Arthur Abele was crowned European decathlon champion on Wednesday night.
On home soil in Berlin, the 32-year-old Abele won Germany's first gold medal of the competition.
It was an emotional moment for Abele who has endured numerous injuries down the year. His previous best performance was in winning heptathlon silver at the European indoors three years ago.
"Finally a medal," he told the IAAF website.
I had so many injuries this year, I was not sure whether I could have an athletics season or not. This title is the absolute highlight. Big thanks to the masses here in the stadium who drove me, who powered me. They gave me the strength to achieve this.
Abele was helped by a disaster for favourite Kevin Mayer on Tuesday. The French man, the current world champion, recorded three fouls in the long jump.
After the final event, the 1500m, a tearful Abele was handed a paper crown by the competition mascot as the stadium rose to cheer his victory.
Turn the sound on and have the tissues at the ready!
Arthur Abele claims an emotional gold medal in the decathlon at the European Championships in front of 50,000 cheering spectators in Berlin.#EC2018 #TheMoment pic.twitter.com/ujnwJteD2w— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) August 8, 2018
