AMSTERDAM (AP) Olympic pole vault champion and world record holder Renaud Lavillenie failed to clear his opening height with the gold medal at stake and lost his title at the European Championships on Friday.
He only started jumping at 5.75 meters, with Robert Sobora holding the lead at 5.60. Instead of a fourth straight title for the Frenchman, it was the first major gold for the Pole. Czech Jan Kudlicka won silver on a countback.
For an athlete used to dominating with ease it was a devastating loss for Lavillenie, barely a month before the Olympics.
Moments later, it seemed like Churandy Martina clinched a Dutch double when he added 200 meter gold to his 100 title he won on Thursday. But he was disqualified for stepping outside his lane and Bruno Hortelano of Spain took gold instead.
Martyn Rooney won Britain's third gold at the European championships, coming back from behind to win the 400 meters in a defense of his title.
Rooney won in 45.29 seconds, edging Czech Pavel Maslak by .07 seconds while Liemarvin Bonevacia of the Netherlands took bronze.
In the women hammer's throw, Anita Wlodarczyk continued her domination of the event, with a throw of 78.14 meters for her third European gold to add to the world title and record. Only an Olympic title is still missing from her resume. Her longtime rival Betty Heidler of Germany took silver.
On Thursday, Greg Rutherford in the long jump and Dina Asher-Smith in the 200 got Britain's first titles in the five-day event.
