Turkey's Yasemin grabs gold in Euro championship

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

Turkish runner Yasemin Can bagged the gold medal in European Cross Country Championships held in Portugal.

Can claimed the gold in the senior women's category in Lisbon 2019, finishing the 8-kilometer race (5 miles) in 26 minutes and 52 seconds.

This year's gold medal was her fourth consecutive title in these championships.

Norway's Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal won the silver medal, while Samrawit Mengsteab from Sweden bagged the bronze.

"I did good. The course was hilly but I was ready for it because where I come from it's like that," said Can, a Kenyan-born Turkish national athlete.

Turkey claimed one gold and two silver medals in Lisbon.

Aras Kaya bagged the silver in the senior men's category, while 18-year-old Ayetullah Aslanhan also got a silver in the U20 Men.

Held by the European Athletic Association every December, the European Cross Country Championships made its debut in 1994 in Alnwick, northern England.

The 2020 championships will be in the Irish capital Dublin.