Golden Duplantis soars to six-metre vault
Triple gold medallist Dalaloyan proves standout gymnast at Euros
BERLIN, Aug 13, (RTRS): Armand Duplantis, another of Scandinavia’s phenomenal young athletics talents, brought down the curtain on a breakthrough European Championships with a record-breaking triumph in one of the all-time great pole vault competitions .
The US-raised Swedish teenager became the youngest man ever to clear six metres as he set three world junior records, finishing with a remarkable new mark of 6.05 metres.
On another splendid night of athletics, Dina Asher-Smith become only the third woman to win the European sprint treble as Britain’s men and women both roared to victory in the concluding 4x100m relays.
The Olympic Stadium saluted Poland’s matchless 33-year-old hammer thrower Anita Wlodarczyk, who won her fourth successive title with a championship record of 78.94 metres, and 34-year-old Portuguese Nelson Evora, the triple jump winner almost 10 years to the week since he leapt to Olympic gold in Beijing.
Yet it was the youthful mastery of Duplantis that caused most astonishment
Asher Smith
Sweden’s Armand Duplantis celebrates after an attempt in the men’s pole vault final at the European Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium in
Berlin, Germany, on Aug 12. (AP) The saddest sight of the night Salpeter had sprinted to the line was the Kenyan-born Israeli, Lonah and thought she had won the silver, Chemtai Salpeter, winner of the only to realise there was another lap to 10,000m, running off the track when go. Hassan went on to win easily in a locked in a duel with Dutch Sifan Hassan championship record 14:46.12. at the bell of the 5,000m. “When she stopped, I went: ‘What have ever gone higher than Duplantis now, indoors or out.
“6.05 is the jump of my life. It was such an unreal competition, I feel like I’m dreaming right now. It’s been one of the most special moments of my life and I’ll never forget it,” said Duplantis, who has now broken 13 world junior records.
“But I wouldn’t have been able to do it without those two pushing me. That was the motivation right there. Each time, I knew if I wanted to win, I had to clear it.”
When Duplantis cleared 6.05m, France’s great 31-year-old three-time champion and former Olympic gold medallist Lavillenie hugged him, almost as if recognising that he was handing over the baton of greatness to the teenager.
Asher-Smith, taking Britain from fourth to first with a scintillating anchor leg, emulated East Germans Petra Vogt (1969) and Katrin Krabbe (1990) as the only women to achieve the sprint treble.
On another fine night for Britain, Laura Muir kicked for home after just a lap-and-a-half of the 1,500m final, stretched away and then courageously held on down the home straight in 4:02.32 to become the first woman from her country to take the metric mile crown.
Artur Dalaloyan of Russia (center), celebrates with the gold medal after placing first on the parallel bars during the men’s artistic gymnastics finals at the European Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, on Aug 12. At right is silver medal winner David Belyavskiy of Russia and left is bronze medal
winner Oliver Hegi of Switzerland. (AP)
is she doing? What should I do?’ I heard the people shout. It was crazy,” said Hassan.
Britain and Poland both finished with seven athletics golds but Germany amassed most medals, 19, headed by Gesa-Felicitas Krause’s successful defence of her 3,000m steeplechase title on Sunday, their sixth gold.
Triple gold medallist Artur Dalaloyan proved the standout gymnast at the men’s European Championships, adding two individual apparatus triumphs 24 hours after leading Russia to the team title.
Dalaloyan, the 22 year old European all-around silver medallist last year, took gold in both the vault and the parallel bars as well as bronze in the floor exercises at the SSE Hydro Arena.
“My favourite medal was the team medal, because everybody in Russian gymnastics worked towards it,” said Dalaloyan, delighted at how he had grown as an athlete at these championships.
“Two years ago I wasn’t a part of the main Russian team. Back then I was a boy and not a man. Now I feel as though I have grown up and have an understanding of what I want to get from gymnastics.”
Dalaloyan had been spurred to do better, he said, by a mistake that he had made on the floor. who said he hoped the Asian Games would be a chance for Japan’s athletes to engage with those from other nations in a bid for international harmony.
Former Olympic judo gold medallist Yashuhiro Yamashita was more demanding.
“Our goal is to win 30 gold medals at Tokyo 2020,” said Yamashita, who is head of Japan’s delegation going to Jakarta.
“To make this come true, we are working on several things, including the new sports that will debut at the Asian Games and that will also be at Tokyo 2020.”
Daiya Seto, who won a gold and silver at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo over the weekend, is one of Japan’s main medal hopes in Jakarta.
“I have got gold medals at the last Asian Games so I want to do it again this time around,” said Seto, who won two golds in 2014.
Team captain and Olympic silver medallist sprinter Ryota Yamagata spoke of the need to bring joy to the people of Japan, especially those affected by last month’s flooding.
“I am from Hiroshima, which was hit by the heavy rain and there are people who are now suffering and struggling to live normally,” Yamagata said.
“If we achieve all these goals and we do our best at the Games, then we can show again how amazing sport is.”
Japanese sprinter Aska Cambridge has raced the very best in the world in relays but is heading to Jakarta for the Asian Games looking to establish a name for himself as an individual ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In the aftermath of Jamaica’s victory in the 4x100 metres relay at Rio that delivered Usain Bolt his ninth Olympic gold medal, it was perhaps easy to miss the Japan team in second.
Tori Franklin, of the United States, competes to win silver in triple jump during the NACAC Championships athletics meet in Toronto,
on Aug 12. (AP)