Alexander Doom of Belgium broke the record for the men’s 400-metre event at the European Athletics Championships, which had stood since 1998 in Rome. Doom won the continental gold on Monday, June 10, with an incredible time of 44.15 seconds.
Even though he had only the third-fastest time from the semi-finals, he took charge of the race and finished 0.23 seconds ahead of the runner-up after charging around the second bend and down the final straight.
Charles Dobson of Great Britain won the silver medal in an incredible 44.38, placing him in the European top 10 and putting significant pressure on the Belgian in the last 100 metres.
Looking back on his recent success in the same event at the 2024 World Indoor Championships, Doom was happy with his training and his performance.
He revealed, “Before this championship, I just enjoyed running and my training. Everything seemed to be in its proper position when I attempted the high-altitude training to handle this shift from inside.”
Doom feels more confident after record-breaking victory
“The most important thing for me right now is that I feel more confident, know how to start the race, and know what to do. I also believe that I have developed some respect for the race,” Doom was quoted as saying by the Olympics website.
On the first day of the 2024 European Athletics Championships, Doom finished fourth in the mixed 4x400m final and missed the podium by a narrow margin. However, he will go from Rome with hardware and the pride of breaking a championship record that had stood unbroken for almost 30 years.
The third place went to Liemarvin Bonevacia of the Netherlands, who showed off his experience with seven medals from the European Indoor and Outdoor Championships, as well as silvers from the Olympic and World Championships.
His timing of 44.88 seconds was lightning fast. The men’s high jump and triple jump finals will take place on day five, and then the women’s 200-metre finals are scheduled to begin. There’s a lot of excitement for another thrilling competition day with five suspenseful events in between.