Long jumper crumbles under the pressure
Greek athlete Louis Tsatoumas, who went into yesterday’s men’s long-jump final at the European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg as the third-best qualifier with an 8.09-meter jump in qualifying competition, was unable to shake off his bad history of poor performances in major international events. Tsatoumas ended eighth in the final with just one valid jump – 7.84 meters – from his six attempts. Italian Andrew Howe won the gold with an 8.20-meter performance. Twenty-year-old Dimitris Regas broke a personal record to reach today’s men’s 400-meter final. Regas clocked 45.60 seconds in his semifinal heat. Olympic gold medalist Fani Halkia had no problems making today’s women’s 400-meter hurdles final. She won her semifinal heat in 54.57 seconds. Triple-jump athlete Pygi Devetzi dominated the qualifying action to reach today’s women’s final with a 14.64-meter performance, well ahead of her rivals.
