The women’s sprints at Rieti 2026 include several athletes who could well become the defining faces of this edition of the European Athletics U18 Championships.
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 from 16-19 July, with daily highlights on the European Athletics YouTube channel.
In brief
- European U18 record holders Kelly Doualla and Alessia Succo looking to fulfil Italian hopes
- Poland’s Zofia Pasierbek taking on an ambitious 200m/400m double against a strong Greek duo
- Linda Botková seeking to continue Czechia’s tradition in the 400m hurdles
Five to watch
- Kelly Doualla (ITA) – 100m, medley relay
- Alessia Succo (ITA) – 100m hurdles
- Zofia Pasierbek (POL) – 200m, 400m, medley relay
- Eleni Iakovaki (GRE) – 400m, medley relay
- Linda Botková (CZE) – 400m hurdles
Since bursting to prominence last summer, Italian sprinter Kelly Doualla was always set to be one of the faces of Rieti 2026.
Aged just 15, she won 100m gold at both the Tampere 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships and the Skopje 2025 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival – the latter in a European U18 best of 11.21.
There is now expectation heaped upon her young shoulders to deliver 100m gold again – this time in front of her home supporters. But in Romania’s Carolina-Andreea Pungă, she faces a genuine contender who tops the entries with a season’s best of 11.36, just 0.01 ahead of Doualla.
Another big Italian hope is Alessia Succo, who won bronze aged 16 at the Tampere 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships. She equalled 2024 winner Laura Frličková’s European U18 100m hurdles best of 12.86 earlier this year.
Slovakia’s Frličková set the record on home soil at the last edition in Banská Bystrica and – in the right conditions – there is a possibility history could repeat itself at Rieti 2026.
Pasierbek eyes ambitious double
Zofia Pasierbek looks like another athlete set to continue the tradition of Polish female sprinting success, and she is entered to tackle a rare double over 200m and 400m. She heads the entries for the 200m with a season’s best of 23.48 and is second in the 400m with 53.43.
In both disciplines, she will have to overcome stiff Greek opposition. Over one lap, she will face European U18 leader Eleni Iakovaki (53.34), the daughter of 2006 European 400m hurdles champion Periklis Iakovakis, while her closest competitor over 200m will likely be Fani Markouli (23.63).
In the 400m hurdles, 16-year-old Linda Botková heads the entries with a season’s best of 57.03. She also set a European U18 best in the 300m hurdles (39.35) earlier this year.
She will be looking to continue a growing Czech tradition in the 400m hurdles. At the last edition in Banská Bystrica, twins Michal Rada and Nina Radová won a unique family double in the men’s and women’s races.
In the 1000m medley relay, Italy will be hoping for a rousing finish to the championships by taking gold for the third time. Great Britain, France, Poland, Czechia, Greece, Spain and Germany are also medal contenders.
