European Athletics Championships 2014: Daily Results, Updated Schedule and More
Sunday Update
The European Athletics Championships came to a pulsating conclusion as Great Britain dominated proceedings to pip France to the top of the medal table.
Britain swept up in the relays to ensure a last minute burst to the line that also saw Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford add European titles to their Olympic crowns.
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| Women's Shot Put | Christina Schwanitz (GER) | Yevgeniya Kolodko (RUS) | Anita Marton |
| Men's 1500m | Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad (FRA) | Henrik Ingebrigsten (NOR) | Chris O'Hare (GBR) |
| Women's High Jump | Ruth Beitia (SPA) | Mariya Kuchina (RUS) | Ana Simic (CRO) |
| Women's 4x400m Relay | France | Ukraine | Great Britain & Northern Ireland |
| Men's 4x400m Relay | Great Britain & Northern Ireland | Russia | Poland |
| Men's Long Jump | Greg Rutherford (GBR) | Louis Tsatoumas (GRE) | Kafetien Gomis (FRA) |
| Women's 3000m Steeplechase | Antje Moldner-Schmidt (GER) | Charlotta Fougberg (SWE) | Diana Martin (SPA) |
| Men's Javelin | Antti Ruuskanen (FIN) | Vitezslav Vesely (CZE) | Tero Pitkamaki (FIN) |
| Men's 5000m | Mo Farah (GBR) | Hayle Ibrahimov (AZE) | Andy Vernon (GBR) |
| Women's 4x100m | Great Britain & Northern Ireland | France | Russia |
| Men's 4x100m | Great Britain & Northern Ireland | Germany | France |
Mo Farah Writes his Name into European Championship History
Mo Farah became the most decorated athlete in the competition's 80-year history with victory in the 5,000m. The reigning champion's status seemed to intimidate a field who settled for an exceptionally slow pace that played into the Briton's hands.
That pace made it effectively a 600m contest, and no one in the field had the pedigree to challenge Farah over one lap of the track. Hayle Ibrahimov attempted to take the fight to Farah late on, but could not hold on when Farah ratcheted up the pace around the final bend. Andy Vernon added a bronze to his silver in the 10,000m.
British Relay Teams Dominate
It was expected that France's women's 4x100m relay squad would storm to gold having qualified fastest for the final. But Britain's team produced arguably the performance of the day with a blistering run that saw them break the 34-year-old British record.
The British men also stormed to victory in the 4x100m with 200m champion Adam Gemili anchoring his team to hold off France and Germany.
France broke the British stranglehold on the relays as their women stormed home to 4x400m gold, courtesy of a magnificent final leg by Floria Guei. But Britain soon re-asserted its dominance in the relays with a 4x400m victory ahead of Russia. Individual 400m champion Martyn Rooney's final leg of 43.9 seconds was one of the performances of the championships.
Greg Rutherford Adds European Title to his Olympic/Commonwealth Crowns
British long jumper Greg Rutherford leapt to victory in Zurich with a jumped of 8.29. The British record holder was well below his best of 8.51, but it was still enough to beat Greek rival Louis Tsatoumas by 14cm.
Rutherford is a big competition jumper, even if he does not produce truly massive leaps. That fact was illustrated by today's jump being 66cm short of Mike Powell's world record.
Saturday Update
There were eight events on Saturday at the 2014 European Athletics Championships in Zuerich. Among the highlights were the Women's Triple Jump and the Men's Hammer Throw.
The former event featured a terrific rivalry between Russian Yekaterina Koneva and Ukraine's Olgha Saladukha. Both athletes produced some thrilling form, constantly pushing the other to deliver her best with every jump.
Meanwhile, the hammer throw featured some true individual dominance from Hungary's Kirsztian Pars.
