Schippers wins Euro 100m

AMSTERDAM (AP):

Dafne Schippers won the 100 metres at the European championships with ease yesterday, speeding away from all opposition to clinch her first title of the championships.

On a chilly, windy night at the Olympic Stadium, she finished in 10.90 seconds, which was all the more impressive since silver medallist Ives Lalova-Collio crossed a massive .30 seconds behind her.

She immediately thrust her finger in the air, clearly No. 1 when it comes to European sprinting but also the biggest star at the championships for the adoring 22,000-strong sellout crowd.

"It was quite windy so it was difficult to set a good time," Schippers said. She will be running the 4x100m tomorrow but did not compete in the 200, where she is the world champion.

At next month's Olympics, she will run both sprints and the relays. "I am shaping up well for Rio," she said.

If Schippers performed to expectations, Olympic pole vault champion and world record holder Renaud Lavillenie did not. The Frenchman failed to clear his opening height with the gold medal at stake and lost his title.

He only started jumping at 5.75m with Robert Sobera holding the lead at 5.60. Instead of a fourth straight title for the Frenchman, it was the first major gold for the Pole. Czech Jan Kudlicka won silver on a countback.

"During warmup, I cleared 5.80 two times without problems," Lavillenie said, but he could not master the swirling gusts.

"The wind was making things very difficult for us," he said.