Fast sprint and middle distance times highlighted the final day of the British Championships in Manchester and the French Championships in Angers.
In the 800m, precocious 17-year-old Phoebe Gill sealed her place on the British team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a gun-to-tape victory in 1:58.66 ahead of world indoor silver medallist Jemma Reekie in 1:59.28.
In doing so, Gill - who broke the long-standing European U18 best earlier this summer with 1:57.86 - became the youngest winner in any event at the British Championships since 1974.
European silver medallist Charlie Dobson won the men’s 400m title in a fast 44.56. European 400m record-holder Matthew Hudson-Smith dropped down to the 200m and powered away in the last 50 metres for victory in a lifetime best of 20.34.
Fresh from a lengthy US collegiate season in which she broke the 50 second-barrier twice, Amber Anning won the 400m title in a championship record of 50.47 while Dina Asher-Smith also broke the championship record in the 200m with 22.18, her fastest time since the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene where she came away with the bronze medal.
After a disqualification which was later overturned, Alistair Chalmers won the 400m hurdles in another championship record of 48.54 - breaking a record which was held by Ed Moses who ran 48.58 while competing as a guest in 1979 - while world bronze medallist Ben Pattison won an eventful men’s 800m in 1:45.49 which saw world 1500m champion Josh Kerr and Elliot Giles both fall in the home straight.
Tual and Maraval don't look back in Angers
On the last day of the French Championships, European 800m champion Gabriel Tual won his domestic title in Angers in front of a capacity crowd in a lifetime best and championship record of 1:43.99 to win by exactly one second from Benjamin Robert in 1:44.99.
In the 400m hurdles, there was a great duel between the rapidly improving European silver medallist Louise Maraval and Shana Grebo with both athletes breaking the 54 second-barrier for the first time in their careers.
Maraval took the victory in 53.71, just ahead of Grebo who came away with a one second-plus lifetime best of 53.78. They move to second and third respectively on the 2024 European list which is headed by Femke Bol with 52.49.
Other highlights included Gemima Joseph completing the sprint double with victory in the 200m in 22.62 - after qualifying for the final with a 22.65 clocking in her heat against a 1.7 m/s headwind - while Sasha Zhoya recovered from a seemingly race-ending slip out of the blocks in his 110m hurdles heat to qualify and win the final in 13.32.
However, there won’t be a home Olympic farewell for 2012 Olympic champion and former world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie, 37, who finished equal third in the pole vault with 5.60m. Thibaut Collet won the competition courtesy of a 5.82m clearance.
Elsewhere around Europe…
European champion Jordan Diaz bounded out to 17.71m in the triple jump and European silver medallist Enrique Llopis ran a lifetime best of 13.09 to equal the championship record in the 110m hurdles at the Spanish Championships in La Nucia.
Esther Guerrero also won the 1500m in a fast 4:02.75 - also a championship record - to beat Aqueda Marques who finished second in 4:03.90.
Fellow European champion Leonardo Fabbri won the shot put title at the Italian Championships in La Spezia with 22.11m. Two-time European medallist Sara Fantini also won the hammer with 71.32m.
On the final day of the German Championships in Braunschweig which was thwarted by poor weather, world indoor silver medallist Yemisi Ogunleye provided the highlight with victory in the shot put with 19.25m.
At the Czech Championships in Zlin, Vit Muller won the 400m hurdles in a fast 48.41 and 18-year-old European U18 and U20 champion Jakub Dudycha won the 800m in a 1:45.23. Jan Stefela and Michaela Hruba cleared 2.30m and 1.92m respectively for victories in the high jump.
There was a big improvement from 19-year-old world U20 champion Plamena Mitkova who leapt out to 6.97m in the long jump at the Bulgarian Championships in Veliko Tarnovo. She moves to equal second on the 2024 European list.
Tasa Jiya won the 200m at the Dutch Championships in Hengelo in a lifetime best of 22.62, defeating Lieke Klaver (22.72) and Femke Bol (22.80). Former European U20 champion Onyema Adigida won the men's 200m in a lifetime best of 20.35 ahead of veteran Liemarvin Bonevacia who was second in a 20.43 PB at the age of 35.
Another highlight was Menno Vloon clearing a championship record of 5.84m in the pole vault.
At the Belgian Championships in Brussels, Naomi Van den Broeck won a competitive women’s 400m hurdles final in a 54.80 PB ahead of Hanne Claes (54.82) and Paulien Couckuyt (54.94). Michael Obasuyi also won the 110m hurdles in 13.24 over Elie Bacari (13.43).
European 400m silver medallist Rhasidat Adeleke added the Irish 100m title and record to her list of accolades, winning at the Irish Championships in Dublin in 11.13.
On the last day of the Finnish Championships, Lassi Etelatalo produced a season's best of 84.67m in the sixth round to win the javelin. Another highlight was Nathalie Blomqvist winning the 5000m in a solo 15:05.86. Silja Kosonen won the hammer title with 72.65m.
Olympic champion Daniel Stahl won the discus on the last day of the Swedish Championships with 65.59m
Steven Mills for European Athletics