BERLIN — Belarusian Volha Mazuronak overcame severe nosebleeds and a late navigational error before sprinting to victory in a dramatic women’s marathon at the European Athletics Championships Sunday.
Little-known Belgian Koen Naert then provided a very different triumph, enjoying the race of his life to run away from the men’s field after the 19-mile mark and win by over a minute and a half in a new championship record 2 hours 9 minutes 51 seconds.
Mazuronak produced the steeliest of displays to take the title after twice suffering nosebleeds which left her face covered in blood in the early stages of the race around the streets and tourist attractions of Berlin city’s center.
After dousing herself in water so she could see properly on a warm morning, the 29-year-old race favorite, who was fifth in the Olympics, retained her poise, kept pacesetting and broke everyone except for French marathon debutant Clemence Calvin.
Yet just as she seemed to have opened a potentially decisive gap over former track 10,000m silver medalist Calvin with a kilometer left, Mazuronak took the wrong direction at a sharp turn and had to belatedly readjust, allowing the Frenchwoman to get back on terms.
Even that could not derail Mazuronak, though, as she regrouped and sprinted to the finish next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in 2:26:22, eventually outpacing Calvin by six seconds to become the first Belarusian to win the event.
Eva Vrabcova-Nyvltova, who had stayed with the top two until the final run-in, set a Czech record of 2:26:31 for the bronze.
Naert, whose previous best performance in a largely journeyman career had also come in this city when he finished fifth as the top European in the 2015 Berlin Marathon, was a revelation as he broke the field with a well-timed acceleration between the 25 and 30 kilometers marks.
The 28-year-old demonstrated superb form to stretch away from his pursuers and had enough time to grab a Belgian flag from the crowds lining the finish and lift it aloft as he became the first man from his country since Karel Lismont in Helsinki 1971 to win the title.
Switzerland’s Eritrean-born Tadesse Abraham was able to celebrate a silver on his 36th birthday as he came home as distant runner-up in 2:11:24 while Italian Yassin Rachik took bronze in a lifetime best 2:12:09.
Double for Ingebrigtsen
and Asher-Smith
Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Norway’s new sporting sensation, completed a unique double when he won the 5,000 meters just 24 hours after taking 1500m gold as the youngest track champion in the history of the event at just 17.
Yet the teenage phenomenon and his brother Henrik, who won silver behind him, were not the only athletes writing outlandish tales at the 84-year-old championships.
Dina Asher-Smith conclusively ended the reign of Dafne Schippers as Europe’s sprint queen when she raced to victory in the 200 meters in the Olympic Stadium to complete her own 100m/200m golden double.
Sandra Perkovic, Croatia’s queen of the discus, then became the first athlete ever to win five successive European titles in the same event, pulling out a fifth round winner of 67.62 meters to stop what would have been a German sweep of the medals.
Poland savored an amazing three-gold night with Adam Kszczot becoming the first man to win three 800m titles while Justyna Swiety-Ersetic won a dramatic 400m before anchoring her team to gold in the 4x400m relay less than two hours later.
Anything the Ingebrigtsens can do, Belgium’s Borlee brothers Dylan, Jonathan and Kevin like to think they can do better. Once again, they all featured in the men’s 4x400 team that struck gold, just as they had in Amsterdam two years before.
Younger brother Dylan, 25, ran the opening leg, while third leg runner Jonathan passed the baton to his 30-year-old twin Kevin, who delivered an astonishing 43.91sec leg to tear past Spain’s anchor man and turn silver into gold.
Ingebrigtsen was again the star of the show, though, using the searing pace that had helped him win the 1500 meters Friday to race away from the field in a modest-paced race with a scintillating last lap of 54.05 seconds.
Former European 1500m champion Henrik, the oldest of the three remarkable Ingebrigtsen brothers, who are all trained by their father Gjert in the small Norwegian city of Sandnes, was left trailing down the home straight.
Jakob, a phenomenal talent who became the youngest ever sub-four minute miler at 16, won in 13 minutes 17.06 seconds, a European under-20 record, while Henrik clocked 13:18.75.
After consigning Schippers to bronze when winning the 100m easily Tuesday, Britain’s Asher-Smith offered an even more telling blow in the Dutchwoman’s best event as she sped to victory in 21.89 seconds, the world’s fastest this year.
Silver medalist Schippers, twice world champion over the half-lap, ran her fastest race of the summer but was still beaten by a quarter of a second in 22.14 seconds.
By successfully defending her 200m crown, the 22-year-old Asher-Smith joined some of the great names who have achieved the 100/200m European double at the same championships, like Schippers herself (2014) as well as Poland’s Irena Szewinska (1974) and the ‘flying Dutchwoman’ Fanny Blankers-Koen (1950).
Swiety-Ersetic won the women’s 400m in 50.41 seconds but there was heartbreak for Greece’s Maria Belibasaki, the runaway leader who gave everything, broke her national record but, with legs turning to jelly, tumbled over the line 0.04sec adrift.
German jumpers had the stadium rocking too, Malaika Mihambo winning the long jump with a 6.75m leap and Mateusz Przybylko clearing a lifetime best-equaling 2.35m to take the high jump. — Agencies
