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Drahotova's world record leads Europe's golden glory

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European athletes had a glorious second day at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene as they won five of the eight gold medals on offer - with race walker Anezka Drahotova stealing the show.

A day after her 19th birthday, Drahotova broke the world junior 10,000m record with a brilliant performance of 42:47.25 to spark a golden double for the Czech Republic as Jiri Sykora then won the decathlon junior.

The country was not alone in celebrating two golds as Great Britain triumphed twice, with Morgan Lake winning the heptathlon and Dina Asher-Smith soaring to glory in the 100m, with Ukraine’s Al’ona Shamotina victorious in the hammer.

Before the morning final of the 10,000m race walk, the world junior record stood at 42:59.48 and was held by Russia’s world 20km champion Elena Lashmanova.

But after finishing seventh behind Lashmanova at the World Championships in Moscow last summer, Drahotova is the star now after a brilliant display of concentration.

She led for much of the race and it looked like a European one-two as Russia’s Olga Shargina was second only to discover she had been disqualified.

China took the next two medals places with Na Wang in 44:02.64 and Yuanyuan Ni in 44:16.72.

Drahotova was ecstatic and told the IAAF: “This was a dream of mine and it's nice for my dream to come true. I have been working really hard.'

The incredible strength of multi-eventing in Europe was reaffirmed with the double in the decathlon and heptathlon and Sykora achieved his success for the Czech Republic in a Championship record.

He finished with 8135 points to beat Australia’s Cedric Dubler, with 8094, and Tim Nowak, of Germany, with 7980.

Sykora, 19, had been in fifth position overnight with 4206, trailing leader Dubler by 123 before the Czech Republic athlete had a superb second day.

But perhaps it should be no surprise that Sykora is at the top of the podium because in Roman Sebrle, the Olympic, world and double European champion, and Tomas Dvorak, the triple world champion, the Czech Republic have two of the greatest decathletes of all time. Now there is a new gold medallist among them.

Sykora had won the shot put on the first day and this second day was all about four personal bests.

The first came in the opening event, the 110m hurdles, where he ran 14.23 for sixth overall before winning the discus with his greatest ever throw of 48.55m.

He was then 16th in the pole vault with 4.40m ahead of finishing second in the javelin with a personal best of 60.56m and then making it another lifetime landmark in the 1500m where he was 12th in 4:42.10 to seal his success.

Lake, 17, was in front after the opening day of the heptathlon and she never looked back as she won in a personal best of 6148 points, a world youth record in a competition staged using senior equipment.

Cuba’s Yorgelis Rodriguez was second with 6006 and Nadine Visser, of the Netherlands, was third with 5948.

As Rodriguez won the long jump with 6.19m, Lake was fourth overall with 5.90m and then finished sixth in the javelin with a personal best of 41.66m before running her quickest time in the 800m for ninth in 2:21.06 - and gold.

'I have wanted it for so long, I haven’t really spoken about it with anyone because I didn’t want to jinx it,' said Lake, speaking to British Athletics. 'The world youth record means everything too.'

Not long after there was more delight for Britain as Lake’s teammate Asher-Smith, 18, soared to victory in the 100m in 11.23, ahead of Ecuador’s Angela Tenorio in 11.39 and Kaylin Whitney, of the USA, in 11.45.

Asher-Smith broke clear in the second part of the race to secure the glory and told British Athletics: 'I can’t believe that I am world junior champion.'

Shamotina led a European clean sweep in the hammer, in a competition where she took control in the first round.

The 18-year-old opened with 65.44m, enough to lead all the way before her 66.05m in the fifth round made sure of gold ahead of Hungary’s Reka Gyuratz, second with 64.68m, also from the first round, and Iliana Korosidou, of Greece, who was third with 63.67m from her last effort.

'Of course, I wanted to throw better, but I can't ask for more than gold,' said Shamotina to the IAAF.

European athletes also made the podium in the women’s long jump which was won by Akela Jones, of Barbados, with 6.34m.

Just three centimetres behind her was Norway’s Nadia Akpana Assa with Maryse Luzolo, of Germany, third with 6.24m.




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