European Athletics Championships: Expert calls Vainio's marathon run 'absolutely incredible'

Finnish runner Alisa Vainio delivered a stunning performance to win the women's marathon at the European Athletics Championships on Sunday morning. The 28-year-old athlete secured victory with a dominant display, crossing the finish line in 2:22:26.

Vainio entered the 42-kilometer race as the top-ranked athlete and one of the favorites, having previously set a Finnish record of 2:20:39 in Seville in February. Athletics expert Lauri Hollo, who had anticipated a strong showing from Vainio, was left astounded by the margin of her victory.

"This was one of the greatest performances in the history of championship marathons. Perhaps the most stunning of all," Hollo exclaimed. Vainio finished an incredible 4 minutes and 55 seconds ahead of Lili Anna Vindics-Toth of Hungary, who took silver. This gap is the largest seen in a European Championship marathon since 1986.

Hollo described Vainio's run as "absolutely incredible." He noted that Vainio's coach, Jarmo Viskari, had considered the course one of the toughest ever for a championship marathon. Hollo admitted he was initially concerned by Vainio's aggressive pace in the early kilometers but was impressed by her ability to maintain it.

"It says a lot about Vainio's character that despite the extremely difficult course, she dared to start at full throttle. Vainio's head is certainly not cold. It was amazing to watch," Hollo said. Vainio's gold medal makes her the first Finnish woman to win a marathon medal at any senior major championship. Despite this remarkable achievement, Hollo remains cautious about predicting her performance at World Championship or Olympic levels, though he believes she has the potential for times under 2:20 in the future.