(From left to right) Germany's Lisa Mayer, Gina Lueckenkemper, Alexandra Burghardt and Rebekka Haase cheer about the victory in the women's 4x100-meter relay final in Munich, Germany on August 21, 2022. Photo: AFP

Newly crowned European 100-meter champion Gina Lueckenkemper won a second gold as she spearheaded Germany to a decisive victory in the women's 4x100-meter relay in Munich on Sunday.

The end of seven breathtaking days of top-quality track and field could not have been better scripted as the German quartet motored to victory in 42.34 seconds in the final event.

Status Quo's "Rockin" all over the world' blasted over the tannoy as a packed-out Olympic Stadium went wild as Lueckenkemper celebrated with teammates Alexandra Burghardt, already a silver medalist in the two-woman bobsleigh at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Lisa Mayer and Rebekka Haase.

The fancied British quartet, featuring 200-meter silver medalist Dina Asher-Smith on anchor, didn't get the baton past the first leg thanks to a botched handover.

The Germans did, and swiftly, their gold ensuring the host country topped the overall athletics medals table with seven golds, seven silvers and two bronzes.

Britain finished second with six golds, six silvers and eight bronzes.

"If someone would have told me before the championships that I would come home with two gold medals, I would have said they're crazy," said Lueckenkemper.

Anchor leg Haase added: "Gina always told us that she has a gold medal and that she wanted one more medal tonight. One more, so we made it."

'Just do the maths!'

The men's 4x100-meter relay was missing Italy's Olympic and European 100-meter champion Marcell Jacobs.

The Italian quartet, whom Jacobs led to Olympic gold in 2021's Tokyo Games, was deprived of a place after Turkey were reinstated after being impeded in the heats.

It was left to a strong British foursome to claim gold in a championship record of 37.67 seconds, smashing the previous best of 37.94 set by France in Split in 1990.

Jeremiah Azu, bronze medalist in the 100 meters, led off, handing over to Zharnel Hughes, the 200-meter champion and 100-meter silver medalist.

Jona Efoloko ran the second bend before handing over to Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, the 200-meter silver medalist purring home for a comprehensive victory.

"Zharnel has got three medals, Jona has now got one, Jeremiah has got two, and I've got two - just do the maths!" beamed Mitchell-Blake.

Garcia trumps Wightman

In another night of top-notch performances, reigning world indoor champion Mariano Garcia of Spain held off Britain's Jake Wightman to win the men's 800 meters.

Garcia clocked a personal best of 1 minute 44.85 seconds for gold, world 1,500-meter champion Wightman taking silver in 1:44.91.

"I was feeling strong and I knew I could fight for a place on that podium so I decided to go for it," said Garcia.

Wightman had stepped down to the 800 meters after surprising Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen - who did a 1,500-5,000-meter double in Munich - for 1,500-meter gold in July's world championships in Oregon.

"I was not quite close enough in the last straight and it is tough when you are not that close with strong opponents," said the Briton.

"I did not manage to stay strong enough to pass Garcia. This is a tough race with lots of tactics."

Germany's Julian Weber had earlier sent the large home crowd wild in a fair warning to the likely reaction to the women's relay team as he won javelin gold with 87.66 meters on his fifth attempt.

Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy produced a devastating final 50-meter sprint to win the men's 10,000 meters in 27:46.13, while the women's 100-meter hurdles went the way of Poland, 21-year-old Pia Skrzyszowska producing a textbook display for a runaway triumph in 12.53 seconds.

Hungary's Luca Kozak claimed silver in 12.69 seconds while Swiss family fortunes looked up as Ditaji Kambundji took bronze, following elder sister Mujinga's gold and silver medal-showing in the 200 and 100 meters respectively.

AFP