Greek javelin champion Tzengko finishes 11th at European Athletics Championships in Birmingham
Greek javelin thrower Elina Tzengko finished 11th in the javelin final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, with a best throw of 54.01m that left her outside the top eight and without three additional attempts.
Greek javelin thrower Elina Tzengko finished 11th in the javelin final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, failing to reach the top eight that would have granted her three additional throws. Her best effort of 54.01m fell well short of the form she had shown earlier in the season and left her with her worst result at a European Championships.
The final
Tzengko opened the final with an invalidated first throw. According to iefimerida.gr, she chose to cancel the attempt herself after seeing the javelin land below 55 metres, rather than recording a substandard mark. NEWS 24/7 described the first throw as bad, with the result that it was ruled invalid. Her second attempt also fell short: the javelin flew too high and landed at 53.09m per NEWS 24/7, or 53.05m per iefimerida.gr, leaving her low in the standings with one attempt remaining. The third and final attempt showed a small improvement to 54.01m, but it was not enough to place her inside the top eight. Only the top eight throwers earned the right to three additional throws, and Tzengko's mark left her outside that group in 11th place, ending her competition after just three attempts. Iefimerida.gr noted that the Greek champion did not find the big throw she was searching for in any of her three efforts.
- Tzengko finishes third, an encouraging result after a difficult season
- Tzengko qualifies for the final; sources differ on her mark (59.82m per NewsIT, 54.72m per NEWS 24/7)
- First throw invalidated after javelin lands below 55m
- Second throw lands between 53.05m and 53.09m, depending on source
- Best throw of 54.01m; finishes 11th, outside top eight
Qualifying and season context
Before the final, Tzengko had shown encouraging signs during the season. She placed third at the Monaco Diamond League, a result that was encouraging after a year in which she had been searching for her lost competitive identity. NewsIT reported her qualifying mark at the European Championships as 59.82m, describing it as her best performance of the year and the first optimistic message of the season. However, NEWS 24/7 cited her qualifying throw as 54.72m, the ninth-best mark in the qualifying round. The two reported qualifying figures were not reconciled in the source articles.
Tzengko had previously won gold in the javelin at the European Athletics Championships in Munich, making the 11th-place finish in Birmingham her worst showing at the continental event. The 23-year-old, described as 24 by iefimerida.gr, had travelled to Birmingham hoping to rediscover her true competitive self, but the final did not deliver the breakthrough she sought.
Self-criticism
Shortly after the competition ended, Tzengko did not shy away from judging her own performance. She said she was not being harsh on herself because she knows what she is capable of achieving, and that if anything she was being hard on herself for the display in Birmingham.
I was unacceptable today. It was an unacceptable performance. I have nothing else to say. I'm ashamed. I'm not being harsh on myself, because I know what I can do. If anything, I'm being hard on myself. I'm very disappointed, but that's how sports are. We move on. What happened, happened.
The Birmingham final brought Tzengko's European Championships campaign to an early close, with no additional throws and her lowest continental finish.
