The fifth day of the European Athletics Championships certainly delivered the fireworks as a number of finals went down to the wire and the Ingebrigtsens vied to go 1-2-3 in the 1500m. Check out the highlights below!

All-Ingebrigtsen Podium Bid Fails, But Jakob Becomes Third Brother To Win European Gold

Working together from the gun, the Ingebrigtsen brothers formed a blue-and-white blur as 17-year-old Jakob, 25-year-old Filip and 27-year-old Henrik moved up gradually to dictate the pace. For nearly the entire race, the prospect of an entirely Ingebrigtsen podium tantalized the crowd as the brothers initially stayed out of trouble toward the back, then creeped forward to challenge the pack of Brits at the front. The excitement reached a fever pitch when the three Norwegians made a move into the lead at 700m.

Although Filip owns the fastest PR and the leading European mark this season, 3:30.01, it was clear that Jakob was fully in control, delivering splits of 1:51.27 and 53.64 for his final half- and quarter-miles. Through the final 200m, he separated from the field, and put enough distance behind him to begin to coast down the homestretch. It almost looked like Poland’s hard-charging Marcin Lewandowski was about the nip him at the line, but in a precocious display of awareness, Jakob recognized the threat and slyly leaned just enough to lock in the win:

Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins the #EC2018 1500m final in 3:38 and makes it look reallll easy pic.twitter.com/GplTYVLynk

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 10, 2018

Lewandowski closed with a ridiculous 53.06 final lap to finish in 3:38.14 for runner-up honors, while Great Britain’s Jake Wightman followed closely in 3:38.25 for third to stamp out the possibility of another Ingebrigtsen making it onto the podium. He had a lot to say about the brothers in his post-race interview:

"I hadn't realized which one of the Ingebrigtsen brothers had won until I spoke to you guys," Wightman said. "I hadn't seen who was coming behind me until the last lap. Running alongside the three of them is absolutely unbelievable. They train together, they know each other really well, you can never guess what they're going to do. Tactically, they are very, very sharp! This was definitely a question of being patient, and every championship, I learn something knew about myself; I also learn something new I have to do to improve. It would have been nice to win, but I'm really pleased with my medal. I need to start thinking about the World Championships next year."

2012 European 1500m champion - Henrik Ingebrigtsen
2016 European 1500m champion - Filip Ingebrigtsen
2018 European 1500m champion - Jakob Ingebrigtsen #EC2018 #TheMoment pic.twitter.com/jxyoiQWAnH

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) August 10, 2018

Jakob is the youngest-ever European 1500m champion.

For a runner who opened his outdoor season with a 3:39.06 PR, it’s remarkable that Jakob is now making 3:38 performances look like a walk in the park. But I suppose that’s to be expected since he’s hacked almost eight seconds off of his lifetime best in less than four months.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s 2018 progression over 1500m, courtesy of Tilastopaja:

Final Result

1    Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Norway    3:38.10

2    Marcin Lewandowski, Poland    3:38.14

3    Jake Wightman, Great Britain & NI    3:38.25

Martinot-Lagarde vs. Shubenkov Leads To Photo-Finish 

Sergey Shubenkov entered this final with serious momentum. The Russian, running as an Authorized Neutral Athlete, went sub-13 three times over the course of 17 days this season, and set a new PR and the 2018 world lead of 12.92 in Guliyev during July. He’s also enjoyed the vantage from the top of the European Championships podium more than once, netting gold in 2012 and 2014, then following up on that with world bronze in 2014, world gold in 2015, and world silver in 2017. The prohibitive favorite faced familiar foes on the line in reigning world indoor 60m hurdles champion Andrew Pozzi of Great Britain; France’s Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, who finished one spot off the Olympic podium in Rio de Janeiro; and Orlando Ortega of Spain, 2016’s Olympic silver medalist. 

Martinot-Lagarde, who historically has enjoyed the most success indoors, got off to the characteristically hot start that gives him an advantage in the 60m hurdles to put pressure on Shubenkov right away. Although the Russian eventually found his rhythm toward the middle of the race, he couldn’t get the advantage on Martinot-Lagarde, and desperately dove toward the line to try and steal the win. But Martinot-Lagarde got the best of that photo finish, 13.163 to 13.165, to win his first European title. Ortega finished third in 13.34. 

13.17 ? Pascal Martinot-Lagard
13.17 ? Sergey Shubenkov pic.twitter.com/vEvdAo6Qn2

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 10, 2018

Shubenkov wasn't pleased with the result, and speculated he may have mistimed his peak this season:

"This was definitely not my style of running. I went sub-13 three times this year, and I was aiming for much better time... Maybe, the timing was not right for me this season. I had the peak before the championships, and now the times are going a bit down. The European Champs was the main goal for me, and we did not plan anything else after this. So we need to sit down with coach and talk about what is next."