Here's the full breakdown of Day Five's medal winners:
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Men's Hammer Throw | Krisztian Pars (Hungary) | Pawel Fajdek (Poland) | Sergey Litvinov (Russia) |
| Men's Pole Vault | Renaud Lavillenie (France) | Pawel Wojchiechowski (Poland) | Jan Kudlicka (Czech Republic) / Kevin Menaldo (France) |
| Women's Triple Jump | Olha Saladukha (Ukraine) | Yekaterina Koneva (Russia) | Irina Gumenyuk (Russia) |
| Women's Discus | Sandra Perkovic (Croatia) | Robert-Michon Melina (France) | Shanice Craft (Germany) |
| Women's 400m Hurdles | Eilid Child (Great Britain) | Anna Titimets (Ukraine) | Irina Davydova (Russia) |
| Women's 800m | Maryna Arzamasova (Belarus) | Lynsey Sharp (Great Britain) | Joanna Jozwik (Poland) |
| Women's 5000m | Meraf Bahta (Sweden) | Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) | Susan Kuljken (Netherlands) |
| City Marathon Women Final | Christelle Daunay (France) | Valeria Straneo (Italy) | Jessica Augusto (Portugal) |
For full results of every qualifying event, visit the competition's official website here.
Pars Dominates
Pars made comfortable work of the hammer throw. His powerful showing earned Hungary it's fourth gold medal in this event:
Pars' throw dwarfed that of nearest rival Pole Fajdek. His stellar efforts were detailed by European-Athletics.org:
"It was quite a performance from the shaven-headed Pars, who took the lead with 82.18m in the third round - Fajdek had led with 78.48m - before sealing victory with 82.69m, a throw that was 20 centimetres further than the world best he had set in Szekesfehervar last month.
"
As impressive as he was, Pars wasn't the only athlete who maintained a stranglehold over his particular event.
Renaud Lavillenie Still Setting Standard in the Pole Vault
Frenchman Lavillenie still sets the bar for excellence in the men's pole vault. He maintained his dominance thanks to a superb vault that left him well ahead of his closest competition:
But while Lavillenie's dominance was clear, separating the rest of the pack was a slightly a complex affair. A count back didn't yield a clear winner between Lavillenie's countryman Kevin Menaldo and Jan Kudlicka of the Czech Republic.
The compromise was for both pole vaulters to share the bronze medal.
Scots Eilidh Child and Lynsey Sharp Enjoy A Good Day
Medals were earned by Scottish athletes Eilidh Child and Lynsey Sharp. Both enjoyed a good day in their respective events, delivering gutsy performances.
For Child, that meant a final push to stay ahead of strong competition. Ukraine's Titimets and Czech Republic runner Denisa Rosolova pushed the Scot all the way. The three-way sprint produced an exciting finish to the women's 400m hurdles:
Childs stayed strong during a frenetic climax to earn the summit position on the podium. As Titimets powered past Rosolova into second, the Czech slipped out of medal contention.
Her staggered finish let Russian Davydova dart in to take bronze. That provided some measure of consolation for the dethroned defending champion.
It was a controlled and determined race from Childs that proved the key to her golden win. She set a quick early pace to build a lead that she then steadily maintained.
Her composure was key as Titimets tried to apply the pressure with a lightning-fast finishing time.
As for Sharp, her performance was a brave one, following a previous illness that laid the sprinter low. But she responded in a solid way even though she couldn't retain her gold medal.
Instead, that honour went to Arzamasova who surprised the pack with a late, powerful fleet-footed surge to claim top spot.
However, Sharp remained proud of her effort and the silver medal to go with the one she claimed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She credited setting a fast start for her successful performance, per BBC Sport:
"I knew I was in PB shape so even though front-running is totally different for me, I thought I'd just go for it.
I was in hospital on a drip for two weeks (earlier in the year) and at that point I didn't even know if I was going to have a season, so to go on and get a Scottish record, and silver at the Commonwealths and Europeans, is great.
"
Saladukha Wins Closely Contested Triple Jump
Ukraine's Saladukha outlasted fierce competition from Russian rivals in the triple jump. The event's outcome wasn't decided until the final three jumps.
That's when Saladukha produced a stunning last effort. It was good enough to see off Koneva and Gumenyuk to ensure gold.
The win maintains Saladukha's position as the dominant force in European triple jumping:
Sandra Perkovic Delivers Biggest Throw In Over 20 Years
Away from the excitement of the triple jump, Perkovic wowed the crowds watching the women's discus event. The robust Croatian produced the biggest throw in 22 years:
That awesome effort was part of a strong performance that earned Perkovic the gold.
