Italian athlete Dariya Derkach won the gold medal in the women's triple jump at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham Thursday night.
    The 33-year-old from Campania, who moved to Italy from her native Ukraine when she was a little girl, preceded Belgium's Saliyya Guisse who took silver and Bulgaria's Aleksandra Nacheva who took bronze.
    Derkach, who hardly competed amid injury woes and surgery last year, said "it's the best night of my career." She said "I've overcome everything so far, but my desire to succeed has been stronger." "It's the best night of my career.

Was 14.60 consistent with the wind? Yes? So I did a personal best, I'm so happy." Derkach smiled and celebrated her magical night with State broadcaster Rai.
    "Today I was incredibly tense, I knew I could do well," she added.
    "I failed on my third attempt, then I tried to replicate that jump on all the others.
    "Last year was complicated, difficult, but I still had the fire burning inside me.
    "I've come this far by overcoming everything: it was tough, but the desire to succeed has been stronger." At 33, after three operations last season on her Achilles tendons, the Italian-Ukrainian had an unforgettable night.
    In 2023, she won silver at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, and now she's on top with a fantastic mark: 14.53m in a slightly windy start (+2.1m), then 14.48m (+1.3m) and a no-show over fifteen meters, until her breakthrough on her fourth jump, improving her personal best by eight centimeters.
    This is the first Italian gold medal in history at the European Outdoor Championships in the women's triple jump after Simona La Mantia's silver medal in 2010, which also saw her win the continental indoor gold in 2011.
    Derkach's gold is Italy's second in Birmingham after Leonardo Fabbri in the shot put, and leaves the Azzurri second in the medal table behind hosts Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
   
   

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