Sport | Athletics
Lemaitre conjures up golden double as hosts Spain get into the medals
Frenchman slow off the blocks but makes up with blazing final stretch
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 August 1, 2010
- Image Credit: AP
- France's Christophe Lemaitre (right) crosses the finish line ahead of Britain's Christian Malcolm in the men’s 200-metre final during the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona on Friday.
Barcelona: Christophe Lemaitre's fairytale European championship continued when he completed a sprint double on Friday and the Olympic stadium finally came to life as the hosts celebrated their first medals.
Spain had to wait a little bit longer than anticipated for their first gold of the championships when Russian Yuliya Zarudneva spoilt the script by beating world champion and home favourite Marta Dominguez in the steeplechase final.
Zarudneva went to the front from the gun with Dominguez, wearing her trademark pink headband with matching running shoes, shadowing her.
The noise from the half-full stadium was deafening, as the crowd urged Dominguez to victory but the world silver medallist gained revenge for her defeat in Berlin last year, pulling clear off the final water jump to win in 9:17.57.
Strong finish
The Spanish flag-waving and cheering was finally rewarded in the last race of the evening when an astonished Arturo Casado finished strongly to take the 1,500 title in 3:42.74.
Manuel Olmedo took bronze with German Carsten Schlangen splitting the two Spaniards.
"I can't believe it yet, I'm the European champion at home," Casado, 27, said.
"I just listened to the crowd and looked straight ahead. At no point did I want to look back," he told Spanish television. Lemaitre appeared to be staring defeat in the face after a poor start in the 200 left him out of the medal places and some five metres behind Britain's Christian Malcolm going into the straight. But the 100 metres champion produced an astonishing late burst of speed and, with a roar, lunged past a surprised Malcolm to snatch victory by 0.01 seconds in 20.37 and become the first Frenchman to do the European sprint double.
Russia's women enjoyed a golden fiesta with five victories, including a sweep of the 400 medals. Tatyana Firova led her compatriots home in the one-lap sprint, clocking 49.89.
Russian pole vaulter Svetlana Feofanova secured her second European title, eight years after her first with a clearance of 4.75 metres.
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