ESPOO (FIN, Jul 12): The opening night of the European U23 Championships featured the 20km race walk for both men and women. In the women’s race, Pauline Stey of France emerged as the victor, setting a new French U23 Record with a time of 1:31:17.
She finished a staggering 75 seconds ahead of her competitors. Alexandra Mihai of Italy claimed the silver medal, clocking a personal best time of 1:32:32, while Camille Moutard, also from France, secured the bronze medal with a time of 1:35:40.
Ana Pulgarin Cardeno improved her personal best and finished in fourth place with a time of 1:35:49. Additionally, six other athletes achieved personal bests in the race. ALSO READ: Gabby Thomas expresses her thoughts on Jamaican sprinters, stating, “They can’t let us have….
The men’s race witnessed an equally dominant performance by Paul McGrath of Spain, who clinched the victory with a time of 1:21:03, setting a personal best for himself. McGrath crossed the finish line nearly two minutes ahead of Andrea Cosi from Italy, who secured the silver medal with a time of 1:23:02.
Jerry Jokinen of Finland delighted the home crowd by claiming third place and establishing a new Finnish U23 Record with a time of 1:24:41.
Notably, positions four to eight were also marked by athletes achieving personal bests. Aythamy Afonso Gonzalez from Spain finished fourth, clocking a time of 1:25:17.
How to watch European Athletics U23 Championships day 1?
