Mohamed Katir, silver in the 5,000 meters of the European Championship, completes a historic day for Spanish athletics

Another dream summer for Mohamed Katir. The muleño was proclaimed this Tuesday in Munich runner-up in Europe in the 5,000 meters. He competed for gold until the end against his clear favourite, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, world champion a month ago and who defended his continental title. The race, which was being slow, began to stretch three laps from the end. Katir, who finished with a time of 13.22.98, was the only athlete to follow in the footsteps of the Norwegian until the last lap, but Ingebrigtsen decided the test in the final stretch.

Last year, Katir emerged as one of the revelations of national sport: three Spanish records and a final in the Olympic Games. The 24-year-old from Muleño has confirmed in recent months that his emergence was not a mirage. In June he was proclaimed champion of Spain in the 5,000 meters and a month ago he returned the Spanish middle-distance to the podium at the World Championships in Eugene with a bronze in 1,500.

Katir completes a historic day for Spanish athletics at the European Championships in Munich. Miguel Ángel López has won the gold and Raquel González with the silver in the 35 kilometers and add the third and fourth medals for Spain after those obtained yesterday in the marathon.

The Murcian athlete, with a record of 2:26.27, has made an exhibition through the streets of the German town, where he has taken almost three minutes to the German Linke, silver. Almost four came the Italian Giupponi, bronze. Manuel Bermúdez, also from Murcia, with whom López shares a coach, José Antonio Carrillo, was fourth. Carrillo and López embraced even before crossing the finish line. Ibizan Marc Tur, the third Spanish representative in the final, was disqualified after being in the leading group at all times. Bad year for the islander, also eliminated from the test in Eugene.

For her part, Raquel González opened her record in international competitions with a spectacular silver medal after a race that she led at times. The Catalan walker completed the 35 kilometers in 2:49:10, two minutes below the record of the Greek Ntrismpioti, second in the world ranking. Third was the Hungarian Madarasz, who led the start of the race. Barcelona’s Mar Juárez entered seventh and Galician Antía Chamosa finished in a meritorious fifteenth position.