European U20 champions on track and cross country Niels Laros won a stacked men’s 5000m at Madrid 2025 on Sunday (29). The 20-year-old got his tactics spot on to beat an experienced field.
The Madrid 2025 European Athletics Team Championships 1st Division is live streamed on the European Athletics website courtesy of the Eurovision Sport Platform.
The opening three kilometres were covered in 2:50.33, 5:40.44 and 8:28.96 respectively; by then Poland’s Kamil Herzyk ran at the helm closely followed by the German 3000m steeplechase specialist Frederik Ruppert.
Switzerland’s European 10,000m champion Dominic Lobalu and Spain’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo, bronze medallist on that occasion, while a relaxed Laros remained in the middle of the pack.
With four laps remaining, the Spaniard moved to the front to heat up the pace, the fourth kilometre taking a quicker 2:44.23.
In his quest to take back-to-back titles as he had won two years ago in Silesia, the 28-year-old Spaniard gradually stepped up the rhythm to reach the bell at the front but the 20-year-old Laros, a 3:29.54 1500m man, travelled in close attendance just ahead of Lobalu.
The closing lap became a thriller as Ndikumwenayo produced a powerful change of speed and he led by the backstraight a couple of metres clear of Laros.
Before the last bend it seemed that the Spaniard would be able to romp home as a winner but the fast-finishing Laros managed to catch him entering the home straight to be a clear winner courtesy of a 52.31 final 400m.
Lobalu surged forward to pip Ndikumwenayo by 0.01 to finish second in 13:45.37.
Finn wins steeplechase thriller
A pedestrian opening to the women’s 3000m steeplechase gave way to a thrilling finish. In searing conditions, the pack covered the first kilometre in 3:20.44. The second kilometre saw now improvement as the moved serenely through at 6:44.70 headed by Spain’s Marta Serrano.
By the final lap, Serrano, Great Britain’s Sarah Tait, France’s Flavie Renouard, Poland’s Kinga Królik , Finland’s European U20 gold medallist Ilona Mononen were all still in contention. Krolin made the first move and burst to the front, Tait responded quickest and reeled her in to lead at the water jump.
Tait kicked clear into closing straight as the rest jostled for position. Behind Tait, all four cleared the final barrier simultaneously and Mononen came off quickest.
Encouraged by that, the 21-year-old Finn suddenly began to eat into Tait’s five metre lead and just caught her at the finish clocking 9:49.21 to win by 0.03. Krolin was third in 9:49.80, Serrano fourth in 9:50.08 and Renouard fifth in 9:50.83.