The men’s 100m always has a special feel around it and Birmingham 2026 will be no different.
Tokyo Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs has rocketed back to top form this summer, clocking a wind-assisted 9.67 (4.1m/s) in Eisenstadt.
It sent a message loud and clear to Europe’s fastest men that the Italian is intent on winning his third successive European title in Birmingham.
European record - Lamont Marcell Jacobs (ITA) 9.80
European lead - Lamont Marcell Jacobs (ITA) 9.96
Championships record - Zharnel Hughes (GBR) / Lamont Marcell Jacobs (ITA), 9.95
Roma 2024 medallists
- Lamont Marcell Jacobs (ITA), 10.02
- Chituru Ali (ITA), 10.05
- Romell Glave (GBR), 10.06
Five names to watch:
- Lamont Marcell Jacobs (ITA)
- Owen Ansah (GER)
- Romell Glave (GBR)
- Jeremiah Azu (GBR)
- Louie Hinchliffe (GBR)
After a stuttering few seasons due to injury, Jacobs looks to be building towards the sort of form that took him to Olympic glory in Tokyo in 2021. Although he was beaten at both the Rome and Paris Diamond League meetings in June, two sub-10 second runs showed he was in good shape.
Then when he exploded to that wind-assisted 9.67 on 1 July in Austria, he suddenly looked like the Jacobs of old – confident, powerful and very, very fast.
Another title now looks a realistic prospect, a feat that would move him alongside Valeriy Borzov (Athens 1969, Helsinki 1971, Rome 1974 and Great Britain’s Linford Christie (Stuttgart 1986, Split 1990, Helsinki 1994) as the only athletes to win three consecutive men’s 100m titles at the European Athletics Championships.
But in front of a home crowd, a strong British contingent will be a major threat. Roma 2024 bronze medallist Glave finished 0.09 behind Jacobs in Eisenstadt and has been below 10 seconds five times this year – although four have been wind assisted.
He was also very impressive in winning the UK Athletics Championships title on the same Alexander Stadium track that will host the European Athletics Championships in June.
Azu won bronze in Munich 2022 and has further matured into a reliable performer in the international arena, taking world indoor and European indoor gold medals over 60m in 2024. Though he has yet to produce his best form this summer, he knows how to peak at the right time.
US-based Hinchliffe, coached by Olympic legend Carl Lewis, is the wildcard of the field. The 23-year-old is still relatively inexperienced but showed at the Paris Olympics where he reached the semifinals that he has the raw speed and temperament to go with it.
Owen Ansah set a German record of 9.98 this year and if he can improve a little more on that mark, he too should in the shake up for medals.
