1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Gina Lückenkemper claims silver in Berlin

August 7, 2018

German sprinter Gina Lückenkemper finished second in the women’s 100 meters in front of home support in Berlin. The 21-year-old is the first German athlete to medal in the event since Verena Sailers in 2010.

https://p.dw.com/p/32mbR
Deutschland Leichtathletik-EM 2018 in Berlin | Gina Lückenkemper
Image: Reuters/M. Dalder

While she fell 14 hundredths of a second short of taking gold, Gina Lückenkemper celebrated the crowning moment of her young career by clinching Team Germany's first medal in Berlin at the European Championships – much to the delight of the home crowd.

 "I soaked up every second of it,” Lückenkemper told German broadcaster ZDF after a lap of honor, a few tears and a hug with mascot Berlino. "It was an awesome race. I'm over the moon. It's just mega, to be able to perform on the track like that.”

"I want to bring back two medals”

Having recorded the second best time in qualifying, the 21-year-old again broke the 11-second mark with a time of 10.98 seconds to claim the silver medal. Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith (10.85) took gold with a British record, while defending champion Dafne Schippers (10.99) of the Netherlands, who was chasing a hattrick, had to settle for bronze.

Deutschland Leichtathletik-EM 2018 in Berlin | Gina Lückenkemper un Dina Asher-Smith
Gina Lückenkemper had a nervy wait before it was confirmed she finished one hundredth of a second ahead of defending champion Dafne Schippers to claim silver.Image: Reuters/M. Dalder

Since Verena Sailers won gold in Barcelona back in 2010, world-class sprinters have been hard to come by for Team Germany. Lückenkemper is seen as the next big thing in German sprinting circles and still has her sights set on more glory.

"I want to bring two medals back from the European Championships,” said Lückenkemper, who will compete in the 4x100m relay on the final day of the event.

British one-two in men's 100 meter final

After Asher-Smith took gold in the women's event, Team Great Britain celebrated a one-two finish in the men's event as Zharnel Hughes pipped Reece Prescod to the post.

Hughes timed a championship record of 9.95 seconds, edging his teammate into silver by one hundredth of a second. Jamaican-born Turk Jak Ali Harvey, who won European silver in Amsterdam in 2016, took bronze with 10.01.