European Athletics Championships in Munich was a great success

August 22 saw the European Athletics Championships in Munich draw to a close after seven days of exciting competition, with Europe's best athletes competing for glory and 50 sets of medals. All athletics events in the Olympic Stadium were held on a new synthetic running track, provided by the sports flooring manufacturer REGUPOL. It was installed in May this year and received Class 1 certification from the World Athletics. With the construction of the track, REGUPOL became the Official Track Supplier of the European Championships Munich 2022

What makes REGUPOL an internationally renowned name in the sports industry is their expertise and decades of experience in sports floor construction. And that’s precisely what tipped the scales in favour of REGUPOL constructing the running track in Munich. The base layer is prefabricated in the factory and bonded on site where it’s given a coating of polyurethane, interspersed with granulate. The track strikes just the right balance between sports function and providing protecting for athletes’ bodies. Special designs and solutions are also possible: for example, the javelin run-up was given a special base layer and the last eight metres of the synthetic surface were additionally refined to prevent the thrower’s front foot slipping. This is a high-tech track that promised great successes and was able to deliver. And not for the first time: at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in the Berlin Olympic Stadium, Usain Bolt set two world records - also on a REGUPOL track.

Both athletes and spectators witnessed numerous highlights on the REGUPOL track; whether outstanding performances or exceptional sportsmanship. German sprinter Gina Lückenkemper sensationally won gold in the 100 metres, with the 25-year-old beating her rivals in a thrilling finish, clocking 10.99 seconds.Decathlete Niklas Kaul of Germany snatched the European decathlon crown from the grasp of long-time leader Simon Ehammer of Switzerland with a breathtaking 1500m performance, sending the Olympic Stadium crowd wildly ecstatic, as he moved from third to first place in the very last heat. The biggest cheer in the men's 3000m steeplechase was not for the winners but for Nahuel Carabana. The Andorran stopped to help stricken competitor Axel Vang Christensen of Denmark, who had taken a tumble at one of the barriers at the start of the second lap. This sporting gesture brought him the "Special Fair Play Trophy", awarded by the International Fair Play Committee (CIFP). These are just a few highlights from the seven days of excitement and emotion that the spectators experienced at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. With 20 medals, Great Britain came out on top in the athletics competitions, just ahead of host nation Germany with 16 medals.

With the European Championships, Munich has put on an unparalleled event 50 years after the Summer Olympics. A great concentration of top-class events framed by a colourful festival brought sport Back to the Rroofs, as the organisers summed up the slogan coined for the European Championships in reference to the 1972 Olympic Games. Summing up, Niels Pöppel, Managing Director at REGUPOL said: "It was one of the best sporting events I have ever attended. The entire team at REGUPOL is proud that we were able to help the athletes bring out the best in themselves with our high performance track.”