The 25-year-old Ethiopian born and Trentino based athlete, who won a bronze in the 5,000m in Munich and won a 10,000m bronze four years ago, reeled in Eritrean-born Norwegian Zerei Kbrom Mezngi in thrilling fashion in the last lap, which his rival had begun with a big lead.
Crippa's gold was followed by bronze for the women's 4x100m relay, boosting the overall Azzurri medal haul to 11. Zaynab Dosso, Dalia Kaddari, Anna Bongiorni and Alessia Pavese, who put in a fine last effort, came in behind Germany and Poland.
Crippa told Raisport: "I'm happy, I wanted to end the Euros well, and finally I can say I have won a gold of absolute value.”
"When you're on form, you can succeed in achieving these results too. I'm over the moon. When I saw the leader (Mezngi) moving, I set off too. The bronze in the 5,000m was an antipasto. This is my real event, and I knew I could play my best cards right".
