European Athletics Championships: Swiss heartbreak and French upset in Birmingham

Swiss pole vault champion on course

Angelica Moser, the 2024 European pole vault champion from Zurich, secured her place in Thursday's final by clearing 4.50m on her first attempt in qualifying at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium. Six other specialists also cleared that height, but Slovenian Tina Sutej, considered one of Moser's main rivals, did not advance. Moser said she felt no pain after a ligament scare at the Paris meeting in late June. Lea Bachmann of Basel was eliminated with 4.25m after narrowly missing 4.40m.

Everything is in place, I no longer feel any pain and I'm ready.

Di Tizio-Frey's heartbreak on the track

Swiss sprinter Géraldine Di Tizio-Frey finished fourth in the 100m final, missing the bronze medal by one hundredth of a second. The 29-year-old from Zug said she felt she had a medal in her legs but tightened up near the finish and suffered a slight calf cramp. A scoreboard error briefly displayed the number 3 next to her name, prompting her to celebrate what she thought was bronze. Seconds later, the photo-finish corrected the result, dropping her to fourth.

It hurts. I had the feeling I had a medal in my legs.

She later pointed to the two remaining relays as a chance for redemption.

Tual falls, Le Clezio rises in 800m

Defending 800m champion Gabriel Tual of France was eliminated in the semifinals on Wednesday, finishing sixth in his race in 1:45.46. The 28-year-old said nervous tension had drained him before the final push.

For 550 meters, I was fine. And when it was time to push, there wasn't much left.

In the faster second semifinal, Corentin Le Clezio produced a spectacular comeback to finish third in a personal best of 1:43.80, behind Ireland's Mark English, who set a competition record of 1:43.49. A third Frenchman, Yanis Meziane, finished sixth in 1:44.03 and was also eliminated. Le Clezio will be the sole French representative in Thursday's final.

Belgian mixed fortunes

Belgium's second day in Birmingham brought qualifications and setbacks. Daniel Segers reached the 400m final in 45.03 despite running with a torn quadriceps, advancing as the fastest non-automatic qualifier. Poland's Maksymilian Szwed also qualified from the same race in 45.03. Jonathan Sacoor, fourth at the 2024 Europeans in Rome with a personal best of 44.98, collapsed in the final straight and finished in 46.14. The 400m final is set for Wednesday at 21:50, where the successor to Alexander Doom, who set the Belgian record of 44.15 in winning the Rome title, will be decided.

Paulien Couckuyt qualified for the 400m hurdles final with a personal record after returning from cruciate ligament surgery, and Thomas Carmoy reached the high jump final after his own ankle surgery. Yanni Sampson, 21, finished 11th in the long jump final with a best of 7.59m. Greece's Miltiadis Tentoglou, the double Olympic champion, claimed his fourth continental title with 8.44m on his fourth attempt.

Kambundji scrapes through

Ditaji Kambundji qualified for the 100m hurdles final with the ninth-fastest time across the semifinals, securing the second qualifying spot in her race on the line. The Bernese athlete had not competed since the Rabat meeting on May 31, hampered by a thigh strain sustained during warmup at the Paris meeting in late June.