The since 1978 existing EM -record survived these European Championships without prejudice. There was not a single race that ran at speed, it always came down to the sprint. The fastest was the first run, in which the winner was almost two seconds slower than Olaf Beyer in his championship record.
Preliminary round
June 27, 2012
The preliminary round was carried out in five runs. The first four athletes per run - highlighted in light blue - as well as the four fastest runners - highlighted in light green - qualified for the semifinals.
Charles Grethen could not keep up in the first run and was eliminated
In each of the three semi-finals, the first two athletes - highlighted in light blue - and the two fastest runners - highlighted in light green - qualified for the final.
Run 1
Sebastian Keiner missed the final by three hundredths of a second
His fifth place in the first semifinals was not enough for Hamid Oualich for the final
Gareth Warburton - in the run-up with the fastest time of the entire competition, still right at the front and now eliminated in eighth in the first semifinals