BERLIN, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- France's Morhad Amdouni secured gold in the men's 10,000m race at the inaugural multi-sport European Championships in Berlin's Olympic Stadium on Tuesday.
After a slow start, the athletes picked up the pace five kilometers into the race. While several runners fell away or dropped out because of the high pace, a four-man group sprinted into the last lap.
Over the last 400 meters, Amdouni surged past Adel Mechal and Bashir Abdi to clinch gold with a time of 28:11.22. Belgium's Bashir Abdi followed in second place in 28:11.76, with Italy's Crippa Yemaneberhan in third in 28:12.15.
"During the race, my muscles felt very good. I have had many big difficulties. But I did not give up. I ran at the world championships in 2009 here too, but without success. And now, nine years later, I have come back to win this European title," Amdouni said.
Silver medalist Bashir Abdi said this result was the fruit of his labors. "I have been working very hard to get this medal since 2010, and I finally got it. In Helsinki I got fourth, in Zurich fifth, so now it was now or never. But all these up and downs are just the part of the game."
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.
