Kluft shows radiant face of the sport

ATHLETICS/European Championships: Those who don't believe in athletics anymore, who don't believe it's even worth watching, should be here in Gothenburg. From early afternoon they'd crowded around the Ullevi Stadium. It was like a rock concert, people begging for tickets. Inside, the atmosphere was building like the thunderclouds above.

They'd come to see Carolina Kluft, not just the pretty face of Swedish athletics, but arguably the greatest female athlete on the planet. Her event, the heptathlon, is spread over two days, yet the two closing disciplines yesterday evening alone helped attract a 32,000 sell-out crowd. There were other events on show (the men's 100-metre final, anyone?) but Kluft was the headline act.

They clearly believe in her, that she's definitely worth watching. At 23 she's the youngest ever to have won the grand slam of championships: Olympic Games, World titles (indoors and out) and European titles (indoors and out). And yesterday she easily defended the European title she'd collected as a 19-year-old - making it her 13th championship gold medal.

Kluft was world junior champion at 18, having started out as a long jumper. She's what sports scientists call a freak of nature and the rest of us call a supermodel with muscle. She's fiercely competitive and just plain tough.

It's hard to find a single reason not to believe in her.

For the record then, seven events in two days: 100-metre hurdles, high jump, shot, 200 metres, long jump, javelin and 800 metres. Grand total 6,740 points, a championship record, and 317 points ahead of the Dutchwoman Karin Ruckstuhl.

The entire crowd stuck around to watch a tearful Kluft collect her gold medal, and as a bonus got to see an unbelievable men's 10,000-metre final.

Unbelievably exciting, that is. Just when it seemed the Spaniards Juan De La Ossa and Jose Manual were battling it out for gold, the little-known Jan Fitschen of Germany came tearing down the home stretch to win the title in a personal best of 28:10.94.

It was a beautifully true-run race, the 28-year-old Fitschen showing more emotion in victory that witnessed in a long time. To maintain the theme, it's hard to find a single reason not to believe in him.

Martin Fagan, the last Irish athlete on the track last night, bravely mixed it with the leading bunch for as long as he could, holding a top-10 place until nine laps to go, and ending up 11th in 28:54.04.

Anyway, those who feel they must suspend belief in athletics also got value for money last night. Things got a bit confusing when Portugal's Francis Obikwelu was introduced as the defending 100-metre champion, when one of those standing alongside, Dwain Chambers, actually won the final four years ago in Munich.

As we now know, however, Chambers was using the designer steroid THG at the time, and after subsequently failing two drugs tests, was banned until last year.

He's back, though obviously not the athlete he used to be, and could only manage seventh in 10.24. So Obikwelu retained the title he (kind of) won four years ago, easing across the line in 9.99, a championship record.

Andrey Yepishin of Russia took silver in 10.10, and Matic Osovnikar of Slovenia the bronze in 10.14 - hardly the most unbelievable of times, perhaps?

Gothenburg details: Results and timetable

Yesterday's finals

Men's 100 metres: 1 Francis Obikwelu (Por) 9.99, 2 Andrey Yepishin (Rus) 10.10, 3 Matic Osovnikar (Slo) 10.14.

Men's 10,000 metres: 1 Jan Fitschen (Ger) 28:10.94, 2 Jose Manuel Martinez (Spa) 28:12.06, 3 Juan Carlos de la Ossa (Spa) 28:13.73. 11 Martin Fagan (Irl) 28:54.04.

Men's 20km walk: 1 Francisco Javier Fernandez (Spa) 1:19:09, 2 Valeriy Borchin (Rus) 1:20:00, 3 Joao Vieira (Por) 1:20:09.

Men's long jump: 1 Andrew Howe (Ita) 8.20, 2 Greg Rutherford (Gbr) 8.13, 3 Oleksiy Lukashevych (Ukr) 8.12.

Women's hammer: 1 Tatyana Lysenko (Rus) 76.67, 2 Gulfiya Khanafeyeva (Rus) 74.50, 3 Kamila Skolimowska (Pol) 72.58.

Heptathlon: 1 Carolina Kluft (Swe) 6740, 2 Karin Ruckstuhl (Ned) 6423, 3 Lilli Schwarzkopf (Ger) 6420.

How the Irish fared

Women's 400 metres: round 1, heat 4, Joanne Cuddihy, 2nd, 51.41, qualified for semi-final.

Women's 100 metres: round 1, heat 1, Anna Boyle, 5th, 11.60, did not qualify; heat 4, Emily Maher, did not start.

Women's high jump: qualification, Deirdre Ryan, 1.92, qualified for final.

Men's 400 metres: semi-finals, David Gillick, seventh, 46.84, did not qualify);

Men's 10,000 metres: final, Martin Fagan, 11th, 28:54.04.

Today's highlights (all times Irish)

10.10: 200 metres men first round (Paul Brizzel, heat two, Paul Hession, hear four, Gary Ryan, heat five); 16.15: Women's 20km walk final; 16.45: Women's triple jump final; 17.10: Men's high jump final; 18.05: Women's 400 metres semi-finals (Joanne Cuddihy, semi-final 2); 18.10: Men's javelin final; 18.20: Men's 1,500 metres final (Liam Reale); 19.10: Women's 400 metres hurdles final; 19.25: Women's 100 metres final; 19.45: Men's 400 metres final.