France’s Teddy Tamgho bettered his own world record to win the European indoor triple jump title yesterday, but there was heartbreak for French sprint king Christophe Lemaitre.
Tamgho twice leaped 17.92 metres, beating by 1cm the previous best he set at the French indoor championships on February 20.
“The competition was very tough and intense,” said the 21-year-old who finished fourth in the long jump in his bid for a rare double.
“After Marian Oprea and Fabrizio Donato jumped 17.62 and 17.70, I realised I was only third. I couldn’t imagine losing at home so I went to get a huge jump and managed 17.92. I did what I had to do to win.”
But Lemaitre was undone by two veterans of the sprint circuit, Portugal’s Nigerian-born Francis Obikwelu and Britain’s reigning world and European indoor champion Dwain Chambers.
Obikwelu, who lost out on gold to the disgraced Justin Gatlin at the 2004 Athens Olympics by one-hundredth of a second, proved to have the superior dip in the Bercy arena, east Paris, winning in 6.53 seconds.
Chambers was 0.01sec off, while Lemaitre, who won an unprecedented treble sprint gold at last summer’s Euro outdoors in Barcelona, could only manage third in 6.58.
There was also disappointment for the French women’s sprint team, with Ukraine’s Oleysa Povh powering to victory in the 60m in an impressive 7.13sec.
France’s Veronique Mang and Myriam Soumare, the reigning Euro outdoor 200m champion, could finish only sixth and seventh. Seventeen-year-old British schoolgirl Jodie Williams came in fourth in her first senior outing.
Elsewhere, Poland won two gold medals through Adam Kszczot in the 800m, while world champion Anna Rogowska took advantage of Yelena Isinbayeva’s absence to claim a facile victory in the pole vault with a best of 4.85m.
And there was a surprise gold for 37-year-old British captain Helen Clitheroe in the women’s 3,000m.
“During the race I kept thinking, ‘It’s slow, will I be able to kick?’ I just kept pushing. Only when I crossed the line did I realise I’d won,” said Clitheroe.
Belarus’s Andrei Krauchanka, the 2008 Olympic decathlon silver medallist, overcame a nagging ankle injury to win the heptathlon.
Krauchanka racked up 6,282 points, with Frenchman Nadir El Fassi (6,237) taking silver and three-time former champion Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic (6,178) claiming bronze.Manuel Olmedo won Spain’s sole gold in the men’s 1,500m and Antonietta di Martino secured top spot for Italy in the women’s high jump.
Russia’s Yevgeniya Zinurova (800m), the 4x400m relay team and Darya Klishina (long jump) all secured gold to ensure their country finished atop the overall medal standings with 15 (six gold, three silver, six bronze).