Italian Olympic champion Jacobs, German Luckenkemper, win 100-meter titles at European Athletics Championships

Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs and German Gina Luckenkemper proved themselves as the fastest 100m sprinters in Europe on Tuesday night under the lights in Munich.

The Italian sprinting star Jacobs – who has missed numerous recent meets coping with an injury-plagued outdoor season – clocked a winning time of 9.95 seconds to claim gold at the European Athletics Championships. Jacobs pulled away from Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes over the closing meters. Hughes, who had won gold four years ago, crossed the line 0.04 seconds behind the Italian to take silver.

Setting a new championship record, Jacobs added a European outdoor title to his Olympic gold from Tokyo and European indoor title earlier this season. The flamboyant Italian flexed for the jam-packed crowd at the 1972 Olympic Stadium and then strutted confidently in celebration while draped in the Italian flag.

“I am over the moon with the gold medal,” Jacobs said. “This has been a difficult season with problems, with injury. My leg is not good. I am not happy about how the race went technically, there were some problems.”

The Italian double Olympic gold medalist was 0.15 seconds off his European record of 9.80, which he set in Tokyo, but it was still an extremely satisfying performance considering the persistent injuries he has been fighting all season.

Great Britain claimed a second medal in the event as Jeremiah Asu posted a season-best 10.13 for the bronze medal.

With the excitement and energy of the men’s race still palpable at Munich Olympic Stadium, eight women took to the track just ten minutes later for the second 100-meter final of the evening.

The women’s race proved even more dramatic as Germany’s Gina Luckenkemper narrowly edged Swiss Mujinga Kambundji by 15 one-thousandths of a second in a race decided in a three-athlete ‘too close to call’ photo finish. Upon crossing the line, Luckenkemper and Kambundji’s times both read 10.99, but ultimately the victory belonged to the German.

Daryll Neita of Great Britain joined the duo in the spectacular photo finish, her time of 11.00 good enough for bronze.

It was Luckenkemper’s fifth medal in three editions of the European Athletics Championships. She also became Germany’s first women’s sprinting champion at the meet in 12 years.

Luckenkemper won the German national championships in the same 10.99 time in June, however at the recent world championships in Eugene, Oregon, she was unable to advance past the 100m semi-finals.

The defending champion and 2022 World Championships bronze medalist Dina Asher-Smith was slowed by injuries, pulling up and out of the race at roughly 50 meters.

Luckenkemper wasn’t the only German athlete to strike gold at the championships on Tuesday. German decathlete Niklas Kaul delivered a performance for the ages, while tallying a season best of 8,545 points over the two days and ten events. Kaul defended his European Championships title from 2019.

“The Olympic Stadium will have a special place in my life and in my heart,” Kaul said, exhausted after his victory. “This is craziness. We will never in our lives forget what we have lived here tonight.

“Before the javelin I was kind of down, I thought that the gold was gone. But throwing 76m then showed me, that after my elbow surgery, I am back with my strong javelin event, I still can do it.”

Kaul ran 4:10.04 in the closing 1500 meters to win Decathlon gold.

“Today’s emotional title is worth more the the world title I won three years ago. It is so beautiful to enjoy the atmosphere and the support from the crowd in the Olympic stadium,” Kaul said.

Simon Ehammer of Switzerland nabbed silver, finishing runner-up to Kaul, 77 points behind, while Estonian Janek Oiglane earned bronze, 199 points off Kaul’s winning total.

Double world champion and World Record holder Kevin Mayer abandoned the grueling ten-event test after the opening 100 meters on Monday. The Frenchman was unable to finish the race at full stride resulting in a sudden exit to the two-day competition.

Other gold medalists in Munich on Tuesday evening included Olympic long jump champion Miltiatis Tentoglou of Greece, Croatian Sandra Perkovic, who captured her sixth discus title, and Norwegian runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the men’s 5000m.

After two days of competition, host nation Germany leads the medal table with eight medals, including four gold. Spain stands second with five medals, while Israel is a surprising third with four medals. Thirteen countries have won medals thus far.

Five more days of competition are on the program as the championships continue through the weekend in the 1972 Olympic city.

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