Christophe Lemaitre: The constant gardener

No, that is not a photograph of your cousin Merle celebrating that 18-pound largemouth bass he hauled in up at the lake over the 4th of July. It is, in fact, recently crowned European 100m champion Christophe Lemaitre of France, who celebrated his Wednesday evening crowning by inexplicably putting on a very silly hat.

A Reuters story described Lemaitre's victory headwear as a "cowboy hat," but upon closer inspection, it looks more like a cheesy faux plastic gardener's hat you would buy for $5.99 at a housewares store, wear once and then discard due to extreme discomfort.

Unlike said chapeau, however, Lemaitre's run at the European Championships is not a one-shot deal. The 20-year-old will attempt to win a second gold in the 200m, with the semifinals going down on Thursday and the final, should he advance, scheduled for Friday.

Does Lemaitre have a shot? Considering that his season-best 20.16 is the top 200m time by a European sprinter this season, the answer would be a resounding absolutely. And if he pulls it off, Lemaitre will be the first to win the European 100m-200m double since... Francis Obikwelu in 2006.

Okay, so it's not that monumental of an achievement in terms of recent history, but it would be an impressive accomplishment nonetheless, especially for a guy who just put himself on the short list of the most bizarre celebratory track and field hats in history (a list that was already pretty short in the first place).