Dutch leap up the medals table at European championships
The Netherlands is currently lying third in the informal medals table at this year’s European championships, which are taking place in Glasgow and Berlin.
It is the first time that seven different sports – athletics, aquatics, cycling, gymnastics, rowing, triathlon and golf – have decided to join forces and stage their championships at the same time.
So far the Netherlands has captured 10 gold, 10 silver and nine bronze medals, putting it firmly in third place behind Russia and Britain. Broken down into individual sports, the Netherlands is top when it comes to cycling, with five gold, one silver and three bronze.
On Wednesday night Susan Krumins took silver in the 10,000 metres in Berlin, where the athletics championships are being held.
‘My eyes were beginning to glaze over and I felt sick,’ the 32-year-old said after she stumbled over the finishing line. ‘I could hardly move my legs but I had to get that medal,’ she said. Krumins won bronze in 5,000 metres at the 2014 championships.
Diving
A surprise winner on Wednesday was Celine van Duijn who won diving gold in the 10 metres board. ‘I never dared dream of this,’ she told broadcaster NOS. ‘I had hoped to make the top five.’ Van Duijn had never previously won a European medal.
On Thursday, open water swimmers Sharon van Rouwendaal and Ferry Weertman both won gold medals, further adding to the Dutch haul.
The championships end on Sunday.
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