A new European champion will be crowned in the heptathlon for the first time since 2016 after three-time reigning champion Nafissatou Thiam from Belgium announced her withdrawal following a recent hamstring injury.
And there are also fitness concerns regarding two-time world champion and home favourite Katarina Johnson-Thompson who has been limited to just one shot put competition so far in 2026.
European record - Carolina Klüft (SWE) 7032
European lead - Annik Kälin (SUI) 6819
Championship record - Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) 6848
Roma 2024 medallists
Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) 6848
Auriana Lazraq-Khlass (FRA) 6635
Noor Vidts (BEL) 6596
Five to watch
- Annik Kälin (SUI)
- Emma Oosterwegel (NED)
- Sofie Dokter (NED)
- Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GBR)
- Kate O’Connor (IRL)
By contrast, there are no reported concerns about the form and fitness of Switzerland’s Annik Kälin who has ownership of the two highest heptathlon scores in 2026.
Kälin scored 6726 points for victory at the prestigious Götzis Hypo-Meeting, becoming the first Swiss winner in Götzis (and beating Simon Ehammer to that accolade by a matter of an hour) before improving her world lead to 6819 points in Ratingen the following month.
The standout individual result from her victory in Götzis was a marginally wind-aided 6.96m long jump and the Swiss also impressed with a 12.60 clocking in the 100m hurdles in Ratingen, just 0.06 shy of Jessica Ennis-Hill’s world heptathlon best from the 2012 Olympic Games. Those two performances combined would be worth a staggering 2400 points.
Two of Kälin’s main rivals will be the Dutch pairing of Emma Oosterwegel and Sofie Dokter who will be looking to take the heptathlon title back to the Netherlands for the first time Anouk Vetter won gold on home soil in Amsterdam in 2026.
Dokter defeated Anna Hall for victory in the pentathlon at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun in March but she was pushed into third in Götzis by Kalin and her teammate Oosterwegel who improved her lifetime best to 6705 points.
After a breakthrough season in 2025 which saw her win medals in four major championships, world silver medallist Kate O’Connor from Ireland has competed sparingly this year but she did win gold for Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games just before these championships with 6569 points.
Her winning score was the second highest of her career so far and was particularly impressive as the majority of the first day was held in torrential rain and cold conditions in Glasgow. This limited O’Connor to a modest 12.85m in the shot put, almost two metres adrift of her PB.
With Thiam sidelined, the Belgian challenge will be led by 2024 European bronze medalist Noor Vidts who is on the return from a hamstring injury.
In total, 13 Europeans have broken the 6300 points-barrier in 2026. Other possible medal contenders include the German trio of Sophie Weissenberg, Vanessa Grimm and Sandrina Sprengel, Italian record-holder Sveva Gerevini and Poland’s Adrianna Sułek-Schubert, the silver medallist behind Thiam in 2022.
Sułek-Schubert recently scored a season’s best of 6433 points, her best total since returning from maternity leave in 2024.