Great Britain's Joseph Scanes won the first gold medal of the Rieti 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships on Thursday (16), taking the men’s 3000m title with a mature run that belied his tender years.
The 17-year-old runner outsprinted Germany’s Maximilian Rath in the finishing straight to win by 0.21 seconds in a personal best of 8:09.19. Rath’s compatriot Jonathan Albustin took bronze after a thrilling final-lap battle in 8:10.01.
French favourite fades
Pre-race favourite Meziane Benhammou of France was the fastest in the field on paper, but he paid for his early front-running and faded to fourth in 8:11.79.
Benhammou went straight to the front in the opening 100 metres, closely followed by French teammate Malo Kerhamon. By the 1km mark, he was still setting the pace, with Albustin and Rath in close attendance, while Scanes and Belgium’s Roel Damman stayed within striking distance.
The race remained largely unchanged until the penultimate lap, when Scanes made his move with a decisive injection of pace that carried him to the front. At the bell, Scanes still held the lead, with Rath and Benhammou both clinging on.
With 200 metres to go, Rath moved into the lead, while Benhammou began to fade in the Italian heat.
But Scanes was far from finished. Crucially, the British athlete had kept something in reserve and surged back into the lead with 80 metres remaining. This time, the move proved decisive. Rath held on for a creditable silver medal, while Albustin overtook the rapidly tiring Benhammou to claim bronze.
"Over the moon"
"I am over the moon," said Scanes afterwards. "I have been targeting this race for the past two years. On my mind, it has always been to come to these championships, medal, if not get the win. And to finally get the win, it is unbelievable.
"There was the French guy, who ran the 800m significantly faster than the rest of us. But everyone on that start line has the right to win. And I thought that I come away with the 600 to go and try and break them. I could not quite do it so some other guy came and passed me with the 200m to go.
"I managed to find a second gear and come and pass him on the home straight. It is just lots of poor races in the past that helped me to win here. Finally, this one has gone nicely.
"I think it is going to be very nice to come back to the hotel with the gold medal. I have got quite a few other middle distance boys sharing the room with me and to come with the gold, it sort of sets the tone for us this week."
Scanes becomes the second British winner of this title after Thomas Keen won gold at the second edition in 2018. Other past winners of the 3000m title have included Serbia's Elzan Bibic and Niels Laros from the Netherlands.
*Geoblocking restrictions apply in territories where Rieti 2026 is being covered by a national broadcaster