Adenegan and Wallace add golden touch for GB at European Championships

Kare Adenegan couldn’t quite believe her eyes as she raced to gold ahead of idol Hannah Cockroft to win her first World Para Athletics European Championship gold.

The 17-year-old T34 100m world record holder held off the charge of the five-time Paralympic champion to cross the line in 17.38s and complete a British one-two.

The feat represented an incredible year for the Coventry sprinter – completing her first year of A level studies, winning her first European Championship medal and beating Cockroft at a major championship for the first time in her career.

“I was getting a bit fed up of second and third, so I am so happy to have actually made it.

“I started A levels and I haven’t been training as much as I wanted to until recently.

“I had a great workout a month before the championships and from the beginning of the year I have just wanted to get gold.”

Content to hand over the reins to her compatriot, silver medallist Cockroft admitted that preparation for this year’s championships have been anything but ideal.

But despite finishing second behind Adenegan at the London Anniversary Games and the European Championships, Cockroft says she isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.

“I have known that Kare has been pushing me all season. I made it very clear at the start of the season that I was going to focus on other things,” the explained the 10-time world champion.

“This year I have gone out, got myself a job at the BBC and that’s what I have wanted to do.

“I am really proud of this silver. A month ago Kare and I were not even sure if we would have a race here, which again doesn’t give you the best preparation.

“To come here and come second, I couldn’t have come second to anyone better.

“You come here and think have I lost something, but actually I’m 26 now, I have to think of the future and racing wise Britain’s future is Kare.

“I know that I can come back and be stronger and to be totally honest I feel like I could have done a bit better if we were given a warm up lap – sitting around for 40 minutes before a race is not the best thing.

“This is just me taking a step back. I have been racing for ten years. I have been at major championships consistently for six and this year I think that you will see it with a lot of the guys.

A year on from breaking her own UK record twice on the same day at the World Para Athletics Championships and still missing out on a medal, Vanessa Wallace came back with a vengeance to win gold in the women’s F34 shot put final.

And two years after finishing fourth at her first European Championships, the 41-year-old praised her resilience and never say die attitude for her first major championship victory.

She said: “I don’t even know what words can sum this up. It is amazing, that is the best way to put it.

“I was here two years ago at my first Europeans and I came fourth. To come back stronger, a lot more experienced and, yeah, I did my thing. I trusted the process and just did the best I could.

“I’ve learnt to relax and focus on my little zone and tell myself you do know what to do.

“I don’t get distracted by the other competitors, what they are doing, what they are throwing, I just do me because that’s what’s got me here.

“If the smile is usually big, then it is just going to be spreading around the face. I am looking forward [to the javelin] on Friday.”

Elsewhere, Ross Paterson won silver in the men’s T38 400m final – finishing in 56.82s to claim a deserved runner-up spot.

There was also a flurry of bronze medals for GB as Mo Jomni, Laura Sugar and Dillon Labrooy each won bronze on the third day at the championships.

In a stellar field featuring compatriot Callum Hall, 2016 T53 400m European Championship silver medallist Jomni finished impressively to clinch bronze.

Meanwhile, Sugar came away with bronze in the women’s T64 200m final after an impressive final sprint in the last 50m.

After waiting for confirmation, Labrooy was handed GB’s third bronze of the day in Berlin after Nathan Maguire was disqualified in the men’s T54 400m final.

Initially finishing outside the medal places with Maguire in second, Labrooy finished in 51.15s to finish third on review.

“I felt I could have done better at the start, it wasn’t what I was practicing earlier today,” explained Labrooy.

“The time is not fantastic, but it was a slow track, so I wasn’t expecting PB times.

“I have the 800m tomorrow, hopefully I make it to the final and then I will try and do my best and hope for the medals.”