France’s Elijah Pasquier delivered a virtuoso performance to seal European U20 high jump gold on the final morning session of the European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere, breaking the national U20 record which had stood since 1990 with 2.25m.
Pasquier took the lead on countback from Great Britain’s Otis Poole with a clutch third-time clearance at 2.19m before putting the title beyond the Brit’s grasp with a first-time clearance at 2.21m to equal his lifetime best.
Poole, who was the surprise winner of the British indoor senior title in February, had subsequent attempts at both 2.21m and 2.23m but the 17-year-old had to settle for silver behind the flamboyant Frenchman.
There were shades of Gianmarco Tamberi in the way that Pasquier was conducting and interacting with the crowd on the top bend of the Ratina Stadium and the charismatic Frenchman responded to their rapt support, soaring over another lifetime best and French U20 record of 2.25m on his final attempt before three close but unsuccessful attempts at 2.27m.
“I do not think I would have managed to jump 2.25m without the support of the crowds. There was a great atmosphere. This was my first experience with such great crowds cheering for me. It was unforgettable,” said Pasquier.
Jin van der Lee from the Netherlands won bronze on countback with a lifetime best clearance at 2.16m ahead of Estonia's Kaspar Palmasaar who also rewrote his lifetime best at 2.16m.
Also keep an eye on Poland’s Mateusz Posmyk in the years to come. The 15-year-old, who was the youngest athlete in the final, cleared a lifetime best of 2.13m to finish equal sixth and will be eligible for next year’s European Athletics U18 Championships in Rieti.
Double Dutch in the women's pole vault final
The women’s pole vault final developed into an all-Dutch affair with Elise de Jong defeating her compatriot and training partner Marijn Kieft for the title.
De Jong was in faultless form, clearing 4.35m, 4.40m, 4.45m and 4.50m all on her first attempts to win by two clear heights from her teammate who broke De Jong’s Dutch U20 record with 4.51m at the Dutch Championships last weekend. Kieft cleared 4.40m before a brace of unsuccessful attempts at 4.45m and 4.50m.
"This is a great result for us. I dreamed that we would be one and two because we also train together and it was really nice and fun competition. It means a lot to me to jump this high and equal my PB," said De Jong.
Czechia’s Apolena Svabikova, the younger sister of Amalie, continued her family’s tradition in the event by winning bronze with a lifetime best clearance at 4.35m, just ahead of narrow pre-competition favourite Allika Inkeri Moser from Estonia who had to settle for fourth.
Moser, who cleared a world U18 best and European U20 lead of 4.52m at the European Youth Olympic Festival last month, cleared 4.30m in the final but the 17-year-old will have another opportunity to challenge for medals at the 2027 European Athletics U20 Championships which will be held in Bydgoszcz.
Heptathlon set for 800m showdown
Croatia’s world U20 champion Jana Koscak leads the heptathlon standings by 95 points over Hungary’s Sarolta Kriszt after the javelin - 5394 points to 5299 points.
But the competition is still very much in the balance heading into the deciding 800m as Kriszt, who will need to beat Koscak by 6.7 seconds, is by far the fastest on paper over two laps - 2:08.38 to 2:18.10.
Kriszt has made gradual inroads into overnight leader Koscak’s lead throughout the session. After Koscak improved to 5.94m in the third round of the long jump, Kriszt unleashed a lifetime best of 6.33m to reduce the deficit to 87 points.
Koscak, who cleared a championship best of 1.92m in the high jump on the first day, rebounded with a season’s best of 43.94m on her first attempt in the javelin but Kriszt responded in kind, throwing 43.51m on her second attempt to keep herself in title contention.
European U18 champion Enni Virjonen also embellished her medal prospects with a near six metre-lifetime best in the javelin. The 18-year-old improved from 40.78m to 47.10m in front of her home fans to bring her tally up to 5225 points, taking a near 200-point buffer into the 800m.
But topping the javelin standings was Emma Kaul, the younger sister of 2022 European champion Niklas, who shares her brother’s proficiency in the javelin. Kaul improved to 49.17m on her final attempt and sits in fourth-place with 4066 points heading into the 800m.
