European Athletics (EAA) – News – Russia’s Lashmanova walks to world record gold

Yelena Lashmanova claimed the first gold of the European Athletics Junior Championships in Tallinn this morning as she dominated the women's 10,000m walk to become the first junior to officially complete the distance in under 43 minutes.

The Russian led from start to finish and crossed the line in 42:59.48, adding the European junior title to the world youth and junior crowns she has picked up over the last two years.

Lashmanova's victory never looked in doubt as she led home a Russian clean sweep followed by former world youth medallist Svetlana Vasileva, second in 44:52.98, and Anna Ermin, third in a personal best 46:49.00.

Vasilyeva stuck to Lashmanova's heels till the 10th lap when the pony-tailed champion from Moncton opened a five-metre lead which she stretched over the remaining 15 circuits, passing all of her opponents as she sliced nearly 12 seconds from Vera Sokolova's European junior and championships record from Kaunas four years ago.

"I'm really happy to win with a record," said Lashmanova who broke her personal best by more than 40 seconds on a steamy first morning in the Estonian capital.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the numbers on the board. It was really hard to perform in such weather conditions. Russia got its triple and we are really happy with our results."

The event wasn't without controversy as Ermin's bronze came after a long struggle against Germany's Charlyne Czychy. The two walked side-by-side for much of the race and Czychy appeared to have triumphed over the last lap before she was disqualified just 10 metres from the line.

"It was a shock for me to see that the German girl was disqualified but it gave me a chance to achieve the bronze," said Ermin. "The weather conditions were not certainly best for the walkers, but the sun didn't sun all the time, so it was manageable. Russia did a good job today."

European Athletics (EAA) – News