Renelle Lamote has been the perennial nearlywoman in recent senior championships but the two-time European 800m silver medallist had the beating of four European champions at the Palio Citta della Quercia in Rovereto, a European Athletics Premium Permit Meeting, on Thursday (23) evening.
Lamote trailed Great Britain’s Lynsey Sharp off the final bend but the Frenchwoman kicked past the 2012 European champion with 50 metres remaining for a late season victory in 1:59.58 ahead of Sharp, who broke the two minute-barrier again in 1:59.90.
Reigning two-time European champion Nataliya Pryshchepa, who has pipped Lamote for the last two European outdoor titles, finished third in 2:00.26, four places ahead of two-time European indoor champion Selina Buchel from Switzerland in 2:01.02.
Laura Muir was in a good position to strike with 200 metres remaining but the recently crowned European 1500m champion - who has clocked 1:59.09 for 800m this year and also won the British title at that distance in June - faded out of contention drastically, finishing 11th in 2:04.71.
The margins fell in Pascal Martinot-Lagarde’s favour at the European Championships in Berlin where the Frenchman was given the verdict over Sergey Shubenkov by 0.002 but he had to settle for second in the 110m hurdles behind Jamaica’s Ronald Levy. Both athletes were timed at 13.37 with Levy given the verdict on the photo finish.
But there were two victories for recently crowned European champions from Berlin. Christin Hussong’s only valid throw in the javelin of 62.14m sufficed for victory and reigning European U20 and senior champion Miltiadis Tentoglou from Greece won the long jump with 8.00m.
Double European medallist Jak Ali Harvey from Türkiye also defeated a brace of fellow sub-10 competitors in the 100m in 10.14 ahead of veteran American sprinter Mike Rodgers (10.17), Panama’s Alonso Edward (10.21) and Ivory Coast’s Arthur Cisse (10.24).
In the high jump, Ukraine’s Andrii Protsenko cleared 2.26m to win on countback from Kenya’s Matthew Sawe and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and teammate Hanna Ryzhykova won the 400m hurdles in 55.74 ahead of European U23 champion Ayomide Folorunso in 56.16.