Germans finish one-two in Javelin

Germans Thomas Röhler and Andreas Hoffmann received a big ovation from the home crowd in Berlin's Olympic stadium after winning gold and silver respectively in the men's javelin throw at the European Championships on Thursday.

Röhler won the competition with a throw of 89.47 meters (about 294 feet), just over two meters off of his season best. The 26-year-old plunged into the water trap used for the steeple chase event after his victory.

"It was a lot of fun to throw here," Röhler said.

Hofmann picked up the silver despite only recording a throw of 87.60 meters, nearly four and a half meters off of his personal best. Estonia's Magnus Kirt earned the bronze with a throw of 85.96 meters.

Reigning world champion Johannes Vetter had a disappointing showing. He finished fifth with a throw of 83.27 meters, which came on his fifth attempt.

"That was a really hard day for me," Vetter said.

Vetter broke Germany's javelin record in Lucerne, Switzerland last July before winning gold at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London.

Two medals in hurdles

On the women's side, Pamela Dutkiewicz won the silver medal and Cindy Roleder the bronze in the 100-meter hurdles.

Only one tenth of a second separated the top three finishers in the event.

Dutkiewicz, 26, had her eyes on the gold with two hurdles to go, but Elvira Herman of Belarus out-leaned the Bochum native at the finish line in a photo finish.

"I am really happy that I got silver," said Dutkiewicz, who was the favorite to win after earning the bronze at last year's World Championships.

Roleder, 28, recorded a season-best time of 12.77 in her bronze medal performance. It was her third medal at the European Championships.

Ricarda Lobe, the other German in the hurdles final, finished fifth with a time of 13 seconds flat.

Germany now has nine medals in total at the European Championships.

dv (dpa, SID)