German sprinter Gina Lückenkemper claimed silver in the women’s 100 meters in front of home support in Berlin. The 21-year-old is the first German athlete to medal in the event since Verena Sailers in 2010.While she fell 14 hundredths of a second short of taking gold, Gina Lückenkemper celebrated the crowning moment of her young career by clinching Team Germany’s first medal in Berlin at the European Championships – much to the delight of the home crowd.
“I soaked up every second of it,” Lückenkemper told German broadcaster ZDF after a lap of honor, a few tears and a hug with mascot Berlino. “It was an awesome race. I’m over the moon. It’s just mega, to be able to perform on the track like that.”
“I want to bring back two medals”
Having recorded the second best time in qualifying, the 21-year-old again broke the 11-second mark with a time of 10.98 seconds to claim the silver medal. Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith (10.85) took gold with a British record, while defending champion Dafne Schippers (10.99) of the Netherlands, who was chasing a hattrick, had to settle for bronze.
Since Verena Sailers won gold in Barcelona back in 2010, world-class sprinters have been hard to come by for Team Germany. Lückenkemper is seen as the next big thing in German sprinting circles and still has her sights set on more glory.
“I want to bring two medals back from the European Championships,” said Lückenkemper, who will compete in the 4x100m relay on the final day of the event.
British one-two in men’s 100 meter final
After Asher-Smith took gold in the women’s event, Team Great Britain celebrated a one-two finish in the men’s event as Zharnel Hughes pipped Reece Prescod to the post.
Hughes timed a championship record of 9.95 seconds, edging his teammate into silver by one hundredth of a second. Jamaican-born Turk Jak Ali Harvey, who won European silver in Amsterdam in 2016, took bronze with 10.01.
