Yohann Diniz of France reacts after winning the men’s 50km walk at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich yesterday. (AFP)
AFP/Zurich
Yohann Diniz of France smashed the world 50km walk record at the European Athletics Championships yesterday in a time of 3hr 32min 33sec. The previous record of 3:34:14 was set by Russia’s Denis Nizhegorodov in Cheboksary in May 2008.
The ecstatic 36-year-old Diniz even had time to stop for a few seconds to collect a Portuguese flag from a fan and also waved a French flag as he crossed the finishing line for his third successive European title in Zurich.
“I started off cautiously, with the rest of the pack and as usual I had pins and needles in my legs. I caught the Russians and asked myself if I had made a mistake because I did the same thing at Moscow (10th at 2013 world championships),” said Diniz, who won the fourth gold medal at the Championships for France.
In changeable weather conditions, Diniz had to cope with rain, sun and wind as he seized control of the race with 14km to go. He strode away to finish 3min 48sec in front of Slovakia’s Matej Toth with Russian Ivan Noskov claiming bronze, a further 1min 20sec back. Diniz’s previous best time and the French record dated back to 2009 at Dudince, Slovakia when he clocked 3:38:45.
Steeplechase winner disqualified for shirtless celebration
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad was stripped of the 3,000 metres steeplechase gold medal after performing a shirtless celebration down the final straight at the European Athletics championships on Thursday.
The Frenchman, well clear of the rest of the field, pulled off his vest as he came around the final bend, put it in his mouth as he waved to the crowd. He then held it in his hand as he sprinted down the final straight for what appeared to be his third successive European gold in the event but turned out to be a premature celebration.
He initially received a yellow card from a track official for “acting in an unsporting or improper manner” before he started his lap of honour. But he was later disqualified after Spain, whose athletes finished fourth and fifth, made an official protest citing rules on “clothing, shoes and bibs”, organisers said.
Mekhissi-Benabbad’s compatriot Yoann Kowal, who had moved from fourth to second in the final 200 metres, took gold instead, ahead of Krystian Zalewski (Poland) and Spain’s Angel Mullera.
“When I took off my vest on the last metres, it was because of my joy, of course,” he told the championship’s official website before the disqualification was announced. “It was the pleasure of winning. I was so happy to defend my title.”
Mekhissi-Benabbad has been involved in controversy in the past and was once suspended along with team-mate Mehdi Baala after they traded blows following the 1,500 metres at a Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
At one point Baala head-butted Mekhissi who responded by swinging his arms wildly as he threw a series of punches, some of which missed their intended target.
Elsewhere, double Olympic champion and former world champion Barbora Spotakova won her first European gold medal in the javelin, throwing 64.41 metres with her fifth effort.
Anzhelika Sidorova of Russia won the women’s pole vault in dramatic style as she cleared 4.65 metres on her third and final attempt to move above Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece, who had finished her competition with a best of 4.60 but was ahead on countback.
Frenchman Benjamin Compaore’s opening effort of 17.46 metres was enough to win the triple jump and Russia’s Sergey Shubenkov retained his title in the 110 metres hurdles as he won in 13.19 seconds.