Unbelievable, what madness: Sprinter Gina Lückenkemper wins the 100 meter final at the European Championships in Munich. In a dramatic race, the fastest woman in Germany catches up and becomes the fastest woman in Europe with a photo finish. She almost didn’t start.
Gina Lückenkemper’s uncertainty lasted only a few moments, then her name was the first to appear on the scoreboard – and the Munich Olympic Stadium was like a madhouse. Gold for Lückenkemper over 100 meters, gold after an exciting race in which the finish photo had to decide at the end. A sensation.
“I’m so incredibly grateful to you,” shouted the first German European champion since Verena Sailer 2010 to the 40,000 in the Olympic Stadium. She ran to gold in 10.99 seconds, while the Swiss co-favorite Mujinga Kambundji only got silver. Bronze went to Britain’s Daryll Neita (11.00). “To stand in this cauldron today motivated me incredibly,” added Lückenkemper on ARD.
She suffered a bleeding wound on her left knee when she stumbled after crossing the finish line, but she quickly didn’t care. Tears of happiness soon flowed at the European Championship second place in 2018, the 25-year-old Berliner sank to her knees, overwhelmed, and let her emotions run free. Lückenkemper’s sprint to gold seemed even more magical because she had to run with a tape on her left thigh in the semifinals – “I didn’t know if I could start the final,” she revealed. Her trainer Lance Brauman gave her the “pepp talk of my life” on the warm-up track.
Meanwhile, Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs left no doubt that he is at least the fastest man in Europe. After a rather moderate start, the powerhouse quickly got going, pulled away irresistibly after 50 meters and won in 9.95 seconds ahead of British title defender Zharnel Hughes (9.99) and his compatriot Jeremiah Azu (10.13).
At the World Championships in Eugene three weeks ago, Jacobs had to withdraw before the semifinals because of muscle problems. After gold at the Olympics, he also won gold at the European Championships in Munich’s Olympic Stadium, a double that Brit Linford Christie last completed in 1994.
The DLV trio Owen Ansah, Lucas Ansah-Peprah (both Hamburg) and Julian Wagner from Erfurt were eliminated in the semifinals. The last time a German stood in a European Championship final over 100 m was Lucas Jakubczyk from Berlin in Zurich in 2014.
