Thursday's Action in Barcelona
Five events were decided at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona on Thursday, with Germany claiming two gold medals and Russian retaining its lead in the medal count.
The first final of the evening came in the men's high jump, where the expected duel between Aleksandr Shustov and Ivan Ukhov, both representing Russia, was won by Shustov. He claimed his first major medal by jumping 2.33m.
Ukhov, the reigning world and European indoor champion, only managed 2.31m to claim the silver.
Ukhov had been favourite ahead of the inexperienced Shustov, but Shustov latter defeated his countryman, as he had in Moscow earlier this season.
After clearing 2.23m on his fourth attempt, British high jumper Martyn Bernard went on to note a season's best at 2.29m, high enough to earn him the bronze medal in the final. The British team now has four medals, with two golds.
The Russian pair's two medals added their team's overall tally, with three golds from a total of nine medals so far.
With a handful of promising middle distance runners in its squad, the Russian team will likely keep adding to its medal count over the next three days.
Idowu's Technique Prevails
In harsh jumping conditions, British triple jumper Phillips Idowu put in the performance of his career to claim the gold medal in the final.
Idowu jumped 17.81m in his fourth attempt, eight centimetres longer than his previous personal best from 2008.
Longtime favourite to win the final, France's Teddy Tamgho failed to deliver when it mattered. Tamgho finished in third place after reaching 17.45m, a far cry from the 17.98m he jumped in New York earlier this summer.
The relatively inexperienced 21-year-old was beaten to the silver by Romania's Marian Oprea, who jumped 17.51m.
With Idowu harmonious and in impressive form, few jumpers could have challenged him on the night.
Powering through the sprint with his body steadily balanced, it was Idowu's unmatched speed in the run-up that earned him the European title.
"It's been a tough year but I seem to come alive when I get to the championships," he said to the press after the victory, proud to have emerged victorious from the event above others of his 2010 season.
"I pretty much worked for this all through the season, I haven't prepared for any of the grand prixs," he added.
"With the way Teddy has been jumping this season I knew that I would need to jump a personal best."
With the world, European and Commonwealth titles now to his name, Idowu will be looking to add the Olympic gold to his collection in the 2012 London games. Idowu has a silver medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Germany Claims Two Gold Medals
One day after French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre claimed the gold in the men's event, the women's 100m final got under way. It was won by Germany's Verena Sailer in 11.10 seconds after a close race.
Veronique Mang of France came second in 11.11 seconds, while her compatriot Myriame Soumare claimed the bronze medal in 11.18 seconds.
The German team collected another gold medal in the women's javelin final, where Linda Stahl threw a personal best of 66.81m.
Christina Obergfoll, also of Germany, claimed the silver medal while Czech Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova only managed to finish third this time around.
The men's decathlon was also concluded on Thursday after two days of competing. France's Romain Barras narrowly defeated Dutchman Eelco Sintinicolaas, with the pair claiming 8,453 and 8,436 points respectively.
The 1500m race that concluded the decathlon proved decisive for Barras, who went in to the last event with a narrow five-point lead. Belarussian Andrei Krauchanka came third on 8,370 points.
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