The China Mail - Seventh heaven for Ingebrigtsen as Mahuchikh and Bol also shine at Euro indoors

Ingebrigtsen was one of three top names in the final session at the Omnisport Arena in Apeldoorn along with Ukraine's high jump queen Yaroslava Mahuchikh and home track favourite Femke Bol.

Mahuchikh dominated to win a third title, while Bol wrapped up proceedings by anchoring the Dutch to gold in the women's 4x400m relay.

Italian Zainab Dosso clocked a world-leading 7.01sec to win the women's 60m.

Ingebrigtsen was in record-equalling form. The Norwegian, who won the 1500m on Friday, clocked 7min 48.37sec for what was a 16th European senior title across all surfaces and championships.

Still just 24, he matched the record of seven European indoor gold medals held by Soviet-Ukrainian Valeriy Borzov, who won 50m and 60m titles in the 1970s when the event was held annually.

"It's about showing up and it's about competing," said Ingebrigtsen of his appearance in Apeldoorn ahead of a season that moves on to the world indoor championships in Nanjing later this month and culminates in the outdoor world championships in Tokyo in September.

"I like to compete and I think that's what it's all about. I wouldn't be much motivated to jump on the treadmill if it wasn't for a race coming up. That's how it is."

Ingebrigtsen, a double Olympic champion and two-time world champion over 5,000m, was content to sit at the back of the pack early in the 15-lap race.

He soon took the pace up, moving into the lead with Britain's George Mills, Dutch teenager Niels Laros and Sweden's Andreas Almgren on his shoulder.

The race started to wind up with five laps to run, before Ingebrigtsen let rip with two-and-a-half laps to go.

Mills stuck with the Norwegian, but the Briton faded in the last 100 metres.

Ingebritsen coasted across the line, one wagging finger raised as he matched Borzov's record, in a time far from the 7:17.55 world record he set over the distance outdoors last year.

Mills took silver in 7:49.41m with France's Azeddine Habz outsprinting Almgren for his second medal of these champs after a silver in the 1500m.

- Supreme Mahuchikh -

Ukraine's reigning Olympic, world and European outdoor champion Mahuchikh clinched her third continental indoor title with a best of 1.99m, opting out of an attempt at the championship record of 2.06m in just her second competition of the year.

A late Dutch flourish gave world 400m indoor champ Bol -- a four-time Olympic and eight-time world medallist -- another gold by leading home the Dutch women's quartet, minutes after their male teammates had won gold.

Bol, Lieke Klaver, Nina Franke and Cathelijn Peeters timed a championship record of 3min 24.35sec in a fitting end to four days of action.

There was a thrilling finish in the women's 3,000m, Ireland's Sarah Healy outstripping Britain's Melissa Courtney-Bryant for gold in 8:52.86, a first-ever Euro indoor title for an Irishwoman.

Samuel Chapple produced a stunning final 50 metres to nail a Dutch national record of 1:44.88 and win the men's 800m, just four-hundredths of a second ahead of Belgian favourite Elliot Crestan. Ireland's Mark English took bronze.

Poland's Anna Wielgosz earlier won the women's 800m crown in 2:02.09 ahead of France's Clara Liberman and Slovenia's Anita Horvat.

Saga Vanninen of Finland took pentathlon gold with 4,922 points. Dutchman Menno Vloon and Greek Olympic bronze medallist Emmanouil Karalis shared pole vault gold (5.90m), in the absence of all-conquering Swede Mondo Duplantis.

Andrei Rares Toader threw a Romanian national record of 21.27m for the men's shot put title and home favourite Jessica Schilder won the women's event with a best of 20.69m to ensure the home country finished atop the medals table with six golds and two silvers.

X.Gu--ThChM