From the prospect of championship records in the sprints to audacious doubles, the men's track events will be full of intrigue and suspense at the Bergen 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships from 17-20 July.
By far the standout name on the entry-list is Niels Laros from the Netherlands who arrives fresh from winning the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic in 3:45.94 to break Jakob Ingebrigtsen's European U23 record. But the 20-year-old rising star of middle distance running is exploring different events at this championships having entered both the 800m and 5000m.
Bergen 2025 will be streamed live in its entirety through the European Athletics website courtesy of Eurovision Sport where additional streams are available and will be accompanied by expert English-language commentary.
Daily highlights will also be published on the European Athletics YouTube channel.
Men’s sprints (100m-400m)
The championship record in the men’s 400m at 45.02 looks vulnerable and it could very possibly take a sub-45 second performance to win gold in Bergen. But who from a talented cast of one-lappers will seal the title and perhaps the championship record with it?
The fastest entrant is Jonas Phijffers who has improved to 44.93 this year. He is part of a strong Dutch trio in the event alongside Keenan Blake and Isaya Klein Ikkink, who was part of the gold medal-winning Dutch team in the mixed 4x400m at the 2024 Olympic Games.
Another athlete who looks capable of challenging the sub-45 second barrier is Poland’s Maksymilian Szwed who was one of the breakthrough performers of the indoor season. He won silver at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn in 45.31, missing out on the gold by just 0.06.
But the fastest athlete based on lifetime bests is Italy’s Luca Sito who reached the 400m final at the 2024 European Athletics Championships and won medals in both relay events on home soil in Rome.
Sito has been sidelined by a hernia for most of the summer but he cannot be discounted if he can recapture the form which saw him set a lifetime best of 44.75 in the Stadio Olimpico last year.
Similarly, the fastest entrant in the men’s 100m is a little way down on the entry-list. France’s Jeff Erius has a lifetime best of 9.98 but his season’s best is a comparatively modest 10.25 which puts him fourth on the entry-list of a wide open event which is headed by Germany’s Heiko Gussmann at 10.15.
Also watch out for Spain’s Abel Jordan who has entered both the 100m and 110m hurdles. Jordan has clocked 10.26 in the 100m this year but looks capable of going much faster based on his 60m lifetime best of 6.54 set in winning his national indoor title.
In the 200m, Israel’s Blessing Afrifah - who beat Letsile Tebogo for the world U20 title in 2022 - will be aiming to defend his title. His closest rival is likely to be Sweden’s Erik Erlandsson who clocked 20.43 during the indoor season, suggesting a big outdoor breakthrough is on the cards.
Middle and long distances (800m-10,000m, 3000m steeplechase, 10,000m race walk)
Niels Laros is no stranger to doubling up in age-group championships and true to convention, the 20-year-old has registered for both the 800m and 5000m at the European Athletics U23 Championships.
As audacious and unlikely as this double sounds, the timetable does accommodate it. The 800m final on Sunday is only preceded by heats and the 5000m on Saturday will be run as a straight final.
Laros, who swept a more conventional 1500/5000m double at the 2023 European Athletics U20 Championships, is the fastest on paper in the 5000m with a lifetime best of 13:10.86 but he will face a competitive field replete with major age-group winners.
There will be high hopes on the shoulders of Norway’s Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen who won a surprise gold in the 3000m at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, becoming the first-ever non-African winner of a men’s distance running title in a championships which dates as far back as 1986.
Other medal contenders include the likes of Ireland’s Nick Griggs and Denmark’s Joel Ibler Lillesø, the European U20 3000m and 5000m champions respectively in 2021, and Sweden’s Jonathan Grahn who outsprinted Griggs in a tactical race at the 2023 European Athletics U20 Championships when Halvorsen fell in a melee at the bell.
But with eight athletes on the entry-list with sub-1:45 season’s bests, the 800m will offer a much sterner test for Laros.
The entry-list is headed by Germany’s Alexander Stepanov who has reduced his lifetime best to 1:44.17 this year. Other title aspirants include Italy’s Francesco Pernici (1:44.28 PB), Great Britain’s Justin Davies (1:44.35 PB) and reigning European U20 champion Jakub Dudycha from Czechia who holds his country’s national record at 1:44.48.
With Laros having entered the 800m and 5000m, this should leave the path clear for compatriot and training partner Stefan Nillessen to retain his 1500m title. Nillessen has lowered the Dutch record to 3:29.23 this year, making him the fastest by over two seconds.
And like Laros, Nillessen could be on double duty in Bergen as he has also entered the 3000m steeplechase. He made his debut over the barriers earlier this summer with the 1.95m-tall Dutchman clocking 8:32.78.
The timetable doesn’t fully accommodate for this double - the 3000m steeplechase heats and 1500m final are on the same day - but Nillessen is no stranger to a heavy workload. He contested the U23 6km and mixed relay within the space of 40 minutes at the 2024 SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya.
The 10,000m entry-list is headed by American-based Frenchman Antonin Saint-Peyre (28:10.33 PB) with Norwegian hopes pinned on Abdullahi Dahir Rabi who holds the European U20 10,000m record at 28:11.71.
If lifetime bests are anything to go by, Italy’s Emiliano Brigante is the overwhelming favourite for the 10,000m race walk title which replaces the 20km race walk. The 22-year-old is over one minute faster than his nearest rival based on season’s bests with 39:17.71.
Hurdles and relays
Reigning European U20 champion Enzo Diessl from Austria is the likely favourite for the 110m hurdles title in Bergen.
Diessl has improved to 13.20 this season which also puts the championship record of 13.22 set by France’s Sasha Zhoya two years ago into view.
Ismail Nezir from Türkiye will be defending his in the 400m hurdles but he will probably need to improve his season’s best of 49.07 to defeat a field which includes Germany’s Owe Fischer-Breiholz and Brit Jake Minshull who lead the entry-list with season’s bests of 48.76 and 48.88 respectively.
The fastest entrant on paper is Slovenia’s Matic Ian Gucek who clocked 48.37 en route to the European final in Rome last summer. However, there are some question marks over Gucek’s form as he hasn’t raced since 1 June when he pulled up injured in a race in Dresden.
Italy swept both men’s relay titles two years ago and they will be defending both of their 4x100m and 4x400m crowns in Bergen.
But with a quartet led by Phijffers and Klein Ikkink, the Netherlands are the likely favourites to win yet another major 4x400m title for the Netherlands.
The 4x100m is a difficult race to call but France and Poland - the silver and bronze medallists two years ago - will be in the medal fray along with reigning champions Italy.
The surprise package could be Sweden whose team includes Erik Erlandsson and Isak Hughes, the European U18 and U20 silver medallist in the 100m.