2018 Berlin Diary: Sunday Round-Up

Gesa Felicitas-Krause gets a hug from Berlino after her steeplechase gold, photo by Getty Images/Berlin 2018

Somewhere, in a hotel around Berlin, the quiet melodic snoring of a few writers can be heard as, exhausted after a week of writing, missing coffee cups and little sleep, they collapse after the last night of the European Championships. Somewhere, Stuart Weir has fallen asleep, and I am sure he is too tired to snore. Thanks to Stuart Weir who wrote all week to provide our RunBlogRun readers a unique view of the 2018 European Athletics Championships, an event that EAA President Arne Sven Hansen noted was the finest he has seen since 1970, perhaps the finest ever.

I have already had a moan about the scheduling at Berlin and I suppose I am in some ways a traditionalist but ending a championship not with the 4 by 400 relays doesn’t seem right. But that’s what the Germans have done. 4 by 400 was last night and we had the 4 by 100s to finish tonight.

That said it was a night of high drama. Here are some of the things which happened.

1 GB won both the sprint relays (to go with the women’s 100m and 200m, the men’s 100m and silver in the men’s 200m.)

Women’s 4x100m RElay, photo by Getty Images/Berlin 2018

2 All that was after there was high drama in the second heat of the men’s 4 by 100 m prelim when the German third and fourth runners got in a tangle and both finished up lying on the track.

3 There was a phenomenal men’s pole vault competition with four men over 5.90. Armand Duplantis won with 6.05 and he is only 18.

Mondo Duplantis, photo by PhotoRun.net

4 Sifan Hassan won the women’s 5000m and Laura Muir the 1500 – no surprises there.

Laura Muir takes 1,500 meters, photo by Getty Images/Berlin 2018

5 Anita Wlodarczyk won the women’s hammer with a Championship record of 78.94.

Anita Wlodarczyk, World Champ, Olympic champ, European Champ, World record holder, Olympic record holder, European record holder, photo by PhotoRun.net

6 Gesa-Felicitas Krause won the steeplechase to give the German crowd and Berlino something to cheer about

Gesa-Felicitas Krause, photo by PhotoRun.net

7Nelson Evora won the triple jump, 10 years on from his Olympic title.

Nelson Evora, Triple Jump Gold medalist, photo by PhotoRun.net

For your viewing pleasure, here’s the Medal Tables, European Champs: http://www.european-athletics.org/competitions/european-athletics-championships/2018/medals/