As expected, the German relays over 4×400 m were not able to intervene in the medal decision at the home European Championships in Munich.
Women and men finished fifth and seventh in the Olympic Stadium. A highlight was provided by Femke Bol from the Netherlands, who won her third gold after the 400 m and the 400 m hurdles as the last runner of her relay.
The German sprinters ran in the line-up of Luna Thiel, Mona Mayer, Alica Schmidt and Carolina Krafzik in 3:26.09 minutes, the best time in Germany for the year. Behind the Netherlands, Poland (3:21.69) and Great Britain (3:21.74) took silver and bronze.
“We are incredibly happy. None of us expected fifth place. It’s a great time,” said Schmidt on ARD. Despite fourth place in the preliminary heat (3:27.92), Germany surprisingly made it into the final. The quartet of the German Athletics Association (DLV) also benefited from a disqualification in the Czech Republic.
The German men’s relay with Marvin Schlegel, Patrick Schneider, Marc Koch and Manuel Sanders achieved a time of 3:02.51 minutes in the final. The title went to the favorite Brits (2:59.35). Belgium (2:59.49) and France (2:59.64) ran to silver and bronze.
The German quartet had already booked their entry into the final as a success. At the World Championships in Eugene, Germany was eliminated prematurely at Hayward Field in 3:04.21 minutes. The last European Championship medal was won by the German long-sprint relay with bronze in 2012 in Helsinki, gold was last awarded in 1982 in Athens.