One year after storming to the European U18 400m hurdles title, Czechia’s Michal Rada looks set to play another starring role at the 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere from 7-10 August.
Tampere 2025 will be streamed live in its entirety on the European Athletics website courtesy of Eurovision Sport and will be accompanied by expert English-language commentary.
There will be event-by-event reports, full results, live blog, daily highlights on YouTube and extensive coverage across all European Athletics social media channels Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, and WhatsApp.
Just 10 minutes after his twin sister Nina had won the women’s 400m hurdles at the Banska Bystrica 2024 European Athletics U18 Championships, Rada followed suit in the men’s 400m hurdles, shattering the European U18 best with 49.42 to become the first European in history to break the 50 second-barrier over the U18 84.0 centimetre hurdles.
Since then, Rada has graduated to the senior regulation hurdles and the Czech has adjusted to them seamlessly. Having only just turned 18, Rada - who remains eligible for the U20 ranks in 2026 - has climbed to fourth on the European all-time U20 list with 49.08 and leads the entry-list by exactly 1.4 seconds over his compatriot Marek Vana, a distant silver medallist behind Rada in Banska Bystrica last year.
Rada could have two significant records in his sights in Tampere: the championship record of 49.23 set by Russia’s Timofey Chalyy in 2013 and maybe even the European U20 record of 48.74 which dates back to Vladimir Budko from 1984.
There is the possibility of a Czech double in the hurdles events in Tampere. Matyas Zach has a share of the European U20 lead in the 110m hurdles (99.0cm) at 13.31, a time which was matched by Great Britain’s Noah Hanson at the English U20 Championships last weekend.
Championship record under threat in 10,000m race walk
Based on recent form, Italy’s Giuseppe Disabato could be every bit as dominant in the 10,000m race walk - barring injury, disqualification or any other unforeseen circumstances.
Two years after winning bronze aged 16, Disabato has been Europe’s outstanding age-group race walker this year. He leads the European U20 list by over two minutes with 39:24.99 ahead of his teammate and reigning European U18 5000m race walk champion Alessio Coppola who has clocked 41:26.01 this year.
Disabato was in destructive form at the same distance against his continental rivals - albeit on the roads - at the 2025 European Race Walking Team Championships in Podebrady where the 18-year-old won 10km gold in 39:28, winning by exactly 1:30 over Joan Querol Serrano who is part of the Spanish triumvirate selected for Tampere.
And with conditions unlikely to be anywhere near as hot as they were two years ago at the 2023 European Athletics U20 Championships in Jerusalem, Disabato could have his sights set on the championship record of 39:28.45 set by Russia’s Andrey Ruzavin in 2005.
Kelly closing in Irish 400m gold
There has been no shortage of Irish success at recent editions of the European Athletics U20 Championships, nor has there been any shortage of Irish success in the 400m in recent times.
And Conor Kelly is Ireland’s big hope to continue both of these trends in Tampere. The European U18 bronze medallist has improved to 45.85 this year and is the only athlete on the entry-list to have broken the 46 second-barrier.
His main rivals include the Czech duo of 17-year-old Tomas Horak and Ondrej Loupal who are second and fourth on the entry-list with 46.12 and 46.38 respectively and will helm a Czech relay team - which could also include Michal Rada - that will be difficult to beat in the 4x400m.
The fastest 400m runner at the European Athletics U20 Championships is Portugal’s Pedro Afonso who ran a brilliant double at the Portuguese U20 Championships last weekend, winning the 200m in 20.66 and the 400m in 45.78 on back-to-back days.
The 18-year-old will be focusing solely on the 200m in which his main rivals will include Sweden’s William Trulsson, who clocked 20.79 indoors this winter, and Italy’s European U18 champion Diego Nappi. The fastest based on lifetime bests is Great Britain’s Jake Odey-Jordan who clocked 20.55 last year.
With less than one-tenth separating the top eight on the entry-list in 100m, many athletes will be fancying their chances of coming away with the title. France’s Lenny Chanteur leads the entry-list with a 10.22 clocking just ahead of Teddy Wilson who is rounding into form with a 10.24 lifetime best to win the English U20 Championships last weekend.
Also watch out for Sebastian Libura who will be looking to follow in the footsteps of his Polish compatriot Marek Zakrzewski who won a 100/200m double at the 2023 European Athletics U20 Championships and European U18 champion Jakob Kemminer from Germany who has improved to 10.31 this year.
The men's 4x100m is always unpredictable with Switzerland winning a surprise gold medal two years ago ahead of the Netherlands and Germany. All three countries will be fielding teams in Tampere while Great Britain, who were absent two years ago, will be looking to recapture the title they won in 2021.
New Nordic distance running talents on display
Norway’s newest middle distance phenomenon Håkon Moe Berg will be targeting a brace of medals in the 1500m and 3000m.
Moe Berg leads the 1500m entry-list with a lifetime best of 3:35.41 by over three seconds from France’s Alois Abraham (3:38.62), Belgium’s Elliot Vermeulen (3:38.65) and last year’s European U18 champion Filip Toul from Czechia (3:39.14).
And if Moe Berg does prevail, he would achieve a title that eluded Jakob Ingebrigtsen in 2017. A 16-year-old Ingebrigtsen fell heavily on the last lap of a slow and tactical race and trailed home in eighth but returned later in the day - covered in cuts and scrapes - to win the 5000m and the 3000m steeplechase the following day.
Moe Berg is yet to contest a 3000m this year but his lifetime best of 7:55.82 makes him the fastest in a closely matched field ahead of Ireland’s Cormac Dixon (7:56.59) and Sweden’s emerging distance running prospect Karl Ottfalk (7:58.05).
Ottfalk, who has also entered the 5000m in Tampere, finished fourth in the U20 race at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships last December in a race won by Niels Laros, the 1500/5000m champion at the 2023 European Athletics U20 Championships.
And there could be even more Norwegian success in the 5000m. Magnus Oyen is the second fastest on season’s bests with 13:54.56 just behind Spain’s Oscar Gaitan who leads the entry-list with 13:53.11 but the fastest based on lifetime bests is yet another Norwegian - Kristian Bråthen Børve.
Only 18, Bråthen Børve clocked an impressive 13:52.44 last year but the 10th-placer in the U20 race at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships enters the championships with a slightly more modest season’s best of 14:08.81.
Great Britain’s William Rabjohns is the clear favourite for the 800m title. He has improved to 1:45.41 which puts him seventh on the European U20 all-time list which is headed by his compatriot Max Burgin with 1:44.14.
And the theme of Czech success over the barriers could even extend to the 3000m steeplechase. The Czech duo of Adam Cervinka and Daniel Marak lead the entry-list with 8:38.01 and 8:40.15 respectively. The next fastest on paper is Türkiye’s Kiyasettin Kara with 8:44.19.
The field also includes last year’s European U18 2000m steeplechase champion Bakr El Asri from Spain.
