Stanislav Emelyanov of Russia claimed the first gold medal of the European Championships on Tuesday after winning the men’s 20-kilometre walk final.
Emelyanov won the event along the streets of Barcelona in a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes, 10 seconds. Alex Schwazer of Italy finished 28 seconds behind for silver, ahead of Portugal’s Joao Vieira, who took bronze with a time of 1-20-49.
Olympic 50-kilometre champion Schwazer and Emelyanov led from the start before the Russian eventually powered past in the warm conditions.
It was the 19-year-old Emelyanov’s first success in senior competition.
