Skip to main content

Lavillenie takes 3rd pole vault gold at Euros

By WTOP Staff

RAF CASERT
AP Sports Writer

ZURICH (AP) — Olympic champion and world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie needed only two jumps on Saturday to his third straight pole vault gold medal at the European Championships, highlighting a day of threepeats.

It pushed his winning streak up to 20 competitions and established him as one of the stars of the championships.

The Frenchman cleared 5.80 on his first attempt for gold, celebrating with a backward flip, but scaled 5.90 for good measure afterward. In comparison, silver medalist Pavel Wojciechowski of Poland cleared 5.70.

Now he’s setting his sights on the only title he’s still missing at the world championships in Beijing next year.

“I want to have a big collection of gold medals,” the 28-year-old said.

Victory here was tougher than it looked. Lavillenie injured his heel in February in the same indoor competition where he set his world record of 6.16, requiring stiches and a long recovery process.

“I could barely walk after my world record. Winning the gold medal is never anything normal,” he said.

In the women’s triple jump, Ukraine’s Olha Saladukha also earned her third European gold with a jump of 14.73 meters, despite worries about her relatives’ safety back home.

Russia annexed Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea this spring and Saladukha said her family and daughter Diana are still there.

“I have not seen them for a month,” Saladukha said. “The gold medal is important but what I want even more now is world peace.”

She beat two Russians to win the gold, with silver medalist Yekaterina Konova coming up just 4 centimeters short.

In the discus cage, Olympic and world champion Sandra Perkovic added her third straight European crown, dominating the competition throughout and finishing with a world leading 71.08 meters, the longest throw in 22 years. She held a gap of almost six meters over France’s Melina Robert-Michon.

Dafne Schippers kept her bid for a different triple alive. She burst on the gold medal scene with victories over the 100 and 200 here and on Saturday she helped the Dutch team qualify for Sunday’s 4×100 final. In her seventh race in five days, the heptathlete-turned-sprinter for the occasion almost got her timing wrong to take the baton on the first handover, having to sharply slow down to stay in the zone.

Once she got kicking though, she quickly brought the Dutch back among the leaders and the team qualified second from its heat behind France. Together with Britain, the three are the favorites for the medals.

Another Dutchwoman narrowly missed out on a double. Less than 24 hours after winning gold in the 1,500, Sifan Hassan was challenging again in the 5,000 but she could not match Sweden’s Meraf Bahta over the final meters.

In the women’s 800, Maryna Arzamasova of Belarus swept past Britain’s Lynsey Sharp coming into the finishing straight and held on for gold.

In the hammer throw, Hungarian Olympic champion Krisztian Pars successfully defended his title by setting a world leading mark of 82.69 to take gold.

Early in the morning, Christelle Daunay of France broke away from Italian Valeria Straneo in the final stages of the marathon to win the title.

Jessica Augusto of Portugal, who had been in lone pursuit of the pair for much of the race, took bronze.

___

Raf Casert can be followed on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/rcasert

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
Read Next Story

Related News

Frustration grows in Venezuela as earthquake death toll reaches 1,430

Israel and Lebanon sign framework agreement with US in ‘first step’ toward peace, Rubio says

Trump-endorsed populist poised to become Colombia’s next president as rival challenges vote