The men’s sprints at Rieti 2026 are sure to be among the most competitive disciplines of the entire European Athletics U18 Championships, with traditional rival nations and new names set to battle it out for the medals.
Rieti 2026 will be the fifth edition of the European Athletics U18 Championships and will be streamed live in its entirety on the European Athletics website on 16-19 July with daily highlights on the European Athletics YouTube channel.
In brief
- France’s Dylan Telo going for double gold in the men’s 100m and 200m againts strong British challenge
- Slovakia–Czechia battle looks likely in the 400m
- Türkiye and Spain have high medal hopes in the hurdles
Five to watch
- Dylan Telo (FRA) - 100m/200m
- Ethan Heggarty (GBR) - 200m
- Sebastian Karp (SVK) - 400m
- Yunus Emre Civelek (TUR) - 110m hurdles
- Mauro Seguín (ESP) - 400m hurdles
Former multi-eventer Dylan Telo has focused on the sprints this year with considerable success. The 17-year-old French athlete has slashed his 100m personal best by 0.55 to a European U18-leading 10.29.
He also won both the 200m and 400m titles at the French U18 Indoor Championships earlier in the year, demonstrating the speed endurance that has encouraged him to attempt a sprint double in Rieti.
But he will face a tough test in both events from British opposition. In the 100m, he is matched against Divine Iheme, who set a European U18 best of 6.68 over 60m during the indoor season.
Over 200m, he clashes with Ethan Heggarty, who leads the entries with 20.59 set in June – although it should be noted the time was achieved with the maximum legal following wind of 2.0m/s.
Slovakia - Czechia set to duel in 400m
The leading contenders in the 400m are Slovakia’s Sebastian Karp and Czechia’s Jakub Marek. Karp heads this year’s European U18 lists with 46.62, 0.20 ahead of Marek.
The Czech sprinter arguably has the greater experience, having won 4x400m gold with his international teammates at last year’s Tampere 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships.
In the 110m hurdles, Balkan U18 champion Yunus Emre Civelek of Türkiye is the favourite as the European U18 leader, having run 13.25 over the 91.4cm barriers used for this age group.
Spain has a realistic possibility of a medal sweep in the 400m hurdles, with Mauro Seguín (50.51), Tristan Luño (50.74) and Aaron Ferreiro (51.45) holding the top three places on this year’s European U18 lists.
Italy won the 1000m medley relay in the first three editions of the European Athletics U18 Championships and are sure to contend again along with 2024 gold medallists Poland and traditional powerhouses Great Britain, France and Germany.
Main image courtesy of @capturemysport/FFA
