and I had to rebuild again.
"But it was by coming back a second time that I found my new inner strength and motivation, and my World Championships win in 1999 was the result,&rdquo; reflected Kipketer in the ensuing years.
The opportunity to run at the Olympics, so tantalisingly close in 1996, arrived in 2000 as he contested the Sydney Games. But once again he met Schumann in inspired form. The German won his semifinal in a personal best of 1:44.22 and prevailed in the final as the fast-finishing Kipketer ran out of track at the end to earn silver, 0.06 adrift of the title.&nbsp;
One last hurrah in Munich
If Olympic gold was to prove beyond him, then the Munich 2002 European Athletics Championships offered him the chance of claiming the title he had missed out on in Budapest four years earlier. His chances were also heightened in the absence of Russia&rsquo;s soon-to-be Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy, almost one decade the Dane&rsquo;s junior, who surprisingly opted to contest the 400m instead.&nbsp;
And Kipketer, 29, made it clear he meant business as he qualified fastest for the final in 1:46.56, with Schumann winning the other semifinal in 1:48.01.&nbsp;
The final was slow and tactical. But on this occasion Kipketer, whose calculations had gone astray at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, got it right and came home in 1:47.25 courtesy of a last 200 metres of 25.38.&nbsp;
In second place was Switzerland&rsquo;s reigning world champion Andre Bucher, who clocked 1:47.43, with his long-time nemesis Schumann having to settle for bronze on this occasion with 1:47.60.&nbsp;
Munich had offered Kipketer the opportunity to win what proved to be the last gold medal of his career although he did go on to win a bronze at the 2004 Olympics before announcing his retirement the following season, thus allowing a new 800m champion to be anointed the following year in Gothenburg.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am so happy to come back in winning-mode after so many problems. This first European gold medal is for me a great satisfaction.&nbsp; The first lap was very slow as I expected so I kicked 200 metres before the line and controlled it,&rdquo; said Kipketer.&nbsp;
Kipketer became only the second Dane to win a European title on the track, following in the footsteps of Niels Holst S&oslash;rensen who won 400m gold and 800m silver at the 1946 European Athletics Championships.&nbsp;
Following in Kipketer's footsteps
A third Danish gold medal came on the track at the 2016 European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam where the now-retired Sara Slott Pedersen became the first Danish woman to win a European title with gold in the 400m hurdles.
And while Denmark might not have too many surefire medal prospects in Munich two decades after Kipketer won 800m gold in the same stadium, it is not an exaggeration to say that athletics in Denmark has seldom been in better health.
Danish national records have tumbled on the track and on the in-field this summer. There will be particularly keen interest in their men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 4x100m relay teams who both qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games last summer (the Danish men even reached the Olympic final in the Japanese capital) and in the progress of Ida Karstoft in the 200m who has improved from 23.39 to 22.67 this year.
And the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships will also provide us with our first glimpse of 17-year-old Axel Vang Christensen on the senior stage. The reigning European U20 cross country champion broke one of the longest-standing European U20 records on the books with 8:29.12 in the 3000m steeplechase in June.
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Munich Magic | Kipketer earns revenge on Schumann to win 800m title in 2002

