The men’s javelin honours went to the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, who won with an effort of 87.95 metres that was one of four Championship records on the day.

Vadlejch’s third round effort took him into the lead ahead of Greece’s Ioannis Kiriazis, who threw 85.27m in the opening round, improving to 86.33m with his fourth and final effort.

After an opening mark of 80.57m, Rohler, who went second on the all-time list with his 93.90m at the IAAF Diamond League in Doha last month, improved to 84.01m, then 84.22m, but it was not to be his day.

Two other records were set in front of an appreciative if not capacity crowd in the concluding events of the women’s and men’s 4x100m, the first being won by Germany's females in 42.47sec, the latter going to Great Britain in 38.03.

So after 21 of the weekend’s 40 scheduled events, Germany, who last won this event two editions ago on the home soil of Braunschweig, have 166 points, with Poland second on 149.50 - adjusted down from an original total given of 150.50 - and early leaders Britain, whose women’s 4x100m team ailed to score after dropping the baton, being lifted to 144.50 by their final flourish.

The hosts, hampered by the loss of top sprinters Jimmy Vicaut and Christophe Lemaitre, stand fourth with 134.

In the penultimate individual event of the day, Rohler’s team-mate Kristin Gierisch had earned 10 points for second place in the triple jump behind Greece’s Paraskevi Papahristou, who won with a season’s best of 14.24m. 

Germany’s Gesa-Felicitas Krause was a class apart in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase, winning by a straight in 9:27.02.

The men’s 400m hurdles, traditionally the first track final of these Championships and their precursor, the European Cup, produced an expected victory for Britain’s Jack Green, who came home in 49.47 ahead of Spain’s Sergio Fernandez, who recorded 49.72, and Poland’s Patryk Dobek, who ran 49.79.

His 11 points were soon supplemented by a further nine, putting Britain into an early lead with 20, after Corinne Humphreys took third place in 11.50 in a 100m where Carolle Zahl gave the home team their first win, clocking 11.19 ahead of German favourite Gina Luckenkemper, who recorded 11.35.

Green predicted another maximum points haul from his team-mate in the women’s 400m hurdles, Eilidh Doyle, and his confidence was not misplaced s the 2014 European champion and Rio 2016 finalist controlled her race in similar fashion from lane six, winning in a season’s best of 54.60 from Yadisleidy Pedroso of Italy and Olena Kolesnychenko of Ukraine.

A top quality men’s shot put ended with neither Germany’s double world champion David Storl, nor Poland’s 20-year-old European Indoor champion Konrad Bukowiecki claiming victory as Tomas Stanek of the Czech Republic produced his Championship record-equalling effort of 21.36m with the second of his four throws.

Storl took second place with a season’s best of 21.23m, with the Pole having to settle for third place with 20.83m.

Greece’s Olympic pole vault champion Ekaterini Stefanidi waited until 4.60m to come into a competition that by that stage contained only one remaining competitor, Iryna Zuk of Belarus. 

While it took her two efforts to clear, with the Belarus athlete going over first time, a first time clearance of 4.70m by Stefanidi settled the points, a precursor to three unsuccessful attempts to clear 4.82m.

The men’s 1,500m, a gentle trot until the bell sounded as it then turned into a 400m tear-up, and as home runner, Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad, moved up to challenge for what he hoped would be the first part of an intended double with the 3,000m steeplechase, at which he has won two Olympic silvers, the crowd noise rose in anticipation.

But the race had played perfectly into the hands of Poland’s 800m specialist Marcin Lewandowski, European champion in 2010 and silver medallist last year, who held onto his narrow lead before opening up down the final straight to win in 3:53.40.

The 30-year-old Pole was chased home by Britain’s Jake Wightman, winner of the IAAF Diamond League 1,500m in Oslo nine days earlier. 

Wightman clocked 3:53.72, with Germany’s Timo Benitz claiming third place in 3:54.28 ahead of the straining Frenchman, who recorded 3:54.54.

Mekhissi-Benabbad said afterwards that he had run injured, but was content to have earned extra points for the team

France’s Olympic discus silver medallist soon raised France’s slightly flagging hopes as she took over the lead with a third round effort of 62.62m, edging ahead of Nadine Muller of Germany’s early lead of 62.57. 

It proved enough for victory.

But the loudest home cheer greeted the 2.26m clearance, on his third and final attempt, of French high jumper Mickael Hanany, a performance that won him the competition from Marco Fassinotti of Italy and Germany’s Eike Onnen, both of whom got no further than 2.22. 

It was a season’s best for the 2012 European bronze medallist, and a memory to cherish.