Great Britain has had a strong showing at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, UK. While the crowds have been light, the action has been worthy of a sold-out Alexander Stadium. Certainly, Friday’s flagship race, the women’s final 800 metres, will be big, with Audrey Werro of Switzerland, Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain, and Femke Broeders-Bol of the Netherlands bringing drama to the show.
Great Britain’s Jemma Reekie could make things interesting, as may Werro’s hard fall during the semi-finals.
A total of six individual titles will be decided today.
Amy Hunt’s sprint double
Athletics UK – Amy Hunt soared to a brilliant European sprint double as she clinched 200m gold on Day 4 of Birmingham 2026.
Hunt (Marco Ariale) followed up her stellar gold in the women’s 100m with success over double the distance, as Dina Asher-Smith (Blackheath & Bromley, Michael J Ford) took bronze in the same event.
The race saw three British athletes take to the track, but it was Hunt who came away with gold in a new European lead of 22.19s.
“I’m so proud of myself to have joined that elite group [of winning 100m and 200m gold] and to do it at home makes it even more special,” she said.
“It’s so hard in that type of race with someone like Dina who goes out so incredibly hard and someone like Rhasidat [Adeleke] who closes so incredibly hard.
“I knew I wasn’t safe until I fully crossed that line, and then I was so full of lactic that I don’t think it hit me until five seconds after, and then I could start celebrating.”
Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke followed for silver as Asher-Smith completed the podium in a time of 22.29s in what is her ninth European outdoor medal.
“I’m proud,” she said. “It says a lot to come back. Every other year, on year, on year, and perform. Whatever’s going on in your life, whatever’s up, you’re still being there. I’m happy with that, but I’m competitive, so I always want more for myself.”
Success Eduan (Sale Harriers Manchester, Anita Richardson) finished her maiden European final in sixth place
“I’m literally still 21 and figuring out the 200m. I’m grateful for the opportunity and I know there is so much more to come.”
In a bumper evening session, Elise Thorner (Wells City Harriers, Helen Clitheroe) finished fifth in the women’s 3000m Steeplechase final with a time of 9:18.14.
Having qualified third fastest for the showpiece, Thorner held onto the leading pack for the majority of the race before fading in the final stage, which included a late fall from Germany’s Lea Meyer.
“That was definitely a new sort of race for me,” she said.“It was very messy. It’s kind of what you want to see from a steeplechase race, if I’m honest.
“A lot of the races have the faster people miles ahead, and it’s all very gappy, but I looked up at the screen, and I think there were like eight or nine of us in it the whole way round, which I’m not used to, but it was definitely a great learning curve.”
Ben Pattison (Basingstoke & Mid Hants, Dave Ragan) closed out his championships with a sixth-place finish in a time of 1:46.24.
He said: “I’ve got myself out of worse positions this year, but I unfortunately didn’t have the legs in that last 100m which is a shame, but I should have been closer to the front to give myself a chance at least.”
Max Burgin (Halifax Harriers, Ian Burgin) sadly withdrew from the race after picking up an injury in the warm-up.
Earlier in the session, Zharnel Hughes secured his spot in the men’s 200m final with a time of 20.05s.
It places Hughes as the second fastest going into the final, behind German’s Owen Ansah, who was just one-hundredth ahead.
“I’m happy, I’m looking forward to being in the finals,” he said. “It’s a great crowd. I know the crowd is going to be phenomenal tomorrow. I’m going to feed off that.”
Ebuka Nwokeji finished the semi-finals with a time of 20.83s and will not progress but was positive about his senior debut
“It was incredible; the atmosphere was good. I enjoyed being out there; it was my first experience at a major champs, and this is definitely one to take forward and learn from.”
END
Friday 15th August:
| Morning Session | ||||
| TIME BST | EVENT | HEAT | ATHLETE | QUALIFICATION |
| 10:35 | W Heptathlon – 100mH | H 1 of 3 | Katarina Johnson-Thompson | |
| 10:49 | W Heptathlon – 100mH | H 3 of 3 | Jade O’Dowda | |
| 10:40 | W Javelin | Q A | Freya Jones | 61.00m or top 12 |
| 10:50 | M Pole Vault | Q B | Owen Heard | 5.80m or top 12 |
| 11:16 | M 4x400m Relay | H 2 of 2 | Matthew Hudson-SmithBen JefferiesCharlie Dobson Toby Harries Sam Lunt Seamus Derbyshire Brodie Young Malique Smith Band | Top 3 + 2 q |
| 11:25 | W Heptathlon – High Jump | Group A | Katarina Johnson-Thompson Jade O’Dowda | |
| 11:46 | W 4x400m Relay | H 2 of 2 | Emily Newnham Charlotte Henrich Lina Nielsen Nicole Yeargin Laviai Nielsen | Top 3 + 2 q |
| 12:05 | M 1500m | H 1 of 2 | Jake Heyward Arlo Ludewick | Top 6 |
| 12:15 | M 1500m | H 2 of 2 | Jake Wightman | Top 6 |
| Afternoon Session | ||||
| 19:35 | W Heptathlon – Shot Put | Group B | Katarina Johnson-Thompson Jade O’Dowda | |
| 19:45 | W 10,000m | Final | Izzy Fry Megan KeithPoppy Tank | |
| 20:00 | M High Jump | Final | Joel Clarke-KhanKimani Jack | |
| 20:55 | W Heptathlon – 200m | H 1 of 3 | Jade O’Dowda | |
| 20:55 | W Heptathlon – 200m | H 3 of 3 | Katarina Johnson-Thompson | |
| 21:25 | M 200m | Final | Zharnel Hughes | |
| 21:46 | W 800m | Final | Keely Hodgkinson Jemma Reekie | |
How to Watch – Live Stream and TV Coverage
The 2026 European Athletics Championships will be streamed live worldwide for free on the European athletics website, with additional coverage available through various European television networks.
