German relay squad sprints swiftly for European Championship bronze in the 4x400-meter race.
Amazing performance, unexpected outcome: The German 4x400-meter men's relay squad fetches bronze at the Athletics European Championships in Rome while barely missing out on silver. Tragedy befalls spear thrower Julian Weber in the final moments.
The German men's 4x400-meter relay team caused quite a stir by capturing bronze at the Athletics European Championships in Rome. Manuel Sanders (Dortmund), Jean Paul Bredau (Potsdam), Marc Koch, and Emil Agyekum (both Berlin) clinched the third spot in 3:00.82 minutes, with the gold going to Belgium (2:59.84) and Italy (3:00.81).
This achievement marks the first medal for the men in a relay event over this distance since 2012, when another bronze was won at the Helsinki event. "We're incredibly pleased with this," Sanders remarked after finishing his victory lap at the Stadio Olimpico on ZDF.
Meanwhile, the German women's relay team, headed by Skadi Schier, Alica Schmidt (both Berlin), Luna Bulmahn (Wolfsburg), and Eileen Demes (Neu-Isenburg), fell short of the podium in eighth place. "We gave it our all today; there was no more left," Bulmahn shared via ZDF's microphone. The Netherlands secured gold with the record-breaking performance of superstar Femke Bol in a clocking of 3:22.39 seconds, edging out Ireland (3:22.71) and Belgium (3:22.95).
German track and field executive Jörg Bügner had forecasted a positive result earlier during the day. The women had made significant progress towards the Olympic Summer Games in Paris with their time from the preliminary round (3:25.90), indicating that they would be one of the five German relay teams participating in the Paris event.
Weber ends up with silver, fails to clinch gold
While German spear thrower Julian Weber missed out on his European championship title, he still managed to earn a medal in Rome. In his first throw, Weber delivered a mark of 85.94 meters, effectively earning him the silver. Czech sportsperson Jakub Vadlejch, the Olympic runner-up from Prague, secured the victory right in the final attempt with a throw of 88.65 meters. Bronze then went to Finland's Oliver Helander (85.75 meters).
Despite suffering a failed title defense, Weber remains undeterred in his ambitions for the Olympic Summer Games in Paris. In Paris, Weber is aiming for a medal as he had come in fourth place at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo by a mere 14 centimeters.
Long-distance thrower Max Dehning (Leverkusen) struggled to maintain his form as he ranked 12th and last (76.16) in his first major final.
Weber started the season in top form. Earlier in the season, the 29-year-old vaulted to the upper echelons of the European rankings with a throw of 88.37 meters in Dessau. Back then, he even hinted at being in the "prime shape" of his life in a conversation with "sport.de": "I'm so powerful and healthy as I've never been before." [Output]
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The German athletes had a successful outing at the Athletics European Championships in Rome, with the men's 4x400-meter relay team earning bronze and Julian Weber securing silver in the spear throw event. Despite missing out on the gold, Weber remains hopeful for a medal at the Olympic Summer Games in Paris.
