Discus trio massively disappointed
German athletes come away empty-handed on the second day of the European Championships
09.06.2024, 07:27
The German discus throwers are competing in the European Championships with high hopes, but have nothing to do with the medals. Two Germans made it to the finals in the 100 metres, a Greek excelled in the long jump and two championship records were broken in the women’s event.
The discus women’s hopes of a big win were dashed, walker Christopher Linke experienced a drama – but the sprinters came back: The German athletes missed out on their second medal at the European Championships in Rome, but the 100-meter sprinters around Owen Ansah, who had been struggling for years, caused a positive surprise.
The Hamburg native finished fifth in 10.17 seconds as Italy’s Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs (10.02) triumphed. In addition to Ansah, Robin Ganter also made it to the final, but was unable to compete due to muscle problems. Since Lucas Jakubczyk, who also finished fifth in Zurich in 2014, no DLV sprinter had reached the 100 m final of a European Championship.
It was not only because of Jacobs’ success that the approximately 30,000 spectators celebrated a great Italian athletics party in the giant bowl of the Stadio Olimpico, which was much better filled than on Friday but was by no means sold out. After two days, the host has already collected five titles and eleven medals – a clear lead in the national rankings.
Tentoglou delivers huge air show
The German team only has the bronze medal of shot putter Yemisi Ogunleye from the opening day to its credit – the hoped-for discus podium did not materialize. Claudine Vita was the best German in sixth place with 62.65 meters in the seventh European Championship triumph of Croatian serial winner Sandra Elkasevic. Shanice Craft came seventh (61.73).
Marike Steinacker travelled to Italy as Europe’s best of the year with a throw of 67.31 metres – and came last in the final with a throw of 59.72 metres. “I’ll be shaking my head for a while. I’m just disappointed with my performance, my inability,” said Shanice Craft after the decision. “I’m speechless,” said Vita. “I have to let that sink in first.”
Miltiadis Tentoglou flew further than anyone before at an outdoor European Championship.
(Photo: REUTERS)
The highest-class men’s competition on Saturday was the long jump, which Greece’s Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou won for the third time in a row at a European Championship – with a splendid championship record of 8.65 meters, which he achieved twice. The women’s event was the 100 meter hurdles, which Cyrena Samba-Mayela (France) also won in a championship record of 12.31 seconds – the last time a European woman ran faster was 32 years ago.
Only one DLV heptathlete makes it through
Belgium’s Olympic champion Nafi Thiam became the first heptathlete to win the European Championship for the third time with 6848 points (championship record). After former vice world champion Carolin Schäfer’s elimination in the shot put on Friday, Sophie Weißenberg had to drop out on Saturday with foot problems. Vanessa Grimm was the only German to finish the competition in eleventh place.
The competition was very bitter for walker Linke, who overdid it, then over-exerted himself and finally gave up. “I clearly wanted to win a medal, that is my goal and also my ability. I wanted to be there and I overdid it,” said Linke, 2022 European Championship runner-up in Munich, at the ZDF microphone.
While the Swede Perseus Karlström (1:19:13) won, the German walkers have been waiting for a men’s medal over 20 kilometers for ages. In 1978, the GDR athlete Roland Wieser became European champion in Prague, and four years earlier the legendary Bernd Kannenberg (silver in Rome) won the only DLV medal to date.