Zernikel unexpectedly wins bronze in European Championship.
Armand "Mondo" Duplantis, the remarkable world record holder in pole vaulting, leads the way in major events like the European Championships in Rome. While he didn't set a new world record, there's still a medal from Germany.
Oleg Zernikel, a pole vaulter from Landau, took everyone by surprise by securing the bronze medal during the European Athletics Championships in Rome. He managed to clear 5.82 meters at the end of the title fights, meeting the qualification standard for the Paris Olympics. Zernikel shared third place with the Turk Ersu Sasma, who also cleared the height in the same try. Coming in sixth place were Germen pole vaulters Thorben Blech and Bo Kanda Lita Baehre, with 5.75 and 5.70 meters, respectively. Bo Kanda Lita Baehre came as the vice-European champion, so his dropout in the qualifying round made quite an impact.
The phenomenal Swedish athlete, Armand Duplantis, once again won gold in the pole vaulting event with a championship record of 6.10 meters. As an Olympic champion, world champion, and world record holder, the 24-year-old threw his hat into the ring as the European champion, dominating the competition. Duplantis later failed thrice in his attempt to break his world record by one centimeter - 6.25 meters. The silver medal went to Emmanouil Karalis from Greece with a clearance of 5.87 meters.
The men's 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay teams put in valiant efforts and bagged two additional bronze medals. In contrast, the women's sprint quartet, including former double European champion Gina Lückenkemper from Berlin, struggled in their performance. Gina Lückenkemper, who finished fifth in the individual event, also ended up fifth in the 4x100-meter relay race.
During an interview, the member of the long relay quartet, Manuel Sanders, uttered, "Germany, who would have thought that?" hinting at the unexpected success. However, the women's sprint team, including the dethroned double European champion Gina Lückenkemper, didn't fare well. She was fifth in the individual event and also in the 4x100-meter relay.
