Mohamed Attaoui after winning the 800m at the European Team Championships in Madrid (© Getty Images)
Mohamed Attaoui produced one of the most popular performances of the European Team Championships so far, not only giving hosts Spain their only victory of the day, but also smashing the 800m championship record.
The European silver medallist led from gun to tape on his way to a convincing triumph in Madrid in 1:44.01, one of six competition records that were set on Friday (27).
The competition records were essentially reset when the European Team Championships were revamped and renamed in 2009. But Attaoui’s performance was one of two marks on Friday that also superseded the competition record of the European Cup, the forerunner to the current format which started back in 1969.
Attaoui took more than a second off the European Team Championships competition record of 1:45.11 and more than a quarter of a second off the European Cup record of 1:44.28, set by Wilson Kipketer in 2002.
Italy’s Francesco Pernici finished second to the Spaniard in 1:44.39.
Britain’s Samueal Reardon was the other athlete to better the competition records of both the European Team Championships (44.88) and the European Cup (44.75). The double Olympic relay bronze medallist produced a lifetime best of 44.60 to win ahead of Ukraine’s Oleksandr Pohorilko (44.81) and Hungary's Patrik Enyingi (44.84), both of whom set national records.
Bol blasts 49.48
World 400m hurdles champion Femke Bol switched to the flat for this event and produced a dominant run to win the 400m in a competition record of 49.48 – just 0.04 shy of the outdoor PB she set when winning the European title three years ago.
Poland’s Natalia Bukowiecka was second in a season’s best of 50.14 and Spain’s Paula Sevilla set a PB of 50.70 in third.
There was another competition record by a Dutch athlete, this time on the infield. Two-time European champion Jessica Schilder unleashed a 20.14m heave in the fifth round of the shot put to beat Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye (19.58m).
Perhaps one of the most surprising victories came in the women’s 100m, where Hungary’s Boglarka Takacs produced a competition record of 11.06 (0.6m/s) – also an improvement on her own national record – to beat Poland’s Ewa Swoboda (11.13).
The other competition record came in the men’s steeplechase, where Karl Bebendorf overtook Spain’s Daniel Arce on the final lap to win in 8:20.43 to Arce’s 8:22.04.
In a high-quality men’s hammer competition, Ukraine’s Olympic bronze medallist Mykhaylo Kokhan produced a lifetime best of 81.66m to beat Germany’s Martin Hummel (81.27m) and Hungary’s Olympic silver medallist Bence Halasz (80.63m).
Elsewhere, Olympic silver medallist Nadia Battocletti of Italy produced a swift last lap of 57.49 seconds to win the women’s 5000m by a convincing margin in 15:56.01 from Spain’s Marta Garcia (15:58.53).
The European Team Championships first division continues on Saturday (28) and concludes on Sunday (29). After 13 of 37 disciplines, the Netherlands leads with 165.5 points ahead of Spain (134) and Italy (133).
