Knegt hits short track perfection at European Championships

The Dutchman had already secured top honours in the 500m and 1500m in Germany, but saved one of his best performances until the last day to wrap up the treble.

Streaking clear of the field, Knegt stopped the clock in a time of 1:27.898 in the A final, ahead of Semen Elistratov of Russia and Latvia's Roberto Pukitis, almost neck and neck taking silver and bronze respectively.

That only added another feather into Knegt's cap however, with the six-time world champion already defeating the 20-time world champion Victor An in the 500m final.

There was still time for him to complete the set too as the Netherlands took top honours in the 5000m relay, again getting the better of An in the final corner, this time with the support of Daan Breeuwsma, Itzhak de Laat and Dennis Visser.

Russia took second while third place went to Hungary.

Meanwhile overall European champion Arianna Fontana was not to be denied an individual gold medal after prevailing in the women's 1000m.

The Italian was forced to settle for 500m silver while also crashing out in the 1500m just a day ago, but took her place atop the podium this time around in a nail-biting finish against Suzanne Schulting.

The pair were separated by just two tenths of a second while bronze went to Anna Seidel of Germany, on home ice.

And the women's 3000m relay went the way of Russia as Tatiana Borodulina, Emina Malagich, Sofia Prosvirnova and Ekaterina Efremenkova crossed the line in a time of 4:11.462.

That was less than a second ahead of Hungary who battled hard for silver as bronze went to France, leaving Germany to miss out in fourth.

Sportsbeat 2018