Neele Eckhardt-Noack and Joshua Abuaku deliver strong competitions at the European Championships, but in the end the triple jumper and the hurdle sprinter are centimeters or even millimeters away from a medal. Meanwhile, a Norwegian dominator is erasing a decades-old German European record.
The German athletics team has not yet been able to complete the dozen medals at the European Championships in Munich. Triple jumper Neele Eckhardt-Noack was only two centimeters short of bronze. On the day after 5000 meter gold for Konstanze Klosterhalfen and silver for long jump star Malaika Mihambo and high jump surprise Tobias Potye there were also some other good German placements.
Sprinter Joshua Abuaku was even tighter than triple jumper Eckhardt-Noack: In the superior victory of Norwegian superstar Karsten Warholm over 400 meters hurdles, the sprinter from Eintracht Frankfurt finished fifth. The result was only known after a long evaluation of the finish photo, Abuaku was only a hundredth of a second from third place and the bronze medal. Olympic champion Karsten Warholm meanwhile erased Harald Schmid’s 40-year-old European Championship record in 47.12 seconds.
Hopes for more precious metal on the final weekend are carried by the pole vaulters this Saturday (8:05 p.m. / ARD). Neele Eckhardt-Noack was temporarily in third place with 14.43 meters and ended up fourth after the 30-year-old from Göttingen had presented the longest distance in the qualification with 14.53 meters. In the final, the Ukrainian Maryna Bech-Romantschuk was in a class of her own after fourth place in the long jump on Thursday with 15.02 meters.
Sprinter Joshua Hartmann came in fifth place over 200 meters, as did Hanna Klein from Tübingen over 1500 meters and Karl Bebendorf from Dresden over 3000 meters obstacle. “Over time I have confirmed my stable performance this year and have sold very well in Europe,” said Bebendorf, who, according to his own feelings, crossed the finish line with “a laughing and a crying eye”. Hartmann was completely satisfied with his performance. “It’s just fun that I get fifth place after I set the German record with my boys this morning,” said the athlete from ASV Cologne.
The German 4×100-meter relay reached the final on Sunday in 37.97 seconds and improved on the German record set at the beginning of June. The German women’s quartet qualified for the final on Sunday without Gina Lückenkemper, who had a stitched knee after her fall in the 100-meter triumph, but with Alexandra Burghardt. The Olympic silver medalist from Beijing in bobsleigh finished eighth in the final over 200 meters. Indoor world champion Mujinga Kambundji from Switzerland secured the victory.
Unsurprisingly, unlike many years before, there was no medal in the men’s discus throw. Magdeburg’s Henrik Janssen came in tenth with 61.11 meters, the 19-year-old Lithuanian Mykolas Alekna – son of the Lithuanian discus legend Virgilius Alekna – won gold with 69.78 meters ahead of world champion Kristjan Ceh from Slovenia with 68.28 meters threw far.
Carolina Krafzik almost stopped over 400 meters hurdles after a fast race before the last obstacle and finished last, but was happy about the final participation. The Dutch Femke Bol won as before over the 400 meters.