Final Result

1    Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, France    13.17    0.163 (SB) 

2    Sergey Shubenkov, Authorised Neutral Athletes    13.17    0.165

3    Orlando Ortega, Spain    13.34    

Sprunger Joined By A Brit On The 400m Hurdles Podium, But Not Doyle

In a final headlined by 2016’s European champion Lea Sprunger, the fastest European this year after turning in a 54.79 in the Lausanne Diamond League meeting in her home country, and Eilidh Doyle, who owns the second-fastest mark this season (54.80), the top PR (54.09 from 2016) and two European golds from 2014 and 2016, it seemed certain that both competitors would find themselves on the podium, and likely challenge each other for 400m hurdles gold.

Sprunger led from the gun, and Doyle was in contention past the fifth barrier, but Sprunger maintained a mighty lead all the way through the line to secure the win in 54.33—a new European lead—despite a fierce challenge from Anna Ryzhkova of Ukraine, who finished just short in 54.51 to nab silver. Instead of Doyle following for third, her countrywoman Meghan Beesley showed up with a 55.31 to round out the podium. Doyle, who won her semifinal heat in 55.16, ended up last in 56.23. Prior to the final, she said she struggled with the new format, which allowed her a bye to skip the heats:

“I'm getting there, one more race to go. At this stage in the season, I would have liked to have run the heats too. It's hard to judge this new format, because I don't think it's really an advantage for us, and I think everyone should do 3 races. On the other hand, it feels like a disadvantage for the other girls, because they have to do an extra run.”

Final Results

1    Lea Sprunger, Switzerland    54.33    EL

2    Anna Ryzhkova, Ukraine    54.51    SB

3    Meghan Beesley, Great Britain & NI    55.31    

Pryshchepa Uses Wild Kick To Repeat As 800m Champion

Defending European champion Nataliya Pryshchepa put together a terrific second half of her race to finish first in 2:00.38 and relegate France’s Renelle Lamote to second (2:00.62). 

Lamote was a contender to dethrone Pryshchepa after entering the meet with a season’s best of 1:58.83 to the Ukranian’s 1:59.83, and Lynsey Sharp of Great Britain looked smooth and controlled as she won both rounds in qualifying. But Sharp couldn’t find her final gear while Pryshchepa saved it for a powerful kick to overtake Lamote from behind. Pryshchepa’s countrywoman, Olha Lyakova, joined her on the podium in third.

Reflecting on her race, Lamote had regrets:

"... I am not satisfied. I wanted to win. I am very angry with myself. I still have to analyze the race. Maybe I can be more pleased with it later."

In the qualifying rounds, Pryshchepa helped Belgium’s Renée Eykens off the track after she was clipped during the race and fell to the ground:  

Some good sportsmanship from reigning European 800m champion Nataliya Pryshchepa. ?#EC2018 pic.twitter.com/8tWyexaCqe

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) August 7, 2018

Final Results

1    Nataliya Pryshchepa, Ukraine    2:00.38

2    Renelle Lamote, France    2:00.62

3    Olha Lyakova, Ukraine    2:00.79

Hudson-Smith Cruises To Victory, Warholm Fails To Complete Ambitious 400mH/400m Double

After crushing the 400m hurdles yesterday in a new PR of 47.64 to claim the European title, the 22-year-old reigning world champion, Karsten Warholm, entered the 400m final with three races under his belt since the start of the championships. Although it’s never wise to count out the Swede, a former decathlete with plenty of experience when it comes to high-volume competition, that’s still a demanding amount of speedwork in a limited timeframe. His bid for the ambitious double required him to face the season’s leading European 400m runner, Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain (44.63), and the formidable Borlee brothers, Kevin and Jonathan. 

Per usual, Warholm opened through the first 200m like a bat out of hell, his head tilted slightly backward as he crushed the stagger to keep pace with Hudson-Smith. But once he began to round the final curve, he faded hard into last place as the Borlee brothers made up ground behind Hudson-Smith. The Brit won in 44.78, and Kevin and Jonathan finished second and third, respectively, in 45.13 and 45.19.

Final Result

1    Matthew Hudson-Smith, Great Britain & NI    44.78

2    Kevin Borlee, Belgium    45.13

3    Jonathan Borlee, Belgium    45.19

Germany Gets Overall Medal Lead & Another Javelin Gold Thanks To Hussong 

Just a day after Thomas Rohler dominated the men’s javelin for Germany, Christin Hussong not only made it double gold for their country in the women’s competition, but also put the Germans in the lead for the medal race with a championship record and a European lead of 67.90m. Nikola Ogrodnikova of the Czech Republic finished second in 61.85m, while Jasiunaite Liveta took bronze with a 61.59m toss.

Hussong was happy to have won her title at home:

"I was afraid that my season's best in the qualification had only been an exception... seeing the German javelin throwers excel yesterday evening really inspired and motivated me... A lot of people said that I was not able to throw far at a major competition and in a big stadium but I proved the contrary tonight. Despite all the pressure, I was able to execute well. This is my first major international title, and I won it in my home stadium."

Final Result

1    Christin Hussong, Germany    67.9    CR

2    Nikola Ogrodnikova, Czech Republic    61.85    

3    Jasiunaite Liveta, Lithuania    61.59