Norway’s Markus Rooth became the youngest Olympic decathlon champion for 44 years after taking gold at Paris 2024 with a national record 8796 points on Saturday (3).
The 22-year-old, who won gold at last year’s European Athletics U23 Championships in Finland, claimed the biggest title of all in the Stade de France, holding his nerve as several other contenders fell by the wayside.
The pole vault became pivotal. Defending Olympic champion Damian Warner of Canada and Rooth’s international team-mate Sander Skotheim were sitting in silver and bronze. Yet, both no-heighted in the eighth discipline.
Final flourish grabs gold for Rooth
But Rooth cleared a personal best of 5.30m and then launched the javelin out to a mighty 66.87m, another personal best, to take control of the competition. In contrast, Germany's long-time leader Leo Neugebauer faltered slightly with a best of 5.00m in the pole vault and 56.64m in the javelin.
It left Rooth in prime position going into the 1500m with 8113 points to Neugebauer’s 8097 and as the stronger runner on paper, the likely winner. Rooth could rely on team-mate Skotheim, who sportingly paced Root round, despite his own chances having disappeared in the pole vault.
Rooth ran to a season’s best 4:39.56 in 11th and with Neugebauer five places behind in 4:44.67, gold was secured for Norway with a total of 8796 points, adding almost 200 points to his own previous national record of 8608 set when winning the European U23 title last year while Neugebauer won silver with 8748.
Behind Grenada's thrid-placed London Victor, who had a tally of 8711, the Netherlands' Sven Roosen set a Dutch national record of 8607 points in fourth after two days in which he set four personal bests including a sparkling 46.80 400m at the end of the first day.
Brilliant Bol final leg seals Dutch gold
Femke Bol produced a signature storming final leg to snatch the mixed 4x400m gold for the Netherlands.
Following opening legs by Eugene Omalla, Lieke Klaver and Isaya Klein Ikkink, Bol was fourth heading into the final lap, but – crucially – still within ten metres of the USA’s Kaylyn Brown at the front.
Led off by Alexander Doom, the men’s 400m individual winner at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, Belgium were also in the thick of the action throughout and their anchor leg runner Naomi Van den Broeck was poised on the American’s shoulder at the changeover with Great Britain also well in contention in third with Amber Anning on the final leg.
But all eyes were on the charging Bol, and the European 400m hurdlers record-holder timed her run to perfection, bursting past Anning, who had in turn moved past Van de Broeck. Then, as the line neared, Brown faded and Bol pounced, banishing memories of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 where she tumbled in the final few metres to hand gold to the USA.
As well as gold, the Netherlands quartet also claimed a European record in 3:07.43. USA clocked 3:07.74 for silver and Great Britain won bronze in a national record of 3:08.01.
Neita just misses medal
Great Britain’s Daryll Neita was the leading European in the women’s 100m final, placing fourth in 10.96 (-0.1m/s).
In the men’s shot put final, Italy’s highly-favoured Leonardo Fabbri was the leading European but disappointinly finished out of the medals in fifth place with 21.70m, well short of the 22.45m he reached to win the European title in Rome less than two months ago which would have won him the silver medal on Saturday.
Ana Peleteiro-Compaoré of Spain, like Fabbri a winner in sunnier conditions at Roma 2024, was the leading European in a rain-effected women’s triple jump final, placing sixth with 14.59m (-0.5m/s)
Europeans snatch second chance in repechage
In the men’s 1500m, five European athletes took their second opportunities to qualify for Sunday’s semi finals by making it through the repechage round.
Ireland’s Cathal Doyle won the first heat in 3:34.92 from France’s Azeddine Habx (3:35.10) and Italy’s Ossama Meslek (3:35.32), with the trio all progressing to the semi-finals.
In the second heat, Italy’s Federico Riva kept his competition alive when winning impressively in a personal best 3:32.84.
There was a blanket finish for the final two places with Canada’s Charles Philibert-Thiboutot placing second in 3:33.53 and George Mills of Great Britain only 0.03 behind to take the last qualification place, just 0.02 ahead of Sweden’s Samuel Pihlström who unfortunately missed out but who had the consolation of a personal best 3:33.58.
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics