Only one Finnish woman has won a European title this century: Wilma Heltela who won the pole vault title in Munich four years ago.
The last Finnish woman before Heltela to win continental gold was race walker Sara Essayah who won the 10km race walk in Helsinki 1994 but Alisa Vainio could follow in her footsteps with marathon gold on the roads of Birmingham in the women’s marathon.
European record - Sifan Hassan (NED) 2:13:44 (mx) / Sifan Hassan (NED) 2:19:00 (wo)
European lead - Alisa Vainio (FIN) 2:20:39
Championship record - Christelle Daunay (FRA) 2:25:14
Munich 2022 medallists
Aleksandra Lisowska (POL) 2:28:36
Matea Parlov Kostro (CRO) 2:28:42
Nienke Brinkman (NED) 2:28:52
Five to watch
- Alisa Vainio (FIN)
- Fabienne Königstein (GER)
- Fatima Azzahraa Ouhaddou Nafie (ESP)
- Aleksandra Lisowska (POL)
- Fionnuala McCormack (IRL)
A teen prodigy who qualified for the marathon at the 2016 Olympic Games at the age of 18 but was too young to compete, Vainio built on her vast early promise at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. She ran a well-measured race to finish a surprise fifth in brutally hot and humid conditions and was also the first European home.
Just three weeks later, Vainio ran a solo 2:23:06 to break the Finnish record at her national championships in Vantaa. Since then, the indefatigable Vainio has crammed in another three marathons, including victory in the Seville Marathon in February in another national record and European leading time of 2:20:39.
Vainio faces a strong and experienced German cohort who will be in contention to retain their team title from Munich four years ago.
Their team includes Fabienne Königstein who finished sixth in the Berlin Marathon last September in a PB of 2:22:17 and the multi-talented Laura Hottenrott who is targeting her second major continental medal of the year. She won silver in the uphill mountain race at the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships in early June.
The biggest threat to the Germans will be the Spaniards who have a reputation for taking major championship marathons seriously. The standout names on their team are Fatima Azzahraa Ouhaddou Nafie, who recovered from a mid-race fall to win the marathon at the 2025 European Running Championships in Leuven last April, and Laura Luengo, the fastest on their team with a 2:22:31 PB.
All five runners on the Spanish team have lifetime bests inside the 2:25-barrier. Their team is completely by Meritxell Soler (2:23:49 PB), Ester Navarrete (2:24:31) and Carolina Robles (2:24:56).
However, championship marathons don’t always go to form as was demonstrated four years ago when Poland’s Aleksandra Lisowska was the surprise winner in Munich, becoming the first ever Polish winner of this title.
And just one month shy of her 42nd birthday, can Ireland’s Fionnuala McCormack finally win an elusive European medal having finished fourth in the 10,000m twice and seventh in the marathon four years ago?
McCormack, whose lifetime best stands at 2:23:46, battled the heat and humidity at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo where she finished an excellent ninth. She was also the second European finisher home behind Vainio in fifth.
Surprisingly, hosts Great Britain have never won an individual medal in the history of the women’s marathon at the European Athletics Championships, an event which was added to the programme in Athens 1982 when Portugal’s Rosa Mota won her first of three titles.
The British team includes Paris 2024 Olympians Rose Harvey and Clara Evans and 2023 European cross country bronze medallist Abbie Donnelly who clocked a promising 2:24:11 on her marathon debut in Frankfurt last year.