Day five of the 2014 championships leaves the overall medal table showing French superiority. Meanwhile, Russian athletes are securing a host of third-place finishes but coming up just short in pursuit of the major prizes:
The Men's 1500m final and the 5000m final will be highlights on Day six.
Friday was an excellent day for Team Britain at the 2014 European Athletics championships, with several dominant performances coming on the track. World champion Christine Ohuruogu failed to medal, but that turned out to be just a blip on the radar as several other athletes picked up the slack for GB.
The Netherlands' Dafne Schippers continued her assault on the world of sprinting and has a chance to make history over the course of the weekend, as we get ready for the final two days of this year's event.
Here's the full medal count for Friday's action:
| 50km Race Walk Men | Yohann Diniz (FRA) | Matek Toth (SVK) | Ivan Noskov (RUS) |
| 400m Men | Martyn Rooney (GBR) | Matthew Hudson-Smith (GBR) | Donald Sanford (ISR) |
| 400m Women | Libania Grenot (ITA) | Olha Zemlyak (UKR) | Indira Terrero (ESP) |
| 1500m Women | Sifan Hassan (NED) | Abeba Aregawi (SWE) | Laura Weightman (GBR) |
| High Jump Men | Bogdan Bondarenko (UKR) | Adnriy Protsenko (UKR) | Ivan Ukhov (RUS) |
| 800m Men | Adam Kszczot (POL) | Artur Kuciapski (POL) | Mark English (IRE) |
| 200m Women | Dafne Schippers (NED) | Jodie Williams (GBR) | Myriam Soumare( FRA) |
| 400m Hurdles Men | Kariem Hussein (SWI) | Rasmus Magi (EST) | Denis Kudryavtsev (RUS) |
| 200m Men | Adam Gemili (GBR) | Christophe Lemaitre (FRA) | Serhiy Smelyk (UKR) |
| Hammer Throw Women | Anita Wlodarczyk (POL) | Martina Hrasnova (SVK) | Joanna Fiodorow (POL) |
For complete results of every qualifying event, visit the website of European Athletics by clicking here.
Martyn Rooney and Matt Hudson-Smith Deliver British One-Two in 400 Meters
Martyn Rooney won his first major title in Fruday's 400 meters, finishing in 44.71 seconds to stay ahead of Great Britain teammate Matt Hudson-Smith.
The two relaxed together after the race, giving BBC Sport the chance to snap this photo:
Running in the third lane, Rooney turned on the afterburners coming out of the final turn and pulled away from the pack, on his way to his very first European title. The 27-year-old was ecstatic with the result, as he told BBC Sport's Tom Fordyce: "I'm delighted to win it," he said. "It's been a long time coming - I've never won a championships in my life, only British trials, so it's great to win on this stage."
Teammate Hudson-Smith ran a new personal best of 44.75 seconds, easily staying ahead of Israel's Donald Sanford, who took the bronze. Hudson-Smith nearly was disqualified for a false start, but fortunately for the 19-year-old, judges decided to give him a yellow card instead of the red for exclusion.
Britain have a rich tradition in the 400 meters but hadn't taken the gold since 1998, so Rooney's win was long overdue.
Adam Gemili added another gold medal in the 200 meters race, the final event of the night, while youngster Jodie Williams impressed everyone by grabbing silver in the women's 200 meters final.
Gemili's gold in particular was impressive, capping off a great night for British athletics. The 20-year-old dove under 20 seconds to finish in 19.98 seconds, running into the breeze. And while he won the final thanks to great drive in the bend, there still is room for improvement on a technical level.
Word Champion Christine Ohuruogu Fails To Medal
The team's dominance didn't extend into the women's 400 meters final, however, as world champion Christine Ohuruogu failed to medal, finishing behind Italy's Libania Grenot, Ukraine's Olha Zemlyak and Spain's Indira Terrero.
Ohuruogu told reporters she had travelled to Zurich knowing full well she wasn't likely to win, as she is in the middle of a year off from competing. Her post-race interview echoed the same sentiment, per Fordyce:
"I'm disappointed to finish outside the medals but not heartbroken. I was here for something to do. Training at home gets tedious so I thought I would come out and test myself. It's foolish to have a complete year out which I would like ideally.
