With double world champion María Pérez from Spain focusing on the half marathon race walk, who will seize the opportunity of becoming the first ever European champion in this discipline which replaces the 35km race walk?
One of the entrants who has genuine ambitions of becoming the inaugural European marathon race walk champion is 21-year-old Italian Sofia Fiorini who has seemingly found her niche at this recently established distance.
European record - Not yet established
European lead - Sofia Fiorini (ITA) 3:25.42
Championship record - New event
Munich 2022 medallists (35km race walk)
Antigoni Ntrismpioti (GRE) 2:47:00
Raquel González (ESP) 2:49:10
Viktória Madarász (HUN) 2:49:58
Five to watch
- Sofia Fiorini (ITA)
- Federica Curiazzi (ITA)
- Katarzyna Zdziebło (POL)
- Antigoni Ntrismpioti (GRE)
- Raquel González (ESP)
Less than a year after missing out on a medal in the 10,000m race walk at the European Athletics U23 Championships, Fiorini strode to silver at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in hot and humid conditions in Brasilia where she also led Italy to team silver behind Ecuador.
Fiorini’s time of 3:25:42 was not just a European U23 record but also the second fastest time ever recorded by a European in the nascent history of the event. The only athlete to have covered the distance faster is Poland’s Katarzyna Zdziebło who walked over a minute faster last year with a 3:24:19 clocking in Zittau in Germany.
But while Zdziebło’s time tops the European all-time list, she is still just over one minute adrift of the European record target time which has been set at 3:23:00. If conditions allow, could the first ever European record be set on the streets in Birmingham later this month?
Fiorini will be joined on the Italian team by Federica Curiazzi and Eleonora Giorgi who finished fourth and seventh respectively in Brasilia and were the second and third counters in Italy’s silver medal-winning team. The three Italians are also the three fastest athletes on the entry-lists for Birmingham based on season’s bests.
Zdziebło, who is yet to contest this distance so far in 2026, will be accompanied on the Polish team by her younger sister Anna.
And what about the prospects of 42-year-old Antigoni Ntrismpioti from Greece who will be contesting this event for the very first time in Birmingham?
Ntrismpioti swept the European 20km and 35km race walk titles in Munich four years ago, by far the high point of her international career so far, although she has little in the way of demonstrable recent form this year having only raced once.
The event will also be something of a step into the unknown for the likes of Spain’s Raquel González and Ukraine’s Hanna Shevchuk as well, neither of whom have contested the event either but still boast excellent credentials at the longer race walking distances.
González and Shevchuk finished sixth and eighth respectively in the 35km race walk at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo and González also picked up silver behind Ntrismpioti at the same distance in Munich four years ago.
