Poland's Nowicki triumphs at European Championships

Wojciech Nowicki won gold in the men's hammer throw after achieving a distance of 80.12 meters with his final attempt at the inaugural multi-sport European Championships at the Berlin Olympic Stadium.

This is Nowicki's second career gold medal, after clinching his first at the 2018 Athletics World Cup in London in July, reports Xinhua news agency.

Nowicki's fellow countryman and three-time World Champion Pawel Fajdek finished second with 78.69 meters on Tuesday, followed by Hungary's Bence Halasz who threw 77.36 meters.

"I am OK with winning silver. Wojciech is my good friend and he was the champion today. Next year I will take my time to be back on top," Fajdek said.

Bronze medal winner Halasz was delighted with his achievement. "Of course I am very happy, it's the perfect birthday present for me. It feels amazing. In the last few weeks I trained less than usual, but that was part of getting fit for these championships."

The European Championships is a new multi-sport event, bringing together the existing European Championships of seven different federations every four years.

The ongoing 2018 event is jointly hosted by Berlin and Glasgow, and in addition to athletics, also features aquatics events, rowing, gymnastics, cycling, triathlon and golf. More than 4,500 athletes are competing for 187 gold medals at the championships, which conclude on August 12.

--IANS

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