Lobaru wins 10,000m gold for Switzerland

(South Dakota) Dominic Lobalu became European champion over 10,000m in Rome, his second podium finish after the bronze medal over 5000m.

This was Switzerland’s ninth medal in Rome and fourth gold, having never previously taken more than six podiums at the European Championships.

Lobaru paced himself at times in this long race, and it was no coincidence that he had his best legs in the final 400 meters, as he put a lot of effort into it. He started the final lap in fifth place and finished in 28:00.32 minutes, 16 hundredths of a second ahead of Frenchman Yann Schrub.

Before Lobaru, only Mujinga Kambundji had won two medals in individual events for Switzerland at the European Championships – the Bernese woman won gold over 200 meters and silver over 100 meters in Munich in 2022. It is even more special that the Sultan has now also achieved this goal, as he was only allowed to represent Switzerland at the European Championships in mid-May, although he does not have a Swiss passport.

World Athletics initially announced a three-year waiting period, meaning Lobaru would only be allowed to represent Switzerland at international championships from April 6, 2026. That has now been removed. However, it is not yet clear whether Lobaru will be allowed to compete in the Paris Olympics. IOK is expected to make a decision in the coming days.

Despite a strong performance, Carlin finished “only” sixth

Annik Kälin is trained by her father and can be said to be the female counterpart to Simon Ehammer. The 24-year-old from Graubünden is also an all-rounder, with the long jump being her main event. After finishing fourth in the heptathlon, she had a chance to make the podium in the long jump based on her previous performance in Rome. In the heptathlon, she equalled Irene Pusterla’s national record with 6.84, having jumped 6.83 m in the qualifying round.

Karin also impressed with her third attempt in the final with 6.82 m. At this distance, she would have won a medal in seven of the last eight European Championships. But this time it was only good enough for sixth place, so high was the level. German Olympic champion and two-time world champion Malaika Mihambo won gold with a world best of the year of 7.22 m, while Italian Larissa Iapichino (6.94 m) took silver ahead of Portugal’s Agate De Sousa (6.91 m).

For Kalin, like Elhamo, the question now is which sport she will compete in Paris; both events are out of the question for her. The decision will be made in the coming weeks.

Hoffman didn’t stand a chance

Lore Hoffmann had no chance in the 800m final. The French-speaking Swiss woman finished eighth and second to last in 2:01.13. The fourth-place finisher at the 2022 European Championships did not compete in a single outdoor race before Rome due to a persistent foot problem. Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson won the title (1:58.65).

No medals in Swiss sprint relay

A Swiss sprint relay team’s hopes of a medal at the European Championships in Rome came to nothing, with the men finishing fifth and the women disqualified.

The Swiss women’s quartet of Géraldine Frey, Salomé Kora, Léonie Pointet and Sarah Atcho-Jaquier experienced a bit of drama. After a good exchange, it looked like the Swiss would win the bronze medal, but Atcho-Jaquier was overtaken by the Dutchwoman Tassagia shortly before the finish. This was not so annoying because Atcho-Jaquier lost the baton shortly before the end of the race and the Swiss was disqualified. Otherwise, the good time of 42.48 seconds would have been included in the rankings long ago. The favored British women took the gold medal (41.91).

The Swiss men’s team of Pascal Mancini, William Reyes, Bradley Lestrade and 200 European champion Timothy Mumenthaler had to take a big risk as they were still interested in competing in the Paris Olympics. However, the changes did not go as planned. Despite this, Mumenthaler was briefly in a medal position and eventually finished fifth in 38.68 seconds, just like two years ago in Munich. This meant that the Swiss remained in 18th place in the Olympic rankings. In order to reach the last 16 and qualify for Paris, a time of 38.29 seconds was needed. The Italian team won the championship (37.82).