Germany's Amanal Petros won the European marathon title for the first time on Sunday, taking gold in Birmingham in a championship record of 2 hours 9 minutes and 11 seconds.
But the world silver medallist found the going tough in England's second city, despite a dominant performance after a solo run of almost 20 kilometres. He finished ahead of Italy's Pietro Riva (2:09:18) and Gashau Ayale (2:09:21) of Israel.
"This course was terrible. It hurts everywhere. I think I have to go to the physio straight away. My joints really hurt," Petros told German broadcaster ARD.
The hilly, twisty course was a "huge challenge," added the winner, who prepared at an altitude of 2,500 metres in Kenya.
Petros won Germany's fifth gold medal at these European Athletics Championships, which end later on Sunday.
In the women's race, Finland's Alisa Vainio celebrated a start-to-finish victory in 2:22:26.
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