Germany’s Gina Lueckenkemper wins European women’s 100m gold

Photo: Vlad Indrei

Germany’s Gina Luckenkemper sent a home crowd already supercharged with emotion by the dramatic victory of home decathlete Niklas Kaul into further delirium as a desperate lunge for the line earned her the European women’s 100 metres title by five thousandths of a second.

Luckenkemper was sixth at the halfway point of the women's 100m but drove herself closer and closer to the Swiss athlete who seemed to have gold in her grasp, Switzerland’s world indoor champion Mujinga Kambundji, earning fame everlasting with a final effort that catapulted her to the track and left her requiring medical treatment to a bleeding hand.

The 25-year-old silver medallist from the 2018 European Championships received the news that she had earned gold, after she and Kambundji had both been timed at 10.99, almost with bewilderment before letting out a primal scream.

Britain’s Daryll Neita took bronze in 11.00 but her British team-mate, defending champion Dina Asher-Smith, once again found her hamstring undermining her efforts at the highest level, eventually jogging over the line after pulling up halfway.