Amsterdam: Dafne Schippers ran a blistering second-leg to help her Dutch quartet to European 4x100m relay gold yesterday as Poland saved their best for last by nailing treble gold to top the medals table.
Schippers, who claimed 100m gold on Friday, proved the difference after taking the baton from Jamile Samuel and crushing all rivals on the far back straight of Amsterdam’s packed-out Olympic Stadium.
Teammates Tessa van Schagen and Naomi Sedney safely negotiated the baton passes to come through the finish line in 42.04sec, Britain taking silver (42.45) and Germany bronze (42.48).
“In finals before we have made some mistakes and had some bad handovers, but we knew we could do this,” said Schippers, who set the Beijing world championships alight last year with victory in a third-fastest time ever of 21.63sec in the 200m which she did not race in Amsterdam.
There was a similarly impressive outing from the British men, James Dasaolu, Adam Gemili, James Ellington and Chijindu Ujah blasting to an impressive 38.17sec, an outstanding anchor leg by Europe’s fastest man Jimmy Vicaut ensuring France silver ahead of Germany.
It was a day to remember for the Polish team, who ended up atop the medals table with six gold, five silver and one bronze in a 12-medal haul. Germany and Britain both won 16 medals, but only five golds.
First up for Poland was reigning two-time world champion Pawel Fajdek, who dominated the hammer throw, his best of 80.93m easily enough for gold ahead of Belarus’ Ivan Tikhon (78.84), with another Pole, Wojciech Nowicki, taking bronze (77.53).
Then came Angelicka Cichocka’s victory in the women’s 1,500m before defending champion Adam Kszczot and Marcin Lewandowski made it a one-two in the men’s 800m.
There was a third consecutive European shot put title for David Storl, the German managing a best of 21.31m to beat off Poland’s Michal Haratyk (21.19).
And there was a dramatic climax to the women’s triple jump, Portugal’s Patricia Mamona’s final effort of 14.58m sealing victory from Israel’s Ukraine-born Hanna Minenko by 7cm.
There was also an unusual end to the men’s 5,000m, the relatively slow pace working to a crescendo on the final lap.
After criticism of Turkey for its medal-winning foreign-born athletes, it was the turn of two Moroccans naturalised to race for Spain, Ilias Fifa and Adel Mechaal, to take gold and silver.
Germany’s Richard Ringer claimed bronze with all three podium finishers credited with the same time of 13:40.85 in a photo finish.
&uuid=(email))