Athletics/Cycling/Rowing/Aquatics/Gymnastics/Golf/Triathlon Euro Championships 2018

[Me Old Flower]

Fantastic ride in the final stages of the Madison final from Hayter/Wood to snatch bronze for GB. Belgium comfortably take gold.

[Ray de Galles]

Hayter is really boosting his reputation a lot in this championships. Jack Carlin looked good at 1-0 up in the Sprint semis but has had his first race win overturned for some reason.

[Ray de Galles]

Carlin loses a Keirin style second race with a lot of barging and is ostensibly out but surely there’s an appeal coming.

[Ray de Galles]

Yes, Botticher relegated in the second race for impeding Carlin, 1-1 now and a grudge match decider coming.

[Ray de Galles]

Ray, as someone who has watched much more track than I have, do you have a view as to whether the current Omnium is a better test than its predecessor(s)? I find the individual events easier to comprehend than their Omnium versions (when different) but that may just be lack of familiarity.

OK, watching my first “Tempo Race” in the Women’s Omnium on TV and it’s rubbish. It’s the only real new element to the competition (replacing the three timed events) and the riders, commentators and crowd are all nonplussed about it.

Boardman thinks it will be scrapped soon.

[ursus arctos]

Ding Dong Battle in the Women’s Madison Final between GB and the Dutch in progress

[ursus arctos]

And noe Denmark and Russia take a lap and the lead

[ursus arctos]

Turkey appears to have an all-Jamaican sprint team for the athletics.

[Ray de Galles]

Three GB sprinters in the Men’s 100m final in just over an hour and Dina Asher-Smith in the Women’s twenty minutes earlier.

[ursus arctos]

Seems strange that the Russians have to compete as "neutrals" in Berlin, but not in Glasgow.

[Ray de Galles]

That’s a good point, the IAAF stance is stronger than anyone else’s still though.

Going back to the Men’s 100m, there is talk of GB targeting a 1-2-3 but any athlete beating Jimmy Vicaut will have put in a damn good race.

[ursus arctos]

It’s illustrative of the fact that despite all of the common branding, these ultimately remain discrete championships run by the individual federations.

[Ray de Galles]

Definitely, it’s really an umbrella of convenience. Illustrated by the fact that some sports will run their own stand alone Euros in forthcoming years before they all come together again in a four year cycle.

[ursus arctos]

Lückenkemper may be the most genuinely joyful silver medallist that I've ever seen at a major championship

[ursus arctos]

Polish double in both the hammer and shotput.

[Ray de Galles]

That’s a good point, the IAAF stance is stronger than anyone else’s still though.

Going back to the Men’s 100m, there is talk of GB targeting a 1-2-3 but any athlete beating Jimmy Vicaut will have put in a damn good race.

It ends up with a GB 1-2-4 in the Men’s for Hughes, Prescod and Ujah respectively after Vicaut DNS due to injury. Asher-Smith won Gold in the Women’s with a dominant performance.

[longeared]

I'd like to know if Victor Campenaerts' moustache has any aerodynamic benefits.

[ursus arctos]

This is a rather strange field. Not very large, either.

[ursus arctos]

I wonder how Movistar (an official federation sponsor) feel about the Sky branding on Castroviejo’s skinsuit.

[longeared]

Campenaerts beats Castroviejo by less than a second. Let's hope they've got the timings right, unlike in the women's event earlier when they had to issue a revised result.

[Ray de Galles]

Do we know the final GB Men’s Road Race team yet?

[longeared]

Haven't seen a formal announcement but there is an entry list on the event website and Geraint Thomas isn't included. Currently on the list are Bibby, Blythe, Cavendish, Christian, Dibben, Doull, Lawless, McLay, Rowe, Stannard, Ben Swift, Thwaites - expect that'll be slimmed down before Sunday, don't think we get more than eight starters.

I hope they're going to do something about the layout of the finish area before the men's road race. The run off area beyond the line is dangerously small if they have a bunch sprint with a big group and the only exit point is a sharp left turn.

[ursus arctos]

Cavendish has withdrawn from the Road Race.

Thiam just virtually assured herself of gold in the Heptathlon with a new Championship Record in the javelin.

It's really a great event to watch, and Thiam is a wonderfully balanced athlete.

[Ray de Galles]

No great insight here but what I’ve seen of the Athletics this week has been fantastic. I often unfairly think of the European Championships as a very poor relation but the standard has been high and the crowds have got better and better over the week (and Berlin is a dauntingly huge stadium to fill).

I’d have liked to have gone but this week was always the only one this summer our family could get away on holiday together, Paris 2020 already looks like a must do though.

[ursus arctos]

Completely agree.

The variety of countries and athletes that have been competitive has made the competition especially compelling, as well as the emergence of new stars like the youngest Ingebrigtsen. The only criticism I have is that the organisers have piled too many events into two-hour evening sessions for television purposes. Having four finals going on simultaneously must be really challenging to follow for those in the stadium.

For those of us who remember it well from its Cold War nadir, it is quite remarkable how they've updated the Olympiastadion while preserving the essence of its design. It really is an ideal venue for this competition.