"
As shared by John Mulkeen, she didn't do half-bad for an athlete missing competitive rhythm, coming very close to winning the bronze:
Grenot won the race in 51.10 seconds, good enough to win her first ever international gold medal. Ohuruogu finished with the same time as bronze medalist Terrero (51.38 seconds), with the advantage going to the Spanish athlete after officials watched the photo-finish.
The 31-year-old didn't appear overly disappointed, but she did miss out on an opportunity to win an athletics Grand Slam with Olympic, World, Commonwealth Games and European gold.
Dafne Schippers Takes Sprint Double
The Netherlands' Schippers dominated the women's 200 meters final on Friday, beating Britain's Williams by nearly half a second to grab her second gold medal of the Championships.
The heptathlete-turned-sprinter still has a chance for a third gold, as the Dutch relay team will take part in the relay event over the weekend.
Schippers finished in 22.03 seconds, well ahead of Williams (22.46 seconds) and the rest of the field. Her time set a new national record for the Netherlands and broke the season high of the United States' Tori Bowens 22.18 seconds.
Her dominance over the rest of the runners was truly remarkable, particularly given the fact Schippers isn't a natural sprinter:
As shared by Infostrada Sports, the Dutch athlete joins a very select group of sprinters:
Schippers' time and the fact she's not a sprinting regular sends a stern warning to the American and Jamaican sprinters with an eye on the 2016 Olympics. While nobody knows at this stage whether she plans on returning to the heptathlon or continue sprinting, she could turn into a dangerous opponent if she carries on this progression.
Here's the schedule for Saturday's medal events:
| Marathon Women | Hammer Throw Men |
| Pole Vault Men | |
| 800m Women | |
| Triple Jump Women | |
| Discus Throw Women | |
| 400m Hurdles Women | |
| 5000m Women |
The full schedule for every qualifying event on Saturday can be found on the event's website by clicking here.
The female athletes will take centre stage on Saturday, with six gold medals waiting for the new European champions compared to just two for the men.
While the finals will no doubt take the spotlight, all eyes will also be on the qualifiers for the women's 4x100-meters relay and the Dutch team led by breakout athlete Schippers.
Day 3 Update
Thursday's 2014 European Athletics Championships action saw controversy from, well, just the man you'd expect to bring the controversy. Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad took centre-stage for all the wrong reasons once again, and this time, it truly cost him.
The incident overshadowed what was an fantastic night of athletics, including an unexpected silver medal for the British team. The full media tracker for Thursday's events:
| 20km Race Walk Women | Elmira Alembekova (RUS) | Lyudmyla Olyanovska (UKR) | Anezka Drahotova (CZE) |
| Pole Vault Women | Anzhelika Sidorova (RUS) | Ekaterini Stefanidi (GRE) | Angelina Zhuk-Krasnova (RUS) |
| Triple Jump Men | Benjamin Compaore (FRA) | Lyukman Adams (RUS) | Aleksey Fyodorov (RUS) |
| Javelin Throw Women | Barbora Spotakova CZE) | Tatjana Jelaca (SRB) | Linda Stahl (GER) |
| 110m Hurdles Men | Sergey Shubenkov (RUS) | William Sharman (GBR) | Pascal Martinot-Lagarde (FRA) |
| 3,000m Steeple Men | Yoann Kowal (FRA) | Krystian Zalewski (POL) | Angel Mullera (ESP) |
For complete results of every qualifying event, visit the website of European Athletics by clicking here.
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad Finishes 3,000-Meter Steeplechase Topless, Gets Disqualified
Yes, he's done it again. France's Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad, famous for punching a teammate and attacking a mascot, took a comfortable lead in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final and proceeded to take off his vest before crossing the finish line.
BBC Sport have the image:
Via Jon Mulkeen, he can add this latest controversy to an already impressive collection:
He had his hands on his shorts, to the dismay of the BBC commentators, but at least the pre-race favourite refrained from pulling those down as well. Event officials debated what to do and eventually followed the advice of the BBC's Brendan Foster, giving him the yellow card:
"It's a yellow card in football and let's hope it's the same here for Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad. He was being silly and exuberant. He's a controversial figure but he's a great runner."
