By NESHA STARCEVIC

Associated Press Writer

MUNICH, Germany (AP) When he comes to the European championships, Steve Backley is unbeatable.

Backley captured his fourth straight European javelin title late Friday with a massive fifth throw in a field that included all the best throwers in the world.

"The Europeans have always meant something special to me, and, of course, winning it for a fourth successive time is something I will cherish," said the 32-year-old Briton.

Backley, a former world record holder, has been among the top javelin throwers in the world for more than a decade.

But apart from European and Commonwealth titles, he has just missed out on other major crowns.

Backley has two silver medals and a bronze medal from the Olympics, in addition to a world championship silver medal from 1997. He failed to reach the finals at the Edmonton world championship last year.

Usually, the man responsible for relegating Backley to second-place finishes has been Jan Zelezny of the Czech Republic, the current world record holder.

But the three-time Olympic champion suffered a groin injury and was not a factor in the competition at Munich's Olympic stadium.

Russia's Sergei Makarov opened with an effort of 288 feet, 10 inches, and appeared set to win as the result held until the fifth series.

Backley, who often has relied on big first or second-round efforts, then came up with a heave of 290-6, the best throw in the world this year. It gave him the lead for good.

"I think Makarov thought he had the gold medal in the bag and when I threw my best, the competition had been going for 1 1/2 hours and we were all pretty tired."

Often, Backley has lost titles in the late stages of competition and he admitted being nervous waiting for Makarov to throw his last effort.

"The field here must have been the strongest in the world this year," he said. "The top 10 throwers were taking part and I knew it was going to be a hard contest - the toughest of my four European Championships.

"The victory here was much sweeter than on the last occasions. The competition over the years has got tougher and tougher."

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