The inaugural Athletics World Cup proved an unquestioned success for European athletes in the illustrious London Stadium on July 14-15.
European champions displayed their dominance individually, while three of the top five nations in the overall cup standings hailed from Europe.
Poland had an outstanding meet, finishing second with many of their athletes securing gold over both days, and hosts Great Britain & Northern Ireland ended up in third thanks to one brilliant performance on the final day.
With plenty of stars in action, here’s five European highlights from the weekend including many athletes who fans will hope to see grace the track at the Glasgow 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, 110m Hurdles Gold
A hurdling stalwart for France, Pascal Martinot-Lagarde once again proved himself as one of the world’s best hurdlers over 110m.
Having secured a 60m gold, silver and bronze over the last five years at European Indoor Championships, Martinot-Lagarde claimed the top spot in London to lay a marker down.
With a season’s best time of 13.22, the Frenchman added eight points to France’s tally to put them in a commanding second place after the first day.
Although the French team couldn’t continue their chase for the top spot and eventually finished fifth, Martinot-Lagarde made sure his name was still on the lips of athletics fans worldwide.
Marcin Lewandowski, 1500m Gold
Polish middle-distance runner Marcin Lewandowski showed why he’s the reigning 1500m European Indoor champion with a fine performance on the track to clinch the gold.
It was a tight finish at the London Stadium, with German Timo Benitz only 0.23 behind Lewandowski and Brit Neil Gourley only a further 0.13 back.
But the Polish runner crossed the line first to add eight points to his nation’s tally as they hunted down the USA at the top of the table.
Holly Bradshaw, Pole Vault Gold
In the first event of the inaugural Athletics World Cup, Holly Bradshaw got Great Britain & Northern Ireland off to the perfect start.
Feeding off the roaring home crowd, Bradshaw cleared 4.75m on her first attempt to propel her to the top of the leader board, where she stayed to claim the gold.
Having secured the top spot at the 2013 European Athletics Indoor Champions in Göteborg, five years on Bradshaw showed she is still performing at the peak of her powers.
Sofia Ennaoui, 1500m Gold
Another Pole who impressed was Sofia Ennaoui, whose 1500m gold kick-started Poland’s Athletics World Cup campaign on the first day.
In another photo finish, Ennaoui managed to sprint clear of American Rachel Schneider, stopping the clock at 4:07.66 time and grab eight points.
The 22-year-old national champion claimed bronze at last year’s European Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, on top of two European U23 silvers, and now can boast a gold medal on the international stage.
Asha Philip, Imani Lansiquot, Bianca Williams, and Shannon Hylton, 4x100m Gold
It may have been Great Britain & Northern Ireland’s only gold on the final day, but what a win it was for the female sprinters.
In the penultimate event of the meet, the British women held off favourites Jamaica by 0.08 to storm to a relay gold and end the event in style.
It catapulted the GB team into third place, having gone into the final day in fifth, meaning the gold had more significance than any of the athletes or 20,000 fans watching could have originally thought.