The Munich Olympiastadion built for the 1972 Games was of a revolutionary design inspired by the nearby Alps and those 20th Olympics certainly produced peak performances, as did the European Athletics Championships hosted in the same stadium 30 years later in 2002.
Two decades on this iconic arena stands ready to host the 25th edition of the European Athletics Championships, where some of the world&rsquo;s finest athletes are preparing to converge.
The anticipation is heightened by the fact that it will be four years since the last edition of these Championships took place, in Berlin, the pandemic sadly having put paid to the event scheduled for Paris two years ago.
As the prospect of the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships looms closer, with the championships running from August 15-22, European Athletics is looking back and celebrating some of the high points of those two notable Munich events of 1972 and 2002.
To witness the next chapter of Munich athletics history in person, go to <a href="https://www.munich2022.com/en/tickets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.munich2022.com/en/tickets</a> for ticket details
Munich Magic &ndash; Jackson rounds off 110m hurdles career with unique fourth European track gold
Nobody had ever won four successive European outdoor titles on the track until Britain&rsquo;s Colin Jackson achieved that feat in 2002 &ndash; eight years before the event switched from being quadrennial to biennial.
Jackson, then 35, employed his characteristic dip to ensure he earned gold in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles ahead in 13.11 after drawing clear of Latvia&rsquo;s 2000 European indoor champion Stanislavs Olijars over the final three barriers.
It was to prove the last medal of a towering senior career that had begun in earnest in 1986, when the Welshman, then 19, had won silver at the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games.
Two years later he earned silver at Seoul Games, and it seemed only a matter of time before he stood atop the Olympic podium although sadly &nbsp;&ndash; and too many suprisingly &nbsp;&ndash; that never happened.
By contrast, the European Athletics Championships became his go-to event to mine gold. At the 1990 edition in Split he ran 13.18 to claim gold ahead of his compatriot Tony Jarrett, who clocked 13.21.
Four years later in Helsinki Jackson retained his title under severe pressure from Germany&rsquo;s Florian Schwarthoff, winning in 13.08, only 0.04 slower than the Championship record he had set in the semi-finals, an effort he later explained had been made, &ldquo;to make the others think, &lsquo;Yeah. That&rsquo;s pretty quick.&rsquo;&rdquo;
He also expanded on his ambition of winning all four big titles &ndash; Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth. &ldquo;If I want to become one of the great UK athletes I think I will have to try and do that myself,&rdquo; he mused.
As things turned out, for all that he was the pre-eminent high hurdler in the world for several years, that proved beyond him because of his Olympic jinx. As he spoke, however, he was already world champion after having won in Stuttgart in 1993 in a world record of 12.91, a mark that would stand until 2006 and still remains the European record almost three decades later.
At the 1998 edition in Budapest Jackson hit his European peak as he set a Championship record of 13.02 that still stands. Had he not hit the eighth hurdle it might have been another sub-13 clocking.
&ldquo;I had to show I&rsquo;m still around and alive and ready to compete at the World Championships next year [and he was to go on and regain his world title in Sevilla],&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a long time since people were looking at me like they were here.&rdquo;
Four years on, Jackson had hoped to secure what would have been his third Commonwealth title, after previous wins in 1990 and 1994, on the home ground of Manchester but had to settle for silver after a surprise defeat by Shaun Bownes of South Africa.
Two weeks later Jackson arrived in Munich in a relaxed fashion despite that defeat. &ldquo;Before the race I was on the training track and feeling absolutely no pressure whatsoever,&rdquo; said Jackson. &ldquo;I was laughing and joking with my coach Malcolm Arnold and not giving a single thought to the possibility of a fourth European gold medal.&rdquo;
Reflecting on his Munich win after retiring from competition at the 2003 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, where he finished fifth, Jackson said:&nbsp; &ldquo;This victory was more important to other people than to me. To me it was important to go and win it because it was the fourth time. I've felt this title was mine.&rdquo;

