Belarus clean up

ByEurosport

Published 12/08/2006 at 17:47 GMT

It was a great day at the office for Belarus who won three gold medals at the European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg on Saturday. Natallia Khoroneko won the women's shot put, Ivan Tikhon the men's hammer and Alesya Turava the women's 3000m steeplechase.

Khoroneko edged compatriot and world champion Nadzeya Ostapchuk to the shot title by one centimetre.

World indoor champion Khoroneko took the lead in the fourth round with 19.43 metres.

ATHLETICS 2006 European Champs Khoroneko Shot Put

Image credit: Reuters

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Ostapchuk responded on her fifth attempt but it came up just short. Germany's Petra Lammert was third with 19.17.

Tikhon, unbeaten in 2005, finally found his form to get his first win of the year with a season's best throw of 81.11 metres in the hammer.

ATHLETICS 2006 European Champs Tikhon Hammer

Image credit: Reuters

Finland's Olli-Pekka Karjalainen prevented another Belarus one-two, earning his country's first hammer medal since Ville Porhola won at the inaugural championships in 1934.

He threw 80.84 to world silver medallist Vadim Devyatovski's 80.76. The top three were the only men to break 80 metres.

Turava made it two golds for her family after sister Rita won the 20km walk earlier in the week, taking the initiative to sprint for the line after being tripped late-on by second-placed Tatyana Petrova of Russia.

Pre-race favourite Wioletta Janowska took bronze.

Earlier in the day Germany's Ulrike Maisch set a personal best to win the women's marathon in two hours 30 minutes one second.

ATHLETICS 2006 European Champs Marathon Ulrike Maisch

Image credit: dpa

Silver went to Olivera Jevtic of Serbia, the top European athlete in the 2004 Olympic marathon where she was was sixth, in 2:30.27 and Russian Irina Permitina was third in 2:30.53. Favourite Bruna Genovese of Italy came fifth.

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