History was made this evening (Friday) in the final of the European Championships in Munich in the 200 meter race, when an Israeli sprinter took to the track. The 18-year-old Blessing Afrifa, the youngest among the runners in the final and known as the under-20 world champion, stopped the clock after 20.69 seconds and although he finished in seventh and last place among the runners, he proved that his future is ahead of him.
The British Zarnell Hughes won the gold medal with a time of 20.07, 10 hundredths after him came the British Nathaniel Mitchell-Blake and the Italian Filippo Toretto won the medal after 20.27 seconds. Afrifa finished seventh and last among the runners, because the Turkish sprinter Ramil Goliev retired.
The 18-year-old Afrifa did not need to participate in the qualifiers, thanks to the personal record he set in Colombia with a time of 19.96 seconds – an all-time record up to the age of 20 and another smashing of the Israeli record. He participated in the first leg of the semi-final where he stopped the clock after 20.34 seconds, this was enough for him to qualify for the final due to being one of the two best losers in the three halves.