Day 7 Preview: A Tale Of Premieres And Farewells
The European Championships Munich 2022 will see more history written on Wednesday, as for the first time European gold will be handed out in boulder & lead, the new combined format in sport climbing. Fans at Königsplatz are in for additional action, with beach volleyball teams fighting for a spot in the elimination rounds, while the road cyclists take on the battle against time and Europe’s track and field stars light up Olympiastadion. Follow all events in our live blog.
© Philipp Gülland/Munich 2022
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
Janja Garnbret (SLO) will be aiming to wrap up her European Championships Munich 2022 campaign in style by winning the combined boulder & lead format on Wednesday.
At the start of Munich 2022 the Slovenian was chasing a first European gold to go with her Olympic title and six world championships titles. She ticked that box when she won lead on Saturday and followed it up with boulder gold on Sunday.
The new boulder & lead format is making its international debut at Munich 2022 and is set to be contested at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
On Wednesday, the athletes will take on the boulder problems first before lead concludes the final. The results of both events will be totalled for a final score, which will determine the first European champion in the new combined format.
Read the full preview here.
© Maja Hitij/Getty Images
DOUBLE AGENT BOL
“Good luck. You’re going to need it.” That was the advice from Karsten Warholm (NOR) on Sunday when he heard about Femke Bol’s (NED) bid to win the women’s one-lap double at 400m and 400m hurdles at the 2022 European Athletics Championships.
The Norwegian Olympic champion famously tried and failed to win both men’s events in Berlin four years ago, an experience he said was never to be repeated.
But Bol will have far more than luck on her side when she targets gold number one in the women’s flat race final, one of six events with medals at stake at Olympiastadion on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old from Amersfoort is approaching her twin challenge in the form of her life having smashed the world 300m hurdles best in Ostrava in May and taken world 400m hurdles silver behind Sydney McLaughlin’s (USA) stunning world record at the world championships in Eugene last month.
She also broke through the 50-second barrier for the 400m with a Dutch record of 49.75 in Chorzow on 6 August and cruised through Tuesday’s semifinals with nonchalant ease to book her spot on the start line.
"I’m pretty excited," she said ahead of the championships. "It’s quite a challenge, but I feel good so I can really push for it and try to do it.”
Check out what else is on the athletics agenda in our full preview.
A MATTER OF TIME
After six spectacular days on the track at Messe München, cycling continues with the time trials on the road for both men and women at Fürstenfeldbruck on Wednesday. The riders will start and finish at the former Cistercian abbey Fürstenfeld, one of the town’s most renowned sights.
Both the men and women face a mostly flat and fast 24-kilometre course with straight lines and few difficult corners. In 2021 both time trials were a prey for Switzerland, with Stefan Küng taking gold in the men’s race and Marlen Reusser in the women’s.
Lisa Brennauer (GER) may not be the outright title favourite in the women’s field on Wednesday, but she definitely will get a lot of attention. The 34-year-old, one of the greatest road and track riders of her generation, has announced her retirement after Munich 2022.
After she already took team pursuit gold and silver in the individual pursuit on the track, the 2014 world champion definitely will try to add more silverware on the road close to her home in Kempten, Bavaria.
Read up on the course and the favourites in our full preview.
© Tim Warner/ Freier Fotograf/ Getty Images
GOING FOR GOLD
Wednesday marks the start of the singles tournaments’ main competition in table tennis where 64 men and 64 women fight for a spot in Sunday’s gold medal matches.
After making it to the final in last year’s world championships, a lot has changed for Truls Möregårdh (SWE). The 20-year-old Swede enters the European Championships Munich 2022 men’s singles competition as a top-seeded medal candidate.
”It definitely feels different,” said Möregårdh, who plays Tamás Lakatos (HUN) in his first match.
”Last year when I played the European championships I had to play in the preliminaries and was happy to make it into the main round. I made it to the round of 16, which I was super happy with. This time I’m top-seeded, so a lot has obviously happened.”
Möregårdh does not like to see himself as the tournament’s main man, stressing that there are more contestants to the title than ever this year.
”I don’t really feel that chased. I know I’m seeded No. 1 but there are many people who can win. This tournament feels very open and I think it will be incredibly fun to follow,” he said.
”Normally you’ve got Timo (Boll, GER) and Ovtcharov (Dimitrij Ovtcharov, GER) in No. 1 and No. 2 and then the rest get to fight for the bronze medals. That’s how it’s been in many years. But this year there are about 10 to 12 players who could win the gold medal.”
Click here for the full table tennis preview.
PRESSURE MOUNTING
Teams will be fighting for a place in the 2022 CEV EuroBeachVolley elimination rounds when the action resumes on Wednesday.
Teams that won their opening matches will be battling to top the pool and go straight to the round of 16, while those who lost their openers will be playing to stay in the competition and a place in the round of 24.
Find out which matches you should keep an eye on in our full preview.