BIRMINGHAM (DA) — Curaçao-born sprinter Terrence Agard helped the Netherlands capture the bronze medal in the mixed 4×400-meter relay at the European Athletics Championships on Monday.
The Dutch quartet of Jonas Phijffers, Lieke Klaver, Agard and Myrte van der Schoot finished in 3 minutes, 10.77 seconds at Alexander Stadium.
Norway won gold in a championship-record 3:09.62, while host Great Britain and Northern Ireland took silver in 3:10.47.
Phijffers kept the Netherlands in contention on the opening leg before Klaver surged into the lead with a 49.6-second split. Agard received the baton in front for the third leg, with Britain’s Toby Harries and Norway’s Andreas Ofstad Kulseng chasing him.
Harries closed the gap shortly before the final exchange, leaving Van der Schoot to begin the anchor leg alongside Britain’s Yemi Mary John. Norway’s Henriette Jaeger quickly joined the leaders and made the decisive move off the final bend, passing both rivals before securing gold with a 49.42-second anchor split.
Van der Schoot held on for third to complete the medal-winning performance for the Netherlands and place Agard on the European podium.
“I felt the British girl getting super close to me, but I tried to keep our lead for as long as possible,” Van der Schoot said. “Sadly, in the last 50m I felt the lactic so badly and I couldn’t quite keep up anymore.”