June 10, (THEWILL)- Yaroslava Mahuchikh delivered Ukraine’s first gold medal at the European Athletics Championships in Rome on Sunday.
The world champion cleared 2.01m to claim the high jump title, leading a Ukrainian one-two with Iryna Gerashchenko taking bronze. Mahuchikh, who fled the Russian bombardment of her hometown Dnipro in 2023, continued her impressive form ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Dina Asher-Smith claimed a second European 100m crown, clocking 10.99 seconds for gold. Poland’s Ewa Swoboda and Italy’s Zaynab Dosso completed the podium in a close finish.
In a dramatic men’s hammer throw finale, Poland’s Wojciech Nowicki unleashed an 80.95m effort on his last attempt to snatch victory from Hungary’s Bence Halasz and Ukrainian Mykhaylo Kokhan.
Spain’s Ana Peleteiro-Compaore dominated the triple jump with 14.85m, while Turkey’s Tugba Danismaz set a national record of 14.57m for silver. German Gesa Krause emerged victorious in the 3000m steeplechase after initial winner Alice Finot’s disqualification for a lane infringement. Frenchman Gabriel Tual won a physical 800m battle in 1:44.87.
Ciara Mageean nicked Ireland’s second gold by taking the 1500m in 4:04.66, ahead of Britain’s Georgia Bell. French athletes also claimed bronze medals through Agathe Guillemot (1500m) and the men’s 4x400m relay team. As the championships concluded, all eyes turn towards the Paris Olympics.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.