France’s Pauline Stey upgraded from silver to gold as the first event of the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships took place in Espoo, Finland on Wednesday (12).
In strength-sapping conditions, Stey put in a purposeful performance to take the victory in the women’s 20k race walk, going one better than she managed two years prior in Tallinn.
Under early evening sun, Stey took it out from the start leading a four-woman breakaway within 2k that also included French teammate Camille Moutard, Czech Republic’s Eliska Martinkova and Italy’s Alexandrina Mihai.
Former world U20 bronze medallist Martinkova looked the most likely to threaten Stey, when she tracked her through the first quarter. But she was checked with a penalty of two minutes and later disqualified before halfway.
International debutant Mihai stepped up to the challenge. But she couldn't quite mount a serious enough threat to the determined Stey and had to settle for a highly creditable first major championship medal with silver.
Stey grabbed gold in a national U23 record of 1:31:17, Mihai was 1:15 behind with a personal best and Moutard ground out an emotional bronze in 1:35:40, one place better than she managed two years ago.
Afterwards, a delighted Stey said: "In the end, I was just so tired. It was hard because it was not easy to keep the first position and to keep the pace and the technique for such a long time. The weather was a bit warmer today but for me, it was just fine.
"I think it is very important that we have this first gold medal here at these championships. It is a big motivation for the rest of the French team. It was my objective to improve my PB and also the record even before the start, but the main goal was to finish on the first place.
"We knew at the beginning that we could have a great result and it was an extra motivation for me to see also my team mate getting a medal. We wanted to help each other in the race today.
"I had a very hard season last year and this is my last U23 championships, so I came here with this goal to become the European champion today. Now, the Olympics are coming to my country, I hope I will be there too."
McGrath adds to his title haul with U23 gold in Tallinn
In the men’s race, pre-race favourite Paul McGrath of Spain added the U23 title to the European U20 one he took two years ago. The class act of the field, he was always to the fore and eased to a resounding victory in a personal best of 1:21:03.
In the first half he traded the lead with Andrea Cosi, but a yellow card for the Italian early in the second half was the green light for McGrath and he strode away from 10km onwards. Cosi consolidated with silver in 1:23:02, an improvement of one place on two years ago in Tallinn.
Finland’s Jerry Jokinen got the home nation off to a brilliant start with a surprise bronze medal, also claiming a new national U23 record in 1:24:41, lopping a massive 90 seconds off his previous best.
McGrath said: "In one word, this race was just amazing. I am not a star yet. But it is in my dreams that one day, I want to become one of the best race walkers in the world. That is my main goal for the next couple of years.
"Two years ago, I was not a favourite for the win, not even for the podium so it was quite a big accomplishment to win the medal. Here, I was one of the favourites so it was a different position and it was harder. People were expecting me to bring a medal home and - in the end - I did it.
"Next year, with the Olympic Games, let's see what is going to happen and I am quite looking forward to it. My main target is just to qualify for the Olympics and to fight with the best.”
And for Jokinen, his bronze medal proved to be something of a prophecy. He said: "Before the race, I drew the picture on the back side of my bib - and it showed the medal with the number three. It was the first time I did it. I was surprised it worked. I knew it myself, I was confident I could make it but I just kept it for myself and did not tell anyone. It just worked."
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics