PHOTO: AP

BREATHTAKING FEELING: Kim Gevaert is ecstatic after her win in the 100m at the European athletics championships.

GOTEBORG (Sweden): Kim Gevaert of Belgium led all the way to win the women's 100 metres at the European athletics championships on Wednesday.

Gevaert was twice European indoor champion at 60m and took silver medals at both 100 and 200 outdoors at the 2002 European championships.

She's the first Belgian woman to win gold outdoors at a European championship.

The Belgian clocked 11.06 seconds to beat two Russians, Yekaterina Grigoryeva and Irina Khabarova. Both were credited with the same time, 11.22, but Grigoryeva took the silver in the photo finish.

Yevgeniya Isakova of Russia upset Olympic champion Fani Halkia of Greece to win the women's 400m hurdles in 53.93 seconds. Halkia lost her stride at the last hurdle and the Russian used the opportunity to power past her.

Halkia finished in 54.02 and Tetyana Tereshchuk-Antipova of Ukraine earned the bronze in 54.55.

Triple jump

Tatyana Lebedeva won the gold medal in the women's triple jump in a dramatic final series and completed the first step to a jump double.

Mehdi Baala of France won his second straight European title in the men's 1,500m.

Lebedeva, an Olympic silver and bronze medallist, soared 15.15 metres to seal her victory in the sixth and final series.

Hrisopiyi Devetzi of Greece, who took the silver at the 2004 Athens Games ahead of Lebedeva, was leading until the final series following her first effort of 15.05.

Lebedeva temporarily lost second place when another Russian, Anna Pyatykh, went 15.02 in her final attempt. Lebedeva's best until then had been 14.92, but she then produced the big final leap to win the title with a meet record.

Baala won in three minutes, 39.02 seconds, ahead of Ivan Hesko of Ukraine, who surged past Juan Carlos Higuero of Spain for the silver. Hesko clocked 3:39.50, and Higuero finished in 3:39.62.

Ryta Turava of Belarus won the women's 20-km walk in one hour, 27 minutes, 8 seconds, with Olga Kanishkina of Russia second in 1:28:35 and Elisa Riguado of Italy third in 1:28:37.

The results (winners only):

Men: 1,500m: Mehdi Baala (Fra), 3 min, 39.02s. High jump: Andrey Silnov (Rus), 2:36m. Javelin: Andreas Thorkildsen (Nor), 88.78.

Women: 100m: Kim Gevaert (Bel), 11.06. 400m hurdles: Yevgeniya Isakova (Rus) 53.93. 20km Walk: Ryta Turava (Bel), 1:27:08. Triple jump: Tatyana Lebedeva (Rus), 15.15. — AP

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