While some pundits called for the Frenchman to be disqualified, he found plenty of support as well. BBC's Tom Fordyce saw the humour of the situation:
So did Mark Patterson, who told the BBC he thought it was funny.
"I don't know why people are annoyed? That's hilarious from the French steeplechaser to bring attention to the sport."
The yellow card seemed to be the end of it, but the Spanish team had other ideas. Their runner Angel Mullera finished in fourth place, and in order to get him on the podium, the team filed a complaint.
While most on social media expected the decision to be in Mekhissi-Benabbad's favour, the committee shocked everyone by disqualifying the defending champion:
French teammate Yoann Kowal became the winner by default, ending Mekhissi-Benabbad's stranglehold on the competition. While the Frenchman can only blame himself for losing out on a third consecutive title, it's a shame to see the most dominant runner in the event get disqualified after the initial ruling already punished him with a yellow card.
France also keeps hold of the title, with the Spanish team only managing the bronze medal. To have a man disqualified for "just" the bronze seems petty, but perhaps the talented Mekhissi-Benabbad will now learn his lesson.
Will Sharman Takes Silver in the 110-Meter Hurdles
The Briton looked like he was on his way to an upset gold medal but got caught on a hurdle, allowing Sergey Shubenkov to overtake him and defend his title. Sharman had a phenomenal start and took advantage of several other athletes hitting the hurdles, but it was his turn to make a mistake on the sixth.
The 29-year-old clipped the barrier with his trailing foot, losing his balance and resulting in him smashing into the seventh barrier as well. With all momentum gone, Shubenkov took advantage to win in 13.19 seconds.
Athletics Weekly tweeted the result:
Two-time world champion Colin Jackson weighed in on the race for BBC Sport, and he clearly felt bad for the Briton:
"It's terribly frustrating. He did have that race and we knew Shubenkov was going to get out strong. He had to stay calm and relaxed and one of his massive assets is that he usually keeps it perfectly under control at the back end of the race.
Shubenkov ran the cleanest race, virtually no mistakes. Will's a silver medallist but he will look back on this season and think he could be a champion twice.
"
Favourite Pascal Martinot-Lagarde didn't even make the podium initially, although he was able to take advantage of the disqualification of teammate Dimitri Bascou to take the bronze medal.
Sharman didn't seem too downcast by the missed opportunity, as he told BBC Sport:
"Going into this I was bronze medal hopeful but the good thing is that we've been working on improving my absolute time so that if I do make a mistake in the final I can still come away with a medal.
I am taking it down all the time and I think there's still more to come. On the start line I was quite tired, having done a personal best not long before, and I wanted just one more effort. When you're drained and the chips are down you have to produce your best result and I almost did.
"
The result is still a massive victory for the British team and Sharman in particular, who wasn't tipped to be among the favourites to even win a medal.
Lawrence Clark pulled out of the final after tweaking his hamstring during warm-ups.
Benjamin Compaore Easily Takes Triple Jump Gold
It was a good night for French athletics, as Benjamin Compaore made a mockery of the competition in the triple jump. The 27-year-old hit 17.46 meters on his very first jump and didn't have to improve on that result, beating Russia's Lyukman Adams and Aleksey Fyodorov.
As shared by Worldrunning.com's Steven Mills, he was a lot more humble than his French teammate:
Compaore booked an automatic spot during Tuesday's qualifiers and was one of the favourites for the title, but few would have expected it to be this easy for the former world junior champion.
It's the first European title of Compaore's career.
Friday will be the busiest day of the event yet, with European titles available in 11 total events, including the finish of the women's heptathlon:
| 50km Race Walk Men | 400m Men |
| 1500 Women | |
| High Jump Men | |
| 800m Men | |
| 200m Women | |
| Hammer Throw Women | |
| 400m Hurdles Men | |
| 200m Men | |
| Heptathlon Women |
The full schedule for every qualifying event on Friday can be found on the event's website by clicking here.
Day 2 Update
Great Britain's Mo Farah returned to form on the second day of the 2014 European Athletics Championships in Zurich, the double Olympic gold medallist taking the top prize in the men's 10,000 metres.
Gold medals were also won on Wednesday in both the women's and men's 100 metres—the blue riband events—the men's decathlon, discus and 20 kilometre walk as well as the women's 100 metre hurdles and long jump.
