23rd June 2008 00:28
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| Michal Sneberger (CZE) winning the 3,000m. Photo by Erik van Leeuwen |
3,000m Champion Michal Sneberger (8:11.31), recent Czech 110m Hurdles record breaker Petr Svoboda (13.51), and young Jan Kudlicka's impressive defeat over 2005 World Pole Vault Champion Rens Blom on count back (5.55m), all added to the Czech success.
The Netherlands points coup was not amassed from plenty of event winners, but from solid performances throughout the competition. The wins they did clock were done with flair though, from Rutger Smith's outstanding 66.33m Discus throw that proved to be the best ever mark on Portuguese soil, and veteran Steeplechaser Simon Vroemen proving he still has what it takes by finishing in 8:24.64, ahead of Dieter Desmet (8:26.66) of Belgium.
Host team Portugal battled well and put in some outstanding individual performances that brought them to just one point (105) outside of the duelling nations.
The home defence was led by Double European Sprint Champion Francis Obikwelu and World Triple Jump Champion Nelson ‰vora (POR) who found himself back in his favourite Triple Jump event, ready for action following his impressive Long Jump win on Saturday.
The 24-year-old opened with a 16.55m jump which put him in the lead ahead of Belarussia's Dzmitry Platinitski (16.42m), however the Belarussian failed to improve, while Evora recovered after one foul to reach 16.91m in his final jump.
As expected Norway's Olympic Javelin Champion Andreas Thorkildsen dominated the final throws event, with his 83.16m result 4.02m ahead of his closest competitor Uladzimir Kazlou (79.14) of Belarus.
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| Simon Vroemen winning the 3,000m Steeplechase. Photo by Erik van Leeuwen. |
Norway's wins continued in the 200m, when an injured Jaisuma Saidy Ndure showed encouraging signs of improvement to finish in 20.57 ahead of Belgium's Kristof Beyens (20.75).
The women's competition was a much more clear-cut affair, with the Spaniards claiming 125 points thanks to a number of 1st and 2nd place finishes. The Czech women took second with 107 points, followed by Belgium who made their way onto the podium with 91 points.
Spain's women were on sparkling form and none more so than young 100m Hurdles favourite Josephine Onyia, who continued her recent winning streak, which has made her a Golden League Jackpot favourite, with a 12.73 sprint to the finish line.
Spanish High Jump record holder Ruth Beitia claimed th