Dhe first dared the pole vaulting pirate after his fifth jump of the evening. Bo Kanda Lita Baehre, who always wears a black scarf around his head, had overcome the height of 5.75 meters in the second attempt – and thus secured a place among the top athletes of the evening.
Two jumps later, he put a more exalted expression dance on the track: the 23-year-old from Düsseldorf also mastered 5.85 meters in the second attempt – and immediately moved up to silver. Only the Swedish high-flyer Armand Duplantis had already overcome this height right away – in his second jump ever on this wet and cold evening.
All other competitors, on the other hand, struggled in vain: Norway’s Lillefosse, Frenchman Collet, even the former world record holder Lavillenie from France – they all hit their teeth at 5.85. When the Dutchman Koppelaar also broke, Lita Baehre was guaranteed bronze, and when the second Norwegian Guttormsen also failed, it was even silver for the German. His teammates Torben Blech and Oleg Zernikel, on the other hand, had already failed with a time of 5.65 and finished eighth and tenth with a time of 5.50.
Shortly before the EM changed the coach
Even before the final, Lita Baehre, son of a German mother and a Congolese father, dared to make a bold announcement: “I have a medal in mind – and of course it’s the gold one. I’ll give everything for that.” When he actually succeeded, he thanked the audience in Munich’s Olympic Stadium: “It’s really phenomenal”.
The 23-year-old had only changed his coach shortly before the European Championships and now confided in Munich’s Chauncey Johnson, who first served as city guide and then coached him to an European Championship medal. “There is a good man by my side. Our first championship together is an honor,” said Lita Baehre. At the World Championships in Eugene (USA), where he finished seventh, he was coached by national coach Christine Adams in July.
On the cold, wet August evening he was the center of attention – and all eyes of the Olympic Stadium audience were on him: Bo Kanda Lita Baehre from Düsseldorf – alongside Armand Duplantis, the world and European champion, Olympic champion and world record holder.
Courageous about silver: Lea Meyer
:
Image: Reuters
Lita Baehre had already jumped 5.90 meters this year, but now at the European Championships he failed on this wall. Duplantis, on the other hand, mastered it straight away. His last challenger played poker, had 5.95 played – but couldn’t overcome it either. Duplantis, on the other hand, wouldn’t be Duplantis if he were impressed by it: he also picked up this height right away.
Surprising silver also for Lea Meyer
Lita Baehre couldn’t counter with his last remaining attempt over 5.95 – and was happy about his second place. Armand Duplantis had won, but of course wanted to show another jump for the gallery: he set the bar at 6.06 – and mastered this right away. Only then did the high-flyer have had enough and let his competitors congratulate him.
Lita Baehre, on the other hand, ran into another German medal winner on his lap of honor at the finish: Steeplechase runner Lea Meyer surprisingly ran into second place over 3000 meters obstacle. The runner from Cologne was only beaten by Luiza Gega (9:11.31) from Albania with a personal best of 9:15.35 minutes. At the World Championships in Eugene, Meyer fell headfirst into the moat. Unfazed by this, she ran a courageous race, moving into the top three early on and even taking silver on the final lap.