Here's the full medal table from Day 2's action:
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Men's 20km Race Walk | Miguel Angel Lopez (ESP) | Aleksandr Ivanov (RUS) | Denis Strelkov (RUS) |
| Men's 10,000m | Mo Farah (GBR) | Andy Vernon (GBR) | Ali Kaya (TUR) |
| Women's 100m | Dafne Schippers (NED) | Myriam Soumare (FRA) | Ashleigh Nelson (GBR) |
| Women's Long Jump | Eloyse Lesueur (FRA) | Ivana Spanovic (SRB) | Darya Klishina (RUS) |
| Men's 100m | James Dasaolu (GBR) | Christophe Lemaitre (FRA) | Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (GBR) |
| Men's Decathlon | Andrei Krauchanka (BLR) | Kevin Mayer (FRA) | Ilya Shkurenyov (RUS) |
| Men's Discus | Robert Harting (GER) | Gerd Kanter (EST) | Robert Urbanek (POL) |
| Women's 100m Hurdles | Tiffany Porter (GBR) | Cindy Billaud (FRA) | Cindy Roleder (GER) |
For complete results of every qualifying event, visit the website of European Athletics by clicking here.
The start of the afternoon session was delayed by almost an hour in the Swiss capital due to strong winds but fortunately the full programme of events was completed.
Read on for some of the highlights of the day.
Mo Returns
Farah made a strong return to the track having missed out on the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow through injury by winning his forth European Championships gold, his second in the 10,000m.
It wasn't vintage, but his legendary last-lap pace stayed true as he held off Turks Ali Kaya and Polat Kemboi Arikan and beat his compatriot Andy Vernon into an impressive silver medal.
The 31-year-old was clearly ecstatic as he crossed the line in first and is looking for a second gold medal of the week in the 5,000m on Sunday, per Mike Henson on BBC Sport:
"This means a lot to me, it's not been an easy time so it means a lot. The European champs have been good to me and given me a lot of confidence in my career along the way. You can't forget where you started from. I'm excited for the 5k now and I want to thank a lot of people for supporting me. My family's been there for me, we've gone through a lot of emotions and it's great to have some people like that behind me.
"
As the BBC's Tom Fordyce points out, it was yet another major championship gold for Farah while Vernon's silver was mighty impressive after an injury-struck season:
Farah's win marked a 10,000m double for Great Britain after Jo Pavey won the women's event on Tuesday.
Gold for Porter and Dasaolu
There was more gold-medal glory for the British team on Wednesday as James Dasaolu won the men's 100m and Tiffany Porter finally prevailed in the women's 100m hurdles.
The US-born Porter claimed her first gold medal at a major championships, beating France's Cindy Billaud into second by a whisker having been pushed into second by Sally Pearson in Glasgow.
Similarly, Dasaolu finally turned great potential into gold—he is the second-fastest Briton of all-time having run 9.91 last year—by beating France's Christophe Lemaitre into second and compatriot Harry Aikines-Aryeetey in third, per the Guardian's Ed Aarons:
It was a controversial start to the race with Aikines-Aryeetey and Portugal's Yazaldes Nascimento seemingly false starting but neither was disqualified as a sprinting great watched on, per BBC Sport:
Schippers Claims First of Three
The Netherlands' Dafne Schippers claimed gold in the women's 100m final, the first stage of her bid to win three at the European Championships with the 200m and relay to come.
She beat Myriam Soumare into silver, though only just per Zurich 2014, and Great Britain's Ashleigh Nelson bagged an impressive bronze:
There are six more gold medals to be won in Thursday's programme in Zurich including the men's 110m hurdles and women's javelin in the evening:
| Morning Session | Afternoon Session |
| Women's 20km Race Walk | Women's Pole Vault Final |
| Men's Triple Jump Final | |
| Women's Javelin Final | |
| Men's 3000m Steeplechase Final | |
| Men's 110m Hurdles Final |
Great Britain will be hoping to open their lead in the medal table even further after a successful Day 2 of the championships.
The full schedule for every qualifying event on Thursday can be found on the event's website by clicking here.
