Dutch athlete from Florida becomes first female thrower in meet history to sweep discus and shot put titles in same year; Georgia’s Kulichenko gets first Cyprus gold at championship, Washington’s O'Sullivan leads Ireland to top two in 1,500, and Oklahoma State’s Leonard grabs 10,000 win for Great Britain

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

If the energy and excitement present at the European Athletics Under-23 Championships can be compared to the enthusiasm and spirit showcased at the NCAA Division 1 final, then the performances on the final day at Leppavaara Stadium in Espoo, Finland could be celebrated all the way to college communities in Athens, Gainesville, Seattle and Stillwater.

Four NCAA standouts captured gold medals for their respective countries Sunday, including the first European U23 title in any event in Cyprus history for Georgia high jumper Elena Kulichenko, Florida thrower Alida Van Daalen of The Netherlands becoming the only athlete at the four-day event to win multiple individual championships, along with Oklahoma State’s Rory Leonard securing victory for Great Britain in the men’s 10,000 meters and Washington’s Sophie O’Sullivan leading a 1-2 finish for Ireland in the women’s 1,500.

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O’Sullivan clocked a lifetime-best 4 minutes, 7.18 seconds and teammate Sarah Healy ran 4:07.36, with Providence’s Shannon Flockhart earning bronze for Great Britain in a personal-best 4:08.37.

It was also the first gold medal secured by an Irish athlete since the meet began in 1992.

Leonard triumphed in 29:08.33, helping Great Britain sweep the men’s 5,000 and 10,000 titles, with former Stanford standout and Nike Bowerman Track Club athlete Charles Hicks prevailing Friday in 13:35.07.

Italy’s Francesco Guerra secured silver in 29:11.86 and Spain’s Miguel Baidal grabbed bronze in 29:14.91.

Kulichenko cleared 6-3 (1.91m) on her second attempt to capture the high jump crown, the first medal of any kind for Cyprus since Apostolos Parellis earned bronze in the men’s discus throw in 2007 in Hungary, and only the second in her country’s history at the European U23 event.

Greece’s Panagiota Dosi achieved silver with a 6-2.25 (1.89m) clearance and Poland’s Wiktoria Miaso cleared 6-1.50 (1.87m) to take the bronze medal.

Following her victory Thursday in the shot put, Van Daalen triumphed Sunday in the discus with a fifth-round mark of 186-3 (56.77m), helping her become the first female athlete in meet history to complete the sweep of both gold medals.

Dutch athletes also swept both titles again after Jessica Schilder prevailed in the shot put and Jorinde Van Klinken captured the discus crown in 2021 in Estonia.

Turkey’s Ozlem Becerek earned the silver medal with a throw of 181-8 (55.38m) and Norway’s Lotta Flatum took bronze at 178-8 (54.45m).

After O’Sullivan and Healy helped Ireland take the top two women’s 1,500 medals, Norwegian athletes completed the decathlon with their own emphatic 1,500 performances.

Sander Skotheim won the 1,500 in 4:16.60 to ascend to a silver medal with 8,561 points, trailing only teammate Markus Rooth, who clocked 4:29.66 to punctuate a meet record with 8,608 points, eclipsing the 2019 mark of 8,572 accumulated by Germany’s Niklaus Kaul in Sweden.

Sven Roosen of The Netherlands achieved bronze with 8,128 points.

Turkey also had its turn delivering a 1-2 finish, with Ismail Nezir winning the men’s 400-meter hurdles in 49.19 and teammate Berke Akcam clocking 49.48 to secure silver, with Sweden’s Oskar Edlund running 49.57 to take third.

Andrea Rooth, Markus’ cousin, also won gold for Norway in the women’s 400-meter hurdles in 55.78, ahead of France’s Louise Maraval in 55.83. Lena Preßler of Austria earned the bronze medal in 55.94.

France produced a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the women’s 4x400-meter relay, with anchor Maraval rallying from fourth place in the final 200 meters to edge Swiss athlete Catia Gubelmann at the line by a 3:30.60 to 3:30.62 margin. Spain took third in 3:31.11.

France led all countries with 15 medals, including six golds. Great Britain won seven golds and was second overall with 14 medals.

Italy completed a sweep of the men’s 4x100 and 4x400, winning the latter in 3:02.49, with Turkey taking silver in 3:03.04 and Great Britain grabbing bronze in 3:03.12.

Larissa Iapichino added another title for Italy with an impressive wind-legal leap of 22-9 (6.93m) in the opening round of the women’s long jump.

Sweden’s Maja Askag secured silver with a sixth-round effort of 22-1 (6.73m) and Spain’s Tessy Ebosele achieved bronze with a mark of 21-9 (6.63m).

Greece’s Elina Tzengko triumphed in the women’s javelin with a sixth-round performance of 199-3 (60.73m), completing a triple crown after winning the U20 title in 2021 in Estonia and the senior-level championship last year in Germany.

Gedly Tugi of Estonia captured silver with a 189-foot throw (57.62m) and Finland’s Anni-Linnea Alanen was the bronze medalist at 185-11 (56.67m).

Finland was able to celebrate a gold medal on the final day with Juho Alasaari clearing 18-8.75 (5.71m) on his first attempt in the men’s pole vault.

France’s Robin Emig cleared 18-7 (5.66m) on his second opportunity, edging Norway’s Pal Haugen Lillefosse on fewer attempts for the silver medal. Lillefosse cleared 18-7 on his third try.

Spain’s Alejandro Quijada won the men’s 3,000 steeplechase in 8:28.91, with Portugal’s Etson Barros earning silver in 8:32.08 and France’s Baptiste Guyon finishing third in 8:33.64.

Yanis Meziane of France won a competitive men’s 800 final in 1:45.92, holding off Great Britain’s Ethan Hussey (1:45.95). Paul Anselmini of France grabbed bronze in 1:45.99.

Israel’s Blessing Akwasi Afrifah clocked a wind-legal 20.67 to achieve gold in the men’s 200 championship, the first title for his country in meet history.

Dutch athlete Raphael Bouju added to his 100 silver medal with another second-place finish in 20.68, with Switzerland’s Timothe Mumenthaler earning bronze in 20.85.

Belgium’s Delphine Nkansa relied on a well-timed lean in the women’s 200 final to win gold in a wind-legal 23.31, with Hungary’s Boglarka Takacs adding to her runner-up performance in the 100 with another silver in 23.33. Greece’s Polyniki Emmanouilidou was third in 23.41.