Ndikumwenayo won bronze in the 10,000m

27-year-old Ndikumwenayo had a very serious race, starting at a slow pace, even slower than recorded in the B final an hour earlier, but everything changed from midway through the race: when the main favorites began to pick up the pace to cut down the seconds.

The Burundi-born Spaniard followed the tactics of the main favorites and, always slipping away but never losing pace, reached the final lap with his options intact. He finished the last lap fourth, but realized that the Swede Andreas Almgren had run out of energy, which he took advantage of to accelerate, overtake him and stop the clock at 28:00.96 to win bronze.

This success for Ndikumwenayo came in his second race at the European Championships in Rome.. In the first, in the 5000m final, a distance for which he holds the Spanish record, he came fifth. The Spaniard, coached by Pepe Ortuño, was beaten only by Switzerland’s Dominic Loquinomo Lobala, who took gold in 28:00.32, and France’s Yann Schroub, who finished second in 28:00.48. The rest of the Spaniards in the final were far from medals. Abdessamad Ukelfen was eighth (28:10.97) and Ilias Fifa was eleventh (28:14.10), with Jesus Ramos (28:24.93) and Eduardo Menacho (28:25.62) being first and second in final B, had no options for the podium.

Thierry Ndikumwenayo’s medal was the eighth for Spain. in these Europeans from Rome after gold medals Ana Peleteiro And Jordan Diaz (triple jump), silver for Paul McGrath (20km walk), Quique Llopis (110 hurdles) and Mohamed Attawi (800), and bronze for Marta Garcia (5000) and the women’s half marathon team.