Munich Magic | Jackson wins record fourth title on the track in 2002

Daryll Neita stormed to a sprint double with fast albeit wind-assisted times at the British Championships in Manchester this weekend.
Neita won the 100m title in 10.80 (3.8) - the fastest time by a Brit in all conditions - ahead of treble European champion Dina Asher-Smith in 10.87 before winning the 200m title the following day in 22.34 (3.5).
"Making the Olympic final last year was a major achievement for me. Once there, I realised I still had more in me and I wasn&rsquo;t so happy with the result because I knew I could do more. It is going great with my new coach and I am just super excited for the rest of the season," said Neita after the 100m.
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European U23 champion Jeremiah Azu was the surprise winner of the men&rsquo;s 100m title in a slightly wind-aided 9.90 (2.5) ahead of Reece Prescod and Zharnel Hughes in 9.94 and 9.97 respectively although Nethaniel Mitchell-Blake was more fortunate, winning the 200m title in a wind-legal championship record of 20.05.
Other highlights included Max Burgin winning the 800m in a gun-to-tape 1:44.54 and reigning European champion Laura Muir closing with a sub-1:30 last 600 metres to win the 1500m in 4:12.91.
Luckenkemper returns to sub-11 second form at the German Championships
European silver medallist Gina Luckenkemper recorded her first sub-11 second performance in the 100m in four years at the German Championships in Berlin on Saturday (25).
Luckenkemper blazed to a big season&rsquo;s best of 10.99 to move to equal third on the 2022 European list behind Mujinga Kambundji (10.89), Dina Asher-Smith (10.89) and equal with Daryll Neita.
"Finally the hard work from the training in the USA paid off. That makes me incredibly happy," said Luckenkemper, who is based for most of the year in Florida.
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Malaika Mihambo was in victorious form on the last day of the championships with 6.85m in the long jump while fellow reigning European champion Mateusz Przybylko, who captured the high jump title in this arena four years ago, shared the domestic title with Tobias Poyte at 2.30m.
Other standout performances included Olympic silver medallist Kristin Pudenz setting a lifetime best of 67.10m to win a world class discus and Bo Kanda Lita Baehre clearing a lifetime best of 5.90m in the pole vault.
Zhoya zooms to 13.17 in the 110m hurdles in Caen.
On his 20th birthday, reigning European and world U20 champion Sasha Zhoya won the 110m hurdles title at the French Championships in Caen.
In just his fifth ever race in the senior hurdles, Zhoya sped to a lifetime best and European leading time of 13.17 despite uncharacteristically clipping a few of the hurdles.&nbsp;
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"After having little problems everywhere at the start of the season, it was the first time that I could give myself almost 100%. There, I feel completely liberated, it's a real weight that is lifted from my shoulders," said Zhoya.
Renelle Lamote won the 800m in a fast 1:58.71 from former 400m specialist Agnes Raharolahy in 1:59.59 while Thibaut Collet defeated Renaud Lavillenie on countback in the pole vault at 5.75m.
On his return from injury, Marcell Jacobs won the 100m title at the Italian Championships in Rieti in 10.12 ahead of Chituru Ali (10.16) and Filippo Tortu (10.24) while fellow Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi cleared 2.26m in the high jump.&nbsp;
Other top marks at the Italian Champioships included Elena Vallortigara clearing 1.98m in the high jump, Daisy Osakue throwing 63.24m in the discus, Andrea Dallavalle jumping 17.28m in the triple jump and Ayomide Folorunso approaching the national record in the 400m hurdles with 54.60.
Diaz threatens 18 metre-barrier at the Spanish Championships
Cuban-born Jordan Diaz produced an incredible series in the triple jump on the last day of the Spanish Championships in Nerja.&nbsp;
Diaz began his series with a massive 17.87m before going even further with his second effort although his mark of 17.93m was slightly wind-assisted at 2.5 m/s. Diaz also produced three more valid jumps which were measured at 17.80m, 17.66m and 17.55m respectively.
And even though Diaz&rsquo;s first round mark will be recognised as a Spanish record, he will not be eligible to compete for Spain at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships.
Sara Gallego smashed her Spanish record in the 400m hurdles with 54.34 while Maria Perez blasted to a 11.07 clocking in the 100m semifinals, missing Sandra Myers&rsquo; long-standing Spanish record by one-hundredths.
Reigning European U23 champion Asier Martinez also won the 110m hurdles in a marginally wind-assisted 13.15 (2.2).&nbsp;
Elsewhere around Europe&hellip;
At the Dutch Championships, Jessica Schilder won the shot put title with a national outdoor record of 19.68m, just four centimetres shy of her outright national record.&nbsp;
Lieke Klaver won the 200m title in 22.74 ahead of Femke Bol in 23.05 and Nadine Visser also continued her comeback from injury with victory in the 100m hurdles in 12.77.
Olympic and European champion Miltiadis Tentoglou highlighted the Greek Championships in Thessaloniki with a wind-aided 8.32m and a wind-legal 8.24m in the long jump.
At the Czech Championships&nbsp;in Hodonin, Vitezslav Veseley defeated fellow Olympic medallist Jakub Vadlejch, 85.97m to 83.72m, in the javelin. World record-holder Barbora Spotakova won the women's title for the 15th time with 60.90m ahead of Nikol Tabackova's 59.06m.
The Norwegian Championships in Stjordal were highlighted by Pal Haugen Lillefosse improving his national record to 5.86m in the pole vault and Olympic silver medallist Eivind Henriksen improving his season&rsquo;s best to 80.17m in the hammer.&nbsp;
At the Danish Championships in Aalborg, Mette Graversgaard improved her national record in the 100m hurdles once again to 12.84 and Caroline Bonde Holm also cleared a national record of 4.51m in the pole vault.
Luca Kozak also revised her Hungarian 100m hurdles to 12.70 at the Hungarian Championships in Budapest and Bence Halasz set a season&rsquo;s best of 79.86m in the hammer.&nbsp;
Less than a fortnight after breaking the 48 second-barrier in the 400m hurdles for the first time, Rasmus Magi set an Estonian 400m record of 45.35 at the Estonian Championships in Tallinn. Maicel Uibo also won the decathlon with 8289 points ahead of Johannes Erm (8250 points) and Risto Lillemets (8147 points).
Ahead of her heptathlon campaign at the World Athletics Championships, Nafi Thiam recorded a 6.63m long jump at the Belgian Championships in Gent.&nbsp;Ben Broeders also cleared 5.75m in the pole vault and Tibo De Smet also won the men&rsquo;s 800m in a fast 1:45.32 ahead of Aurele Vandeputte in 1:45.63.
At the Croatian Championships in Karlovac, Filip Mihaljevic achieved 21.05m in the shot put and Marija Tolj won the discus in the absence of Sandra Perkovic with 63.21m.
Multiple world and European U18 and U20 champion Bianca Ghelber achieved the best mark at the Romanian Championships in Craiova with 73.15m in the hammer.&nbsp;
Competing as a guest at the Irish Championships, Perseus Karlstrom just missed the European record in the 10,000m race walk in Dublin. He clocked 37:57.02 to fall narrowly short of Francisco Javier Fernandez's mark of 37:53.09.
At the Israeli Championships in Jerusalem, Diana Vaisman improved her national record to 11.22 in the heat before winning the final in 11.28.&nbsp;

