Karsten Warholm has a gold medal at last to celebrate in his amazing season after a record-breaking performance in the men's 400m hurdles on the final day of the European Athletics U23 Championships in Bydgoszcz this afternoon.
A day after fading into silver in the final stages of the 400m, Warholm, 21, made sure there was going to be no repeat as he led all the way and saved enough to stretch away to triumph in a championship record of 48.37 from Switzerland's Dany Brand, who set a national U23 mark of 49.14, and France's Ludvy Vaillant, third in a personal best of 49.31.
Warholm has broken national records at both the 400m and 400m hurdles this year but it is some ask to go for both titles in one championship over four days. Yet he now has a gold and silver medal to add to his collection, two years on from winning silver in both the 400m and decathlon at the European Athletics U20 Championships in Eskilstuna, Sweden.
'I am very tired and I am so happy to have the record. I managed to have a pretty good run and empty the tank. The time is even better than I expected. The result will be good to bring to the World Championships but I have to remember there are much better runners there. I need to perform even better,' hs said.
Ironically, the record had been set the last time these championships were held in this Zawisza Stadium when Poland's Marek Plawgo ran 48.45.
Karsten Warholm's last four days:
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 16, 2017
46.70 400m ht
50.88 400mH ht
46.06 400m SF
49.20 400mH SF
45.75 400m F (2nd)
48.37 400mH F (1st, CR) pic.twitter.com/GVulVGytGY
Skagestad leaves it late in the discus
It was great day for Norway as Sven Martin Skagestad opened their medal winning count with gold in the discus in his final season in this age-group bracket.
Skagestad, 22, began as the favourite but not until the fifth round did he stamp his mark on the event with the throw that secured gold, winning with 61.00m. 'It was not so good at first and it's hard to make a good throw when the start is bad,' said Skagestad. 'But I managed a good effort and fortunately I won gold.'
With a fifth round throw of 61.00m, Sven Martin Skagestad claims gold for Norway in the discus. #Bydgoszcz2017 pic.twitter.com/uBWBd7N39y
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 16, 2017
Prior to entering the cage, Skagestad was third behind defending champion Alin Alexandru Firfirica from Romania with 60.17m and Germany's Clemens Prufer with 60.08m.
But the story suddenly changed with Skagestad's throw in an event where he had been the man to beat having entered with the leading mark among his rivals this year at 65.20m.
David pulls out lifetime best for long jump gold
When France's Yanis David took to the runway for the final round of the women's long jump, the announcer told the crowd of how we remember her from the World U20 Championships here last year.
It was a fitting introduction and twelve months on, David is the gold medallist in Bydgoszcz again after an amazing finale, jumping a personal best of 6.56m to break her old mark by eight centimetres.
As the score flashed up the distance, she slapped her thighs and jumped about in celebration having stormed down the runway before launching herself with real menace into the sand.
Before the jump, she was not even in medal contention, with her previous best being 6.43m from round two prior to three fouls. It was some final round as Germany's Anna Buhler, the European U20 silver medallist, went from sixth position to first with 6.50m before David's moment of magic.
Buhler won silver with Ukraine's Maryna Bekh taking bronze with 6.48m – a distance that looked all set for gold before the final round began.
Folorunso turns in a great show
Italy's Ayomide Folorunso progressed from European U20 bronze medallist to U23 champion, having enough in reserve to run down Britain's Jessica Turner in a superb women's 400m hurdles final.
Turner was in lane nine, way on the outside, but she led from the start and as the stagger unwound she was still in front.
But in lane six, Folorunso was quickly alongside her and then stretched away to win in a season's best time of 55.82 with Turner breaking her personal best for silver in 56.08 and Iceland's Arna Stefania Gudmundsdottir taking bronze in a season's best of 56.37.
At the start of the day, Spain's Diego Garcia put himself back on top of the podium after injury to win the men's 20km walk.
Garcia, 21, triumphed in 1:22:29 from Germany's Karl Junghannß in 1:22:52 and France's Gabriel Bordier in a lifetime best of 1:23:03.
The European U20 10,000m walk champion in 2015, it was another great title for Garcia at this longer distance in a career that had been disrupted. 'Last year I had my knee operated on, I was injured and could not compete. I feel really bad. It was hard for me to get up. But now I am in the place where I wanted to be,' he said.
Competing as an Authorised Neutral Athlete, Klavdiya Afanasyeva won the women's 20km walk by 14 seconds in 1:31:15 from Spain's Maria Perez in 1:31:29 and Lithuania's Zivile Vaiciukeviciute in 1:32:21.
In the first event of the day, @DiegoGCarrera doubled Spain's gold medal tally with gold in the 20km walk! #Bydgoszcz2017 pic.twitter.com/mqQpO5fcgv
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 16, 2017