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Christopher Linke
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Jan Hetfleisch/Getty Images
After many fourth and fifth places, walker Christopher Linke has won his longed-for international medal.
At the European Championship premiere of the 35-kilometer distance, Linke won silver in downtown Munich and thus the fourth German athletics medal at the European Championships.
The Spaniard Miguel Angel Lopez won gold in a superior manner.
The 20-kilometer world champion from 2015 broke away from the field early on.
Third place went to Matteo Guipponi from Italy.
Linke also benefited from the collapse of the Swede Perseus Karlstrom, who had been second for a long time.
The World Championship third at the premiere of the 35-kilometer distance three weeks ago in Eugene suddenly died between 22 and 23 kilometers and gave up shortly afterwards.
Linke had come close to an international medal several times in recent years: he finished fourth at the 2014 European Championships and the 2019 World Cup, and fifth over 20 kilometers at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics and the 2017 World Cup.
On the two-kilometer circuit between Odeonsplatz and Siegestor in downtown Munich, Linke had slowly but steadily pulled away from three competitors at kilometer 23, his last meters to the finish became a triumphal march.
"Let me put it this way: finally a medal," said Linke: "The gold was gone early, it looked like bronze, but I felt good and luckily the Swede had problems."
krä/sid/dpa