ROME, JUNE 9: Home favourite Marcell Jacobs retained his European 100m crown in Rome as Team Italy basked in their own Super Saturday with two further golds to surge to the top of the medals table.
In a night of high-quality track and field at Romes Stadio Olimpico, there was a record-extending seventh discus title for Croatias Sandra Elkasevic.
There were also third successive European golds for Norways Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the mens 5,000m, Belgiums Nafi Thiam in the heptathlon and Greek Miltiadis Tentoglou in the mens long jump.
But the night had a decidedly Italian hue to it as the host nation soared atop the medals table with five golds, four silvers and a bronze for an overall tally of 10. In second place after two days of competition are the Netherlands, with a gold, silver and bronze.
Italian team captain Gianmarco Tamberi, the world high jump champion, had said he wanted to end up number one after a seventh place finish last time out in Munich in 2022.
And Jacobs lived up to his billing, scorching to victory in a seasons best of 10.02 seconds in what was a perfect tonic ahead of the Paris Olympics, just seven weeks away.
Italian teammate Chituru Ali took silver in 10.05sec, with Briton Romel Glave claiming bronze in 10.06sec.
"I had three goals: health, defending the European title and then the Olympic one," said Jacobs.
"I am very happy because everything is getting better race after race."
It capped off a magical 20 minutes for the Italians, after first world silver medallist Leonardo Fabbri threw a championship record of 20.45m as he dominated the mens shot put to deny Croatian Filip Mihaljevic back-to-back Euro golds.
Then just minutes later and the crowd were chanting like football fans as Lorenzo Ndele Simonelli surged to victory in the 110m hurdles in 13.05sec to set up Jacobs final fanfare.
Elkasevic extends Euro record
Norwegian Ingebrigtsen also shone on a heady nights entertainment by taking the lead of the 5,000m at the bell and sprinting away for gold in a seasons best of 13:20.11.
"This is a championships, the level is high and I performed at my best," said Ingebrigtsen, who will now aim for a third European title in the 1500m.
"Definitely more to come."
There was to be no denying Croatian discus legend Elkasevic -- better known by her maiden name Perkovic, who claimed a convincing victory with a best of 67.04m.
The 33-year-old, twice Olympic gold medallist and a two-time former world champion, is now unbeaten on the European stage since Barcelona in 2010, winning successive continental editions in Zurich, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Berlin and Munich over the past 12 years.
"After concentrating on Rome we now need to concentrate on Paris because we need to be in the right shape for Paris, for the gold, for a medal," Elkasevic said. —AFP