TV Broadcasters by Country:
- AUSTRIA: ORF
- BELGIUM: RTBF and VRT
- United States, Canada, Australia: All Athletics TV
- IRELAND: RTE 2
- UNITED KINGDOM: BBC
- GERMANY: Sportschau, ARD, ZDF
- SPAIN: RTVE Tele Deportes
- POLAND: TVP Sports
- CZECH REPUBLIC: CT Sports
- DENMARK: DR
- ESTONIA: ERR
- FINLAND: YLE, YLE2
- FRANCE: France TV
- GREECE: ERT
- HUNGARY: M4 Sport
- ISRAEL: The Sport Channel
- ITALY: RAI
- LITHUANIA: LRT
- NETHERLANDS: NOS
- NORWAY: NRK
- PORTUGAL : RTP
- SERBIA: RTS
- SWEDEN: SVT
- SWITZERLAND: SRG
- TURKIYE: TRT Spor Yildiz
- UKRAINE: PBC
SCHEDULE
Time local = GMT +1
Day 5 – Friday, August 14
Session 9 – Morning
- 10:35 – Women’s Heptathlon 100m Hurdles – Heats
- 10:40 – Women’s Javelin Throw – Qualification A
- 10:50 – Men’s Pole Vault – Qualification A+B
- 11:05 – Men’s 4x400m Relay – Round 1
- 11:25 – Women’s Heptathlon High Jump – A+B
- 11:35 – Women’s 4x400m Relay – Round 1
- 12:00 – Women’s Javelin Throw – Qualification B
- 12:05 – Men’s 1500m – Round 1
Session 10 – Evening
- 19:35 – Women’s Heptathlon Shot Put – A+B
- 19:45 – Women’s 10,000m – Final
- 20:00 – Men’s High Jump – Final
- 20:30 – Women’s Discus Throw – Final
- 20:40 – Men’s 400m Hurdles – Final
- 20:55 – Women’s Heptathlon 200m – Heats
- 21:25 – Men’s 200m – Final
- 21:46 – Women’s 800m – Final
Day 6 – Saturday, August 15
Session 11 – Morning
- 07:30 – Men’s Half Marathon Race Walk – Final
- 07:30 – Women’s Half Marathon Race Walk – Final
- 07:30 – Men’s Marathon Race Walk – Final
- 07:30 – Women’s Marathon Race Walk – Final
- 10:25 – Women’s Heptathlon Long Jump – A+B
- 11:50 – Women’s Long Jump – Qualification A+B
- 11:55 – Women’s Heptathlon Javelin Throw – A+B
- 12:15 – Women’s 1500m – Round 1
- 12:40 – Women’s 4x100m Relay – Round 1
- 13:00 – Men’s 4x100m Relay – Round 1
Session 12 – Evening
- 19:45 – Women’s Heptathlon 800m – Final
- 20:01 – Men’s Javelin Throw – Final
- 20:07 – Women’s High Jump – Final
- 20:10 – Women’s 400m – Final
- 20:17 – Men’s Triple Jump – Final
- 20:25 – Men’s 10,000m – Final
- 21:07 – Men’s 1500m – Final
- 21:33 – Men’s 4x100m Relay – Final
- 21:48 – Women’s 4x100m Relay – Final
Day 7 – Sunday, August 16
Morning
- 07:30 – Women’s Marathon – Final
- 08:10 – Men’s Marathon – Final
Session 13 – Evening
- 19:30 – Men’s Pole Vault – Final
- 19:55 – Women’s Javelin Throw – Final
- 20:05 – Women’s Long Jump – Final
- 20:35 – Mixed 4x100m Relay – Final
- 20:50 – Men’s 3000m Steeplechase – Final
- 21:13 – Women’s 1500m – Final
- 21:33 – Women’s 4x400m Relay – Final
- 21:48 – Men’s 4x400m Relay – Final
