Two reigning Olympic and five reigning European champions will be in action in the field events at the European Athletics Team Championships 1st Division in Madrid from 27-29 June.
Reigning champions Italy will have high hopes for Larissa Iapichino and Sara Fantini in the long jump and hammer respectively while the Netherlands’ bid for a top three finish will be bolstered by anticipated wins for Jessica Schilder and Jorinde Van Klinken in the shot put and discus.
The event will be streamed live on the European Athletics website courtesy of Eurovision Sport.
Horizontal jumps (long jump, triple jump)
With all three medallists from the 2024 European Athletics Championships and six of the top eight finalists all due to compete, the women’s long jump is quite possibly the strongest event of the entire three day championships.
The line-up is headed by reigning European outdoor champion Malaika Mihambo and recently crowned European indoor champion Larissa Iapichino - both of whom have broken the seven metre-barrier this year with bests of 7.06m and 7.02m respectively - but a host of other contenders will be craving maximum points for their respective countries.
France’s Hilary Kpatcha recently joined the seven metre-club with a lifetime best of 7.02m in Athens to come within two centimetres of Eunice Barber’s long-standing record. In the same competition, Great Britain’s Jazmin Sawyers’ comeback from an Achilles rupture gained momentum as she improved to 6.89m, the third longest jump of her career so far.
World and European indoor silver medallist Annik Kalin will also be in contention for maximum points along with Portugal’s Agate de Sousa, the bronze medallist behind Mihambo and Iapichino in Rome. De Sousa has a relatively modest season’s best of 6.73m which ranks her eighth on the entry-list but she did beat Mihambo earlier this season in Dresden.
Reigning European indoor and outdoor champion Ana Peleteiro-Compaore is a conspicuous absence for hosts Spain in the triple jump, citing family reasons for her late withdrawal from the Spanish team.
With Peleteiro-Compaore absent, this should leave the path clear for Germany’s Caroline Joyeux who has improved to 14.45m this year. Also watch out for France’s European bronze medallist Ilionis Guillaume and the experienced Finn Senni Salminen.
Vertical jumps (high jump, pole vault)
World high jump record-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh from Ukraine has suffered back-to-back defeats to Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers in recent weeks but it would be a surprise if the reigning Olympic champion doesn’t rediscover her winning form in Madrid.
Mahuchikh, who helped Ukraine into the 1st Division with victory in Silesia two years ago, is the only athlete to have surpassed the 2.00m-barrier with 2.02m during the indoor season in which she won her third successive European indoor title.
The line-up also features Poland's Maria Zodzik and Germany's Imke Onnen who have cleared 1.98m and 1.97m respectively. Also watch out for Hungarian youngster Lilianna Batori, 18, who has improved to 1.93m and is one of the prospective stars of the European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere this August.
However, the action begins on the evening of 26 June with the pole vault which will be held out of the stadium in the city centre. The women’s pole vault could be a clash between reigning European indoor and outdoor champion Angelica Moser from Switzerland and surprise world indoor champion Marie-Julie Bonnin from France.
A high quality field also includes Czechia’s Amalie Svabikova and Italy's Elisa Molinarolo, who were fifth and sixth respectively at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Throws (shot put, discus)
The Netherlands are targeting their first ever top three finish in European Athletics Team Championships history and the women’s shot put and discus both offer the prospect of maximum points.
In the shot put, reigning European indoor and outdoor champion Jessica Schilder has been one of the in-form athletes, surpassing the 20 metre-line in seven of her 10 competitions in 2025.
Jorinde Van Klinken won silver medals in both the shot put and discus at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome but the 25-year-old will be focusing solely on the latter discipline in Madrid.
Van Klinken arrives off the back of an excellent performance in the Paris Diamond League on Friday when she almost handed Olympic champion Valarie Allman from the United States a rare defeat, leading until the sixth round with 66.42m.
In both disciplines, the Dutch duo will face strong German opposition. In the shot put, Schilder faces reigning Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye - who is second on the entry-list behind Schilder with 20.27m - while Van Klinken faces a strong field including multiple European medallist Shanice Craft from Germany who has improved to 68.10m this year.
The line-up also features veterans Nataliya Semenova from Ukraine and France’s Melina Robert-Michon who finished first and second respectively in the first iteration of the European Athletics Team Championships in 2009.
Throws (javelin, hammer)
Finland and Greece just finished above the relegation zone in 11th and 13th respectively two years ago but anticipated victories in the women’s hammer and javelin respectively will bolster their chances of staying afloat in the top-tier of the European Athletics Team Championships.
Finland’s Silja Kosonen is the outstanding favourite for the women’s hammer, improving to 77.07m for victory in the European Throwing Cup. She will face a field which includes all three medallists from the 2024 European Athletics Championships: Italy’s Sara Fantini, Poland’s world record-holder Anita Wlodarczyk and France’s Rose Loga.
Greece’s Elina Tzengko will also be aiming for maximum points in the women’s javelin. She has enjoyed her most consistent season to date, taking three Diamond League victories and breaking the 60 metre-barrier five times.