At just 20 years and 77 days old, Alex Lanier has etched his name into the history books as the youngest men’s singles champion at the European Championships. The previous record was held by Denmark’s Peter Gade, who won the title in 1998 at 21 years and 132 days.
In the final, Lanier triumphed over compatriot Toma Junior Popov with a confident 21-17 21-18 victory.
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done,” Lanier said after the match. “This title didn’t come out of nowhere. I knew I had the weapons to win, and I think I handled it well until the end.”
Toma, the first player since 1984 to contest both the men’s finals, later made amends by taking the doubles gold with younger brother Christo. The Popovs battled past fellow Frenchmen Eloi Adam and Leo Rossi in a hard-fought 68-minute final, eventually prevailing 21-12 18-21 21-18.
In women’s singles, Denmark’s Line Kjaersfeldt celebrated her first European title with a straight-games 21-16 21-17 win over Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour.
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