Nadia Battocletti defended her women’s 10,000m title in style at the Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships on Friday (14) evening.
In a cagey and tactical race which would always play into the hands of the reigning champion, the 26-year-old stood tall with a last lap for the ages which destroyed her challengers.
In summary
- Battocletti runs 31:41.18 to complete the 5000/10000m double again
- Maureen Koster takes her first major medal in over a decade in 31:45.65
- Belgium’s Jana van Lent earns bronze in 31:47.81
The final 200 metres was covered in a blistering 28.2 seconds. Astonishing after 25 punishing laps at Alexander Stadium.
And it broke the mould of what had been a tactical battle until the closing stages until a long line of contenders finally fell away.
With seven laps to go, the lead pack had depth until Great Britain’s Megan Keith – bronze medallist behind Battocletti in Rome in 2024 – seized the initiative, upped the pace and broke the field apart.
The Scot and Lisa Merkel of Germany had set a steady tempo but when it was raised, the list of contenders shrunk to four with Belgium’s Jana van Lent, Nadia Battocletti and Maureen Koster responding to Keith’s acceleration and the rest of the field cut adrift.
Yet the home favourite could not force one more to drop off and after doing all the hard work, her quest faltered with two laps to go as she faded to eighth.
Instead, three swept by and all reached the bell together. The next sound they all heard was the gasps from the crown as Battocletti clicked mercilessly with 200 metres to go, flying by lapped athletes at such a speed that it looked like they were out for Sunday jogs.
Koster edged clear ahead of Van Lent for the silver medal, ending of agonising 11-year wait for her second major medal after winning silver over 3000m at the Prague 2015 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
And for Van Lent, this was her first major senior medal of any description having twice finished fourth at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships. The Belgian revealed afterwards that her participation looked in some danger as recently as week ago after suffering a severe allergic reaction.
But it was Battocletti's name that was being toasted again in Italy. Double espressos all round.
What they said
Nadia Battocletti (ITA)
"There was a lot of wind, and I needed to be careful: the secret to the 10,000m is calmness and patience and when I felt up to it, I increased my pace. It's perhaps the sharpest change I've ever made; the 5000m gave me a real kick. I never expected to reach the record of four gold medals."
Maureen Koster (NED)
"It was more than 10 years ago that I first won an international medal, so I am very proud of this one. I am proud to still be at this level and that I can still improve myself. This medal is the cherry on the cake. I must admit since my sixth place in the 5000m, it hasn't been easy at all. I planned that whatever happened in the 5000m, I would just focus on the 10,000m. But sixth was really disappointing because I still see the 5000m as 'my distance'. It was tough to take, and I must admit that bruised my ego."
"I just ran on intuition and that really suits me. I felt strong during the race, especially when we started speeding up. At that point, I knew I was going to medal. I was still scared people would pass me right at the end, especially as I have been so close to medals so often, but so far away. Things can change at the finish line, so to have this medal is really something of a relief. I am 34 and I didn't know how many chances I still had left."
Jana Van Lent (BEL)
"Seven years ago, I had an anaphylactic shock and I haven't had any issues like that since, until last Saturday. I suddenly got an allergic reaction, which meant my participation at these championships was in doubt. We don't know what triggered it, but it affected my breath. It was a very tough few days, so I am happy I was fit enough and was cleared earlier this week. I took it day by day to see if I could compete, but to be honest I refused to give up. That positive mindset got me the bronze today."