Queen of the heptathlon: Belgian Nafi Thiam wins European gold

Reigning European heptathlon champion Nafissatou Thiam has added a new gold medal to her treasure chest by successfully defending her title in Munich on Thursday evening.

Victory on the eve of her 28th birthday brought the Namur heptathlete a second gold this season after winning the World championship in Oregon in July. Double Olympic gold medallist Thiam has dominated the multi-event sport since 2017.

But there was disappointment for her compatriot Noor Vidts, who narrowly missed out on a podium place, finishing fourth.

Thiam, the favourite for the European Athletics Championship event, had built a solid lead before the final 800m discipline. She finished 10th in the race, although her time of 2:17.95 was sufficient to secure an eighth gold medal in a major competition.

There had been an earlier scare in the long jump, when two of Thiam’s jumps were disqualified. Another poor performance in the javelin led to her overall score of 6,628 points in Munich being her lowest since taking a bronze in the European Championships in 2014.

Photo: © Belga