German men retain crown but Britain relegated

Defending men's champions Germany claimed their second consecutive European Cup title by overhauling overnight leaders France at the Luigi Ridolfi stadium in Florence yesterday.

There was bitter disappointment for the British men's team, who had won the competition four times in the previous nine years but were relegated from the elite group of European athletics after finishing seventh out of eight squads.

The Germans started the day a point and a half behind France, but a series of strong performances, including victories for Charles Michael Friedek in the triple jump and Mark Frank in the javelin, gave them 113 points to finish comfortably ahead of France on 104. Hosts Italy were third on 98.

In the women's competition, Russia cruised to their ninth European Cup title in nine years. Their total of 131.5 points put them way ahead of second-placed Poland on 94 and Germany on 93.

The French men's team, who were aiming to repeat their European Cup triumph of 2003, started well, extending their overnight lead courtesy of Ladji Doucoure's victory in the opening event of the day, the 110m hurdles, in 13.16 seconds.

But not all the French track athletes could follow suit.

As Spain's Manuel Antonio Reina ran away from the field in the 800 metres, France's Nicolas Aissat faded badly down the home straight to finish fifth, just behind Germany's Rene Herms.

Germany seized the lead in the standings in mid-afternoon when Tobias Unger finished runner-up behind Britain's Christian Malcolm in the 200 metres. French sprinter Idrissa M'Barke trailed in seventh.

'Speed in the legs'

Malcolm's winning time of 20.15 was the fastest time by a European this year.

"I have speed in my legs. After suffering a major disappointment last year in Athens where I was eliminated due to physical problems, it is great to come back," said Malcolm, who was the only individual British winner during the three days of competition.

Friedek's 17.20-metre leap in the triple jump and Frank's throw of 82.38 in the javelin extended Germany's lead to assure them of overall victory even before the final event of the day, the 4x400 metres relay in which they finished a distant sixth behind winners Britain.

The destination of the women's title was never in doubt. While Yuliya Chizhenko triumphed in the 1500 metres and Olga Ryabinkina in the shot, their compatriot Tatyana Kivimyagi leapt a personal best of 1.98 to win the high jump.

The Russians' victory in the last event of the day, the 4x400 relay, was their 10th in 20 events and demonstrated again that they are in a different class to their European rivals.

The best of the rest proved to be Frenchwoman Christine Arron.

The European record holder at 100 metres clocked her best time of the season to win the 200 in 22.84 seconds and complete a sprint double after her victory in the 100 on Saturday.

"It was difficult to start from the second lane, but I'm happy after this second win this weekend. It gives me confidence for the rest of the season," she said.