Day 1 Report
The 2014 European Athletics Championships got underway on Tuesday in Zurich, Switzerland, and an unlikely star was immediately crowned as 40-year-old Jo Pavey won gold for Great Britain.
Titles in the men's shot put and the women's 10,000 metres were up for grabs on Day 1, and eyes were firmly on the start of the men's decathlon as well.
Here's the full medal table for the first day of action:
| Women's 10,000m | Jo Pavey (GB) | Clemence Calvin (FRA) | Laila Traby (FRA) |
| Men's Shot Put | David Storl (GER) | Borja Vivas (ESP) | Tomasz Majewski (POL) |
For complete results of every qualifying event, visit the website of European Athletics by clicking here.
Spain's Victor Garcia Survives Brutal Accident
There was a very real concern for the health of Spanish athlete Victor Garcia when he got his foot stuck on one of the hurdles during the 3,000-metre steeple chase.
Garcia was unable to break the fall in any way and smashed head-first into the track at high speed. Bleacher Report UK has the Vine:
He was in fifth place when the crash happened, and with it being the final hurdle, he would have qualified from the heats if he had kept his position.
Garcia won the bronze medal at the 2012 European Championships in Helsinki, and he would have won gold on that occasion if it wasn't for a crash on the final hurdle:
The 29-year-old athlete received extensive treatment on the track of the Letzigrund Stadium after his latest fall as the crowd held its collective breath, and he was eventually carted away.
The Guardian's Sean Ingle spoke to his Spanish colleagues, who confirmed Garcia was "OK," although he has no memory of the event:
David Storl Becomes First European Champion of 2014
Germany's David Storl took the first gold medal of the 2014 European Championships, winning the men's shot put event with a mark of 21.41 metres. The giant 24-year-old was the only athlete capable of clearing 21 metres, beating Spain's Borja Vivas and Poland's Tomasz Majewski in the process.
As shared by Athletics Weekly, Storl didn't have to put in much effort:
The German dominated the field on Tuesday, winning the final with his very first throw. Storl has taken a stranglehold on the event, winning his second consecutive title on Tuesday. He qualified for the final with relative ease, although he failed to clear the mark of 21 metres in the morning.
As he told European Athletics, that didn't worry him at all:
"It wasn’t 21 metres but I had to get up at half past five," he said. "The first warm-up throw was great today and I didn’t have a problem qualifying, unlike past championships. I have everything under control and tonight everything is possible."
The 2011 world champion beat two-time Olympic champion Majewski on Tuesday, so he has to feel good about his progression as he prepares for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Jo Pavey Becomes Oldest Woman to Ever Win Euro Gold
Great Britain took home their first medal on Tuesday, as 40-year-old mother of two Jo Pavey emerged victorious in the women's 10,000 metres. BBC Radio 5 Live exploded during the final straight:
The event's official Twitter account joined in on the action:
Pavey ran the perfect race, never once tempted to make the pace at any of the intermediates. The experienced veteran saved all of her energy for the final lap, launched her attack and held off the challenge from Clemence Calvin to win with a time of 32 minutes, 22.39 seconds.
France's Calvin had taken the top spot at the final two intermediates and seemed destined to take home the gold, but she had to settle for silver, staying ahead of compatriot Laila Traby.
Pavey gave birth to her second daughter just 10 months ago, and to see her come back to win her first Euro gold in such fashion is truly remarkable. As reported by BBC Sport, even Pavey had difficulty believing it, as her first comment after the race was this exchange with a competitor:
"Where did you finish?"
"I won!"
Pavey is scheduled to appear in the 5,000 metres as well, and with the way she was able to save her energy on Tuesday, she could follow in the footsteps of Mo Farah and aim for the double.
Here is the schedule for every medal event on Wednesday:
| 20km Race Walk Men Final | 100m Men Final |
| Men Decathlon | |
| 100m Hurdles Women Final | |
| Long Jump Women Final | |
| 100m Women Final | |
| 10,000m Men Final | |
| Discus Men Final |
The medal chase will heat up on Wednesday, with finals in eight events. The men's decathlon will conclude during the evening, and fans will be looking forward to some of the most anticipated events of the entire competition, including the men's and women's 100-metre races.
The full schedule for every qualifying event on Wednesday can be found on the event's website by clicking here.
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