Czechia's Linda Botková shattered one of the longest standing marks in the record-books in the women's 400m hurdles final at the 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships in Rieti on Sunday (19).
Having set championship records of 56.79 and 56.78 in her heat and semifinal respectively, Botková set up the tantalising possibility of challenging the European U18 best of 56.01 which had stood to Bulgaria's Radostina Shtereva since the 1983 European Athletics U20 Championships.
And the 16-year-old, who still has one full season left in the U18 ranks in 2027 by virtue of a 2010 date-of-birth, tore the record asunder. She stopped the clock at a phenomenal 55.19 which not only broke the European U18 best but also eclipsed Ionela Tirlea's European U20 record of 55.46 from 1995.
The only athlete who has ever run faster in the 400m hurdles at U18 level is world record-holder and two-time Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone who holds the world best at this age-group with 54.15.
And Botková's winning margin against a very capable and talented field was McLaughlin-esque. The Czech won by over two seconds from Switzerland's Mina Hirsbrunner whose time of 57.83 was a national U18 best and would have won every edition of the European Athletics U18 Championships prior to Rieti.
Great Britain's Lucia Bertacchini was third in 58.13 with Ireland's Ella-Kate McRae setting her third national U18 best of the championships with 58.61 in fourth.
"These championships were amazing and I still cannot believe it. In those three days, every race was my PB and also a championships record, so it could not be better. To be the new European champion, it sounds incredible," said Botková who now turns her attention to the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon but in a different discipline.
"My plan for Oregon now is the 100m hurdles. We decided with my coach to run this event because he does not want to overtrain me; it would be too many 400m and I am just going to do the 100. It is important to me to also enjoy the race because then I run even faster," added Botková who becomes the second successive Czech winner of this title after Nina Radová in 2024.
Seguin saves his best for the final
Mauro Seguin only finished third in his heat and second in his semifinal but the Spaniard saved his best for when it counted in the men's 400m hurdles final to win Spain's fourth gold medal of the championships.
And the 16-year-old also led Spain to a commanding 1-2 in the final. Drawn in lane eight after he was soundly beaten in yesterday's semifinal, Seguin looked much more like the athlete who set a world U18 leading time earlier this month in today's final.
Seguin stopped the clock in 50.62 - just 0.11 shy of his world U18 lead from the Spanish U18 Championships - with his compatriot Tristan Luno closing quickly on Seguin for the silver medal in a PB of 50.65.
With the two Spaniards pulling clear over the last two barriers, Austria's Zsombor Klucsik overhauled a fading Latvian Markuss Celms in the race for the bronze medal - 51.27 to 51.47 - with both athletes revising their country's respective national U18 medals.
