A finish of just two tenths of a second over 1500 metres and two world junior records topped the bill on the third evening of European Games swimming finals here as Russia continued to dominate with four more titles.

Adrian Corcoran, head of venue technology at the Baku 2015 European Games, saw a nice cartoon the other day. It was a variation on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which expresses human requirements in the form of a triangle, with the most imperative at the base - breathing, food, water, shelter - rising to more esoteric desiderata such as love/belonging, esteem and self-actualisation.

Nineteen years after earning a fencing silver for Cuba at the Atlanta Olympics, 43-year-old Ivan Trevejo returned to the international medal podium here today - this time on the middle step after defeating Russia’s Sergey Khodos 15-8 in the final of the men’s individual epee at the European Games.

Germany’s Raphael Holzdeppe wowed the crowds with a superb personal best clearance of 5.92 metres to edge out Brazilian rival Thiago Braz Da Silva to claim pole vault spoils here on the first of two evenings of street athletics action here.

Baku 2015 Opening and Closing Ceremonies production team FiveCurrents has announced one of their team members was killed in a fatal car crash in the Azerbaijani capital yesterday.

I still vividly remember the moment I was offered a job at insidethegames when managing director Sarah Bowron called me from a place then unbeknown to me; Baku. 

Russia may be the big battalion in the European Games swimming, but Britain ruled the pool on the first day of competition as they won three of the seven golds on offer thanks to Abbie Wood in the opening women’s 4x100 metres individual medley, Holly Hibbott in the 800m freestyle and the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team.

Ana Maria Branza secured Romania’s first European Games gold medal as she produced a solid display to win the women’s individual epee final with a 15-11 victory over Yana Zvereva of Russia as the fencing competition got underway in style here today.

Svein Arne Hansen, President of European Athletics, is “optimistic” that the sport will take place at the next European Games in 2019, and hinted that there could be a new format for competition.

Russia showed exactly why they are the dominant force in sambo after claiming five of the eight European Games gold medals on offer here.

A dropped baton in the men’s 4x400 metres relay cost Austria the European Games athletics gold here tonight by the narrowest of margins as a jubilant, if shocked, Slovakia pushed them into second place.