ADDS CONGRATULATION MESSAGE FROM TURKISH PRESIDENT ERDOGAN
By Doga Kirmizioglu
BERLIN (AA) – Turkish world champion sprinter Ramil Guliyev on Thursday captured the gold medal in the 200-meter men's race in the European Athletics Championships in Berlin.
Guliyev also broke a record with his 19.76-second showing on day three of the tournament, with British athlete Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake coming in second with 20.04 seconds.
In a telephone call, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated Guliyev on his achievement.
Guliyev, who is originally from Azerbaijan but gained Turkish citizenship in 2011, secured his first gold medal for Turkey last year, in the men's 200 meters at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in London.
Earlier Thursday, Turkish athlete Yasmani Copello Escobar scored a silver medal in the 400-meter hurdles men's final.
Escobar ran the 400-meter hurdles in 47.81 seconds, breaking Turkey's previous record of 47.92 seconds.
Norwegian Karsten Warholm won the gold medal with 47.64 seconds, and Irish Thomas Barr won the bronze with 48.31 seconds.
The European Athletics Championships 2018 are being held on Aug. 6-12.
In 2016 Escobar won the gold medal in the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam.
