Berlin, Aug 8 (IANS) Britain's Zharnel Hughes took the gold medal in the men's 100 meter sprint, while Dina Asher-Smith dominated the women's competition at the inaugural multi-sport European Championships here.
In a close men's final on Tuesday, Hughes finished the race with a championship record time of 9.95 seconds. Compatriot Reece Prescod grabbed silver in 9.96 after a stunning comeback, followed by Turkey's Jak Ali Harvey, who clocked 10.01 seconds, reports Xinhua news agency.
"I am happy and the job is done. I felt a bit of cramp so I don't think I could have gone any faster. I'm just happy. Reece Prescod is a fast finisher so I knew I had to stay relaxed as he would challenge me towards the end. I am happy that we came out victorious," Hughes said after the race.
Meanwhile, Dina Asher-Smith secured her gold medal with a line-to-wire victory in the women's 100m final after crossing the finish line in 10.85 seconds.
"I did everything right, which in a final is really, really good. I was really, really happy to have nailed it in the final because there are so many talented women alongside me and when you're in that kind of field you've just got to go out and run your race and ignore what they're doing," Asher-Smith noted afterwards.
Germany's Gina Lueckenkemper finished second after clocking 10.98, followed by the Netherlands' Dafne Schippers, who secured the bronze in a time of 10.99 seconds.
"A medal counts so I am happy to have it and this was also my best race of the season, so I am glad. A medal is always ok. Coming as the defending champion, I did not feel the pressure. All the girls are very strong and I think the level of sprinting in Europe is rising," European record holder Schippers said.
The European Championships is a new multi-sport event, bringing together the existing European Championships of seven different federations every four years.
The ongoing 2018 event is jointly hosted by Berlin and Glasgow, and in addition to athletics, also features aquatics events, rowing, gymnastics, cycling, triathlon and golf. More than 4,500 athletes are competing for 187 gold medals at the championships, which conclude on August 12.
