European Championships: Next German medals: Silver for Lita Baehre and Meyer

Shortly before the first attempts of the German pole vaulters, a rainbow shone over the Munich Olympic Stadium, in the end silver shone for Bo Kanda Lita Baehre.

With 5.85 meters, the Leverkusen player was only beaten by the Swedish high-flyer Armand Duplantis, who set a record for an European Championship with 6.06 meters. While Lita Baehre was capable of precious metal, Lea Meyer finally achieved the next unexpected success at this European Championship with silver over 3000 meters obstacle.

After the penultimate day of the European Championships, the German track and field team, for which walker Saskia Feige won bronze on Saturday morning, now has 14 medals under their belt – and that’s only a month after the botched World Cup. The yield of even 19 plaques four years ago in Berlin seems out of reach.

Not easy conditions for pole vaulters

The approximately 30,000 fans again experienced a great evening. “I thought beforehand that I had to do my best here in order not to disappoint the audience. I think I succeeded,” said the celebrated Lita Baehre. After heavy rain at times and cooler temperatures in the evening, the conditions were not easy for the pole vaulters. Torben Blech was the first of the German trio to say goodbye and finished eighth with a jump of 5.50 meters. Immediately afterwards, Oleg Zernikel, who was fifth in the World Championships, dropped out at 5.65 meters and was only ninth at the same height with sheet metal.

Lita Baehre managed the height in the second attempt and got into the competition better and better. Ultimately, the German champion turned out to be the only hunter from Duplantis who initially hovered over 5.90 meters at 5.85 meters. After a failed attempt over this height, Lita Baehre dropped 5.95 meters and tore, Duplantis managed it straight away. The defending champion, Olympic champion, world champion and world record holder was assured of victory when Lita Baehre failed on his last attempt. “I’ll try to beat him one day,” said the World Cup seventh.

After that, Lea Meyer filled the gap over 3000 meters that was caused by the cancellation of the defending champion Gesa Krause due to health reasons. With a personal best of 9:15.35 minutes, the runner from ASV Köln was only beaten by Luiza Gega from Albania, who won in 9:11.31 minutes. “I was hoping for a fast race,” said Meyer, “I don’t quite understand what happened yet.”

Dutch Bol gets third EM gold

The German 4×400 meter relays could not run at the front. The men finished seventh, the women fifth. The Dutch Femke Bol celebrated her third gold in the relay after successes in the 400 meters and 400 meters hurdles.

The day had started well for the hosts with the next medal. Wrapped in a German flag, walker Saskia Feige received congratulations from family, friends and coaches immediately after winning bronze at the European Championships. “I’m just happy right now,” said the 25-year-old after her first major international success. She set a personal best time of 1:29:25 over 20 kilometers on a circuit in the heart of Munich and won the second plaque for the German walkers. Christopher Linke had won silver over 35 kilometers.

There are more chances on the final day this Sunday (7.05 p.m. / ZDF). Both the sprint relays and javelin thrower Julian Weber can hope for medals. For the German women, a lot depends on how fit 100-meter European champion Gina Lückenkemper is. She agreed to start on Saturday after passing the endurance test. The 25-year-old had stitches on her left knee after injuring herself after crossing the finish line and falling. The leg felt so good during the test that she could actively support the team on the track, Lückenkemper wrote on Instagram.