Dutch decathlete Eelco Sintnicolaas has won a silver medal for the Netherlands at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona.

Not only did Sintnicolaas give the Netherlands its first medal of the championships but he also goes down in the sporting history as the first Dutch athlete ever to win a decathlon medal at a European, World or Olympic games.

Amassing 8436 points for the ten events, he fell just short of Robert de Wit's Dutch national record of 8447.
Decathlon gold went to Romain Barras of France and bronze to Andrei Krauchanka of Belarus. Dutchman Ingmar Vos finished just outside the top ten.

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