European Athletics is very pleased to announce the three finalists for the women’s Rising Star trophy which will be awarded and presented to the winner at the Golden Tracks awards night in Batumi, Georgia on 25 October.
The Rising Star award was introduced in 2007 to recognise the achievements of Europe’s outstanding young athletes. Previous winners of the women’s Rising Star award have included Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sandra Elkasevic, Nafissatou Thiam, Mariya Lasitskene, Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Femke Bol, all of whom have gone on to win European, word and Olympic titles in their respective events.
Last year's women's Rising Star was Serbia's Adriana Vilagos, the silver medallist in the javelin at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome.
The three finalists, listed in alphabetical order with their main achievements in 2025 summarised, are:
Innes FitzGerald (GBR) | Profile
- European U20 3000m and 5000m champion
- European U20 5000m record-holder
- European indoor 3000m finalist
The winner of the last two European U20 cross country titles, Great Britain’s Innes FitzGerald demonstrated this year that she can be every bit as good - if not even better - on the track as well.
FitzGerald came to wider prominence in July when she smashed Zola Budd’s 40-year-old European U20 5000m record of 14:48.07 - also a world record at the time - with 14:39.56 in the London Diamond League.
FitzGerald went on to dominate both the 3000m and 5000m at the European Athletics U20 Championships. FitzGerald won the 5000m on the first night of the championships in 15:09.04 by 34.26 seconds before winning the 3000m on the last day in 8:46.39 to break the championship record held by future Olympic 5000m champion Gabriela Szabo.
Henriette Jaeger (NOR) | Profile
- European U23 400m champion
- European indoor 400m silver medallist
- World indoor 400m bronze medallist
- European U23 200m silver medallist
- World 400m and 4x400m finalist
The indefatigable Henriette Jaeger has raced no fewer than 31 times in 2025 but the Norwegian has been richly rewarded for her efforts, picking up four major medals along the way, including two on home soil at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen.
Jaeger set herself the audacious task of winning gold medals in both the 200m and 400m, a feat she almost pulled off. Jaeger won the 400m title in a championship record of 49.74 - one of six sub-50 second clockings in 2025 - before tumbling to silver in the 200m when she was overhauled by Brit Success Eduan in the last 20 metres.
Among her numerous other successes in 2025, Jaeger pushed Lieke Klaver all the way to the line in the 400m final at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn and she also reached the finals in both the 400m and 4x400m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Incidentally, Tokyo was the first time Norway has made a women's 4x400m final in either world or Olympic history.
Audrey Werro (SUI) | Profile
- European U23 800m champion
- Diamond League 800m champion
- World and European indoor 800m finalist
- World outdoor 800m finalist
Audrey Werro provided more than a glimpse of what was in store for the rest of the summer at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen where she won the 800m title in gun-to-tape style in a championship record of 1:57.42.
Adopting the same approach at the Swiss Championships the following month, Werro won the 800m from the front in a national record of 1:56.29 before further embellishing her credentials as a medal threat at the World Athletics Championships by winning the Diamond League title on home soil in Zurich in 1:55.91.
In her 29th race of the season, Werro finished a creditable sixth in a super fast and competitive 800m final in Tokyo in 1:56.17, the second fastest time of her career so far.
The three men's Rising Star finalists will be announced tomorrow.
Last 10 women’s Rising Star winners
2024 - Adriana Vilagos (SRB)
2023 - Angelina Topic (SRB)
2022 - Elina Tzengko (GRE)
2021 - Femke Bol (NED)
2020 - not held
2019 - Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR)
2018 - Elvira Herman (BLR)
2017 - Yuliia Levchenko (UKR)
2016 - Nafissatou Thiam (BEL)
2015 - Noemi Zbaren (SUI)
2014 - Mariya Kuchina (RUS)
