Daniel Arce and Sara Gallego were close to the medal and in the end they finished fourth

Spain has amassed seven medals on its medal table at the European Championships in Munich and has high hopes of continuing to expand the collection on a day where it has two strong betting candidates, Sara Gallego and Daniel Arce. In the case of the Catalan, born in 2000, he came to the event in the best shape of his career. In Eugene he could not show his full potential and did not achieve the goal of qualifying for the final, but in Munich things were very different. Gallego proved to be among the best on the old continent and in the final, his bravery almost paid off.

“I gave everything I had, but in the end it was still not enough,” he said immediately after finishing. Gallego was fourth with 54.97 and missed the podium by eleven hundred. Victory went to world runner-up Femke Bol, who won with the best score in European history with 52”67. “The balance is very positive. I enjoyed today’s race and the season in general. Obviously, I wish I was in third position. This time it wasn’t enough, but at 21 years old, I’m sure more opportunities will come to me in the future,” he added.

Daniel Arce was one of the favorites to fight for the medals and kept the options until the last meter. A simple and calm man who takes advantage of his large wingspan (1.90m) to easily overcome obstacles and push himself into the estuary to avoid getting wet. In the final, Arce stayed in first throughout the test and only in the last lap was his strength not enough to enter the top three. In the end, fourth with 8’25”00.

“It was a race where I was going to go perfectly, but I had two contacts where I almost fell. The last stumble was a lap away and before I knew it, five or six meters had escaped me, which became impossible. When you’re in a race, you’re at the limit and that happens to you, it affects you psychologically”, he explained while studying the keys to his fourth position. His races are full of heart as is his determination to become a professional athlete who comes from Cardeña, he said, a town in the countryside of Burgos with only 1,000 inhabitants.

From the back, Sebas Martos was also very brave throughout the race and finished sixth with 8’26”68. Two finalist positions to close the season with a good taste in the mouth. Víctor Ruiz, meanwhile, is in 13th with 8’37”24, farthest in the entire race.

Another who achieved a finalist place was the Catalan Pol Retamal, sixth in Europe in the 200 with 20”63. “At night I studied what I should do and what not to do in the final. I did the same tactic as in the semifinals, but the difference was that this time I was more tired. I am happy with my sixth position, but I am not completely satisfied”, he analyzed.

García and the women’s 4×100, candidates for medals

Spain will have two very clear medal options after seeing the way Mariano García qualified for their finals in the 800m and the women’s 4x100m relay. Mariano García oiled the ‘bike’ to enter the 800 final with the best mark of all, 1’46”52, just ahead of 1,500 world champion Jake Wightman. “I found luxury”, said the Murcian. “They came out wanting to go fast, but when they went through the 300 they loosened up a bit, I decided to take the lead and keep pushing myself,” he explained. “I will get to the final very well and I hope I can have good legs to achieve something big,” he added positively.

For its part, the women’s 4×100 relay with Maribel Pérez, Jaël Bestué, Paula Sevilla and Sonia Molina-Prados left a great feeling in the qualifying series and the Spaniard won the ticket with the second best mark of 42”95 , surpassed only by the British. . “We are very confident in the final. We know each other very well, we have all the actions very automated and we are convinced that we will achieve a great result. Anything can happen in a relay race and we don’t rule out fighting for the gold if we do everything right”, said Maribel Pérez with great confidence.

Warholm, hard to handle

Norwegian Warholm, world record holder in the 400 hurdles and Tokyo 2020 champion, came to the event with little preparation after being injured, but he was the great dominator of the European 400 hurdles and took the victory with 47 “12. In this way, Warholm successfully defended his 2018 Berlin gold and took the thorn out of the Oregon World Cup, where he couldn’t get past seventh place.