One of the hottest favourites for gold at the Rieti 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships, Marina Hadjicosta of Cyprus underscored her status with a dominant performance in the women’s discus qualifying on Thursday (16).
Already the European U18 leader by nearly five metres, the Cypriot again showed her class by launching her opening throw to 54.54m, automatically booking her place in Saturday’s final.
The only other athletes to surpass 50 metres were 15-year-old German Emma Pfouga, who reached 51.46m with her first attempt, and Emma le Blansch from the Netherlands who qualified with 50.21m having started her qualifying campaign with two no-throws.
"I am one of the youngest in this competition because I will be 16 in September. I simply try to give my best. My aim for the final is to become European champion, I guess I will need to throw 54 meters," said Pfouga.
Sweden’s George Cederqvist surprisingly topped the men’s discus qualifying with a personal best of 60.37m. The final also takes place on Saturday.
In the men’s pole vault qualifying, 4.70m was enough to secure a place in Saturday’s final, with European U18 leader Lukáš Kratochvíl of Czechia among those to progress despite a single blemish on his card at 4.50m.
Competition hotting up in the 400m
In the men’s 400m heats, fancied contenders Sebastian Karp of Slovakia and Jakub Marek of Czechia were among the heat winners.
Karp cruised to victory in heat two in 48.07, while Marek, who was part of Czechia's gold medal-winning team in the 4x400m at the 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere last August, won heat five in 47.67. The semifinals take place on Friday (17) evening.
"I really do not like the competitions late in the afternoon, but I managed it better than I expected. I am glad that there were some details to improve because that means I still can improve and go faster…I have a medal from the relay in Tampere last year, so I am fighting for another one," he said.
European U18 leader Eleni Iakovaki of Greece, whose father Periklis won the 2006 European title in the men's 400m hurdles, booked her place in Friday’s women’s 400m semifinals by winning heat four in 55.01.
"My dad helps me and also my mother, who also was an athlete when she was in my age. They advice me, they are here to cheer me up and I am excited to compete. I also get good advice from my coach. It was not obligatory for me to become an athlete but I was the fastest kid in the school so it happened," said Iakovaki.
Poland’s Zofia Pasierbek, who is attempting an ambitious 200m/400m double, was another impressive qualifier, taking heat two in 54.36 as she looks to follow in the footsteps of her compatriot Anastazja Kus who won this title in Banska Bystrica two years ago.
However, the fastest qualifier from a competitive set of heats was the 16-year-old Hungarian Sophia Akuchi Emmanuel who won the third heat in 54.19.
*Geoblocking restrictions apply in territories where Rieti 2026 is being covered by a national broadcaster