Day two at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on Tuesday (11) came to an exciting climax with Romell Glave closing the session by storming to gold on home soil in the men’s 100m final.
Glave provided the second half of a British double in the 100m after Amy Hunt’s victory in the women’s 100m last night. He also led a British one-two ahead of Jeremiah Azu as reigning two-time European champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs pulled up injured.
Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou extended his reign in the long jump by winning his fourth successive title at the age of 28. Experience told as Tentoglou defied an unhelpful swirling wind on the back straight of the Alexander Stadium to land a winning mark of 8.44m in the fourth round.
Hungary’s Bence Halász produced one of the longest throws in recent history to win the men’s hammer title. For so many years the nearly man in the discipline since winning bronze at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin, Halász upgraded to gold with a massive fifth round throw of 84.25m.
Halász climbed to tenth on the world all-time list and his winning throw was the second longest in the history of the European Athletics Championships behind Yuriy Sedykh who threw 86.74m in Stuttgart 1986, a mark which still stands as a world record 40 years later.
Nadine Visser also won her first major outdoor title in the 100m hurdles by an infinitesimal winning margin of 0.001 over Pia Skrzyszowska. The long-time continental rivals both stopped the clock at 12.67 with the verdict going to the Dutchwoman in a photo finish.
Nadia Battocletti began her assault for her second 5000/10,000m double with an assured and accomplished victory in a super-tactical 5000m. Battocletti unleashed a devastating last lap of 59.41 to win in 15:37.84, the slowest winning time in championship history, to lead a brace of medals for L’Azzurri with Micol Majori taking a surprise bronze medal in 15:40.65.
Battocletti will return to the track on Friday evening to defend her title in the 10,000m.
The Big Three in the women’s 800m of Keely Hodgkinson, Femke Broeders-Bol and Audrey Werro all secured comfortable passages through their respective heats in the morning session.
Hodgkinson’s winning time of 1:57.28 to open proceedings was the fastest time recorded in a 800m heat in the history of the European Athletics Championships.
Day two champions
Women’s 5000m - Nadia Battocletti (ITA)
Women’s 100m hurdles - Nadine Visser (NED)
Men’s 100m - Romell Glave (GBR)
Men’s long jump - Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE)
Men’s hammer - Bence Halász (HUN)
Stat of the day
Eloisa Coiro broke a national record which dated all the way back to 1980. She clocked 1:57.56 in the first heat of the 800m to finish second behind Keely Hodgkinson, eclipsing Gabriella Dorio’s 46-year-old Italian record of 1:57.66.
Surprise of the day
Germany’s Steven Richter leads the 2026 European list with 74.00m from Ramona but he missed out on a place in the discus final by one position, finishing 13th overall across the two pools with 62.02m.
Quote of the day
Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE) "This is one of my most precious victories because it has been a complex season for me. This is the start of winning golds again."
Photo of the day
Poland's Pia Skrzyszowska and Nadine Visser from the Netherlands pensively await the outcome of the photo finish after the women's 100m hurdles final.
World leads set (1)
Men’s hammer - 84.25m Bence Halász (HUN)
National records set (4)
Women’s 800m - 1:57.56 Eloisa Coiro (ITA)
Women’s 800m - 1:59.29 Georgia-Maria Despollari (GRE)
Men’s 400m hurdles - 48.94 Matej Baluch (SVK)
Men’s hammer - 84.25m Bence Halász (HUN)
What to watch tomorrow?
Matthew Hudson-Smith is targeting a third European 400m title on his home track in Birmingham in an arena where the top bend has been temporarily renamed in his honour. Hudson-Smith will face a deep and talented field including European indoor champion Attila Molnar, European U23 champion Jonas Phijffers and France's Muhammad Abdallah Kounta who clocked a 44.38 PB to lead the three semifinals.
Anita Włodarczyk has won four European titles in the hammer and the world record-holder has qualified for yet another European hammer final at the age of 41. The Pole will be in medal contention against a field including the Finnish duo of Krista Tervo and Silja Kosonen and reigning European champion Sara Fantini from Italy.
Emma Zapletalová will be looking to make history by becoming the first Slovakian woman to win a gold medal at the European Athletics Championships and a new champion will be crowned in the men’s 110m hurdles with Lorenzo Simonelli absent due to injury.
The decathlon also commences tomorrow morning featuring world champion Leo Neugebauer who makes his debut at the European Athletics Championships. He forms part of a strong German triumvirate in the event with 2022 European champion Niklas Kaul and 21-year-old European U18 and U20 champion Amadeus Gräber.