National championships round-up | Neita achieves wind-aided 10.80/22.34 sprint double in Manchester

Reigning world and European U20 champion Mykolas Alekna launched another huge throw at the Lithuanian Championships in Siauliai on Saturday (25).
Still only 19, the precocious Alekna improved to 69.00m in the third round of the discus, the longest ever throw achieved by a teenager, to take the scalp of reigning European champion Andrius Gudzius who threw 65.21m.
This is Alekna&rsquo;s first full season throwing with the senior implement and the California-based thrower, whose father Virgilijus won two Olympic titles in the discipline, has already improved from 63.52m to 69.00m this year.
With the World Athletics Championships and European Athletics Championships approaching in the next two months, Alekna is fifth on the 2022 world list behind Daniel Stahl (71.47m), Kristjan Ceh (71.27m), Gudzius (69.39m) and Lukas Weisshaidinger (69.11m) and in the medal discussion for both championships.
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Does Mykolas think he can join his father Virgilijus, who holds the national record at 73.88m, in the 70 metre-plus club before the end of the season. "I'm not a fortune teller, the future will show what will happen," said Alekna.
However, the longest throw of the day in the discus was set by Kristjan Ceh at the Slovenian Championships in Velenje.&nbsp;
The two-time European U23 champion and European U23 record-holder at 70.55m - a mark that Alekna has until the end of 2024 to challenge - just missed the 70 metre-barrier by nine centimetres with 69.91m
"I've had a lot of matches in a row lately, there wasn't enough training and therefore not the right feeling, but sometimes a good throw is lucky and the discus goes very far," said Ceh modestly.&nbsp;

Only 19, Mykolas Alekna throws 69.00m in the discus at the Lithuanian Championships

World indoor 60m champion Mujinga Kambundji blasted to a national record and European-leading time of 10.89 (+0.6) on the first day of the Swiss Championships in Zurich on Friday (24) evening.
In changing conditions on the first day in the famous Letzigrund Stadium, the rain abated for the highly anticipated 100m final and Kambundji stormed to a clear and unopposed victory ahead of previous national record-holder Ajla Del Ponte (11.26) and Geraldine Frey (11.31).
"I thought a personal best was possible, but you have to run one first. The conditions today weren't the best. I like the Swiss Championships because there are multiple rounds. I'm not top top yet, but I'm on the right track," said Kambundji.
But either way, Kambundji has now revised the Swiss records this season in the 60m (6.96), 100m (10.89) and the 200m (22.18) with the major outdoor championships approaching.
Kambundji will be looking to add to her medal collection at the World Athletics Championships after winning bronze in the 200m in 2019 and a return to the rostrum surely beckons at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships after finishing fourth in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m in Berlin four years ago.
And domestically, Kambundji extends her incredible record in the event. This was her 12th Swiss 100m title with her first triumph dating back to 2009 when she was only 17.&nbsp;
Other day one highlights included combined eventers Annik Kalin and Simon Ehammer taking a double in the long jump. Kalin achieved a personal best of 6.62m while Ehammer, who still holds the world lead at 8.45m, bounded out to 7.81m in wet conditions.

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