On a thrilling night of competition at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, young British sprinter Amy Hunt delivered a standout performance to claim a historic European sprint double, capping off a day that saw Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh retain his discus title and the German team surge to five total medals including two golds.
Hunt, 24, held her composure through the final turn of the women’s 200m before unleashing a blistering last 50 meters to cross the finish line first in 22.19 seconds. Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke took silver with a time of 22.28 seconds, while Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith — the last sprinter to claim a European 100m-200m double back in 2018 — secured bronze. The result tied Asher-Smith for the all-time record of seven career European Athletics Championship medals.
With two individual golds already secured, Hunt now turns her attention to the women’s and mixed 4x100m relays, with an eye to completing an unprecedented four championship gold haul. “Two out of four, baby!” Hunt told reporters after the race. “No celebrations and no champagne until Sunday night. We have got to come out here and make sure we show them who the best sprinting nation is in Europe.”
Over in the men’s discus competition, Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia put on a masterclass to defend his European title, breaking the championship record twice on his way to a winning best throw of 72.51 meters. World record holder Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania took silver with a throw of 69.89 meters, while Germany’s Henrik Janssen clinched bronze at 69.53 meters, edging out three-time reigning world champion Daniel Stahl of Sweden by 31 centimeters. Ceh called the 2024 field the highest quality discus competition in the history of the European Championships. “When you throw alongside these guys it is like another boost,” he added.
Janssen’s bronze was just one part of a historic night for Team Germany. World champion Leo Neugebauer pulled off a dramatic narrow victory in the men’s decathlon, beating teammate and defending Olympic champion Niklas Kaul by just 38 points to claim gold. A personal best 54.31m discus throw put Neugebauer in position to win heading into the final 1500m event, where he held a 154-point lead over Kaul. Kaul mounted a stunning comeback after throwing a massive 73.54m javelin to overtake Norway’s Sander Skotheim for second, and needed just a 22-second win over Neugebauer to take gold. In a dramatic finish, Neugebauer cramped badly in the final 30 meters of the race and collapsed across the finish line in 4:38.36, holding on for the narrow win in front of a stunned 20,000-strong crowd at Alexander Stadium. Skotheim rounded out the podium with bronze.
Germany’s second gold of the night came from 34-year-old steeplechaser Gesa Felicitas Krause, who outpaced defending champion Alice Finot of France to win the women’s 3000m steeplechase in 9:12.69. The win marked Krause’s third European title, adding to her legacy as one of the sport’s most decorated steeplechasers, and teammate Olivia Guerth added another bronze to Germany’s tally for the event.
The night also saw Ireland earn its first ever men’s gold medal at the European Athletics Championships, courtesy of Mark English in the 800m. Fresh off setting a new championship record in the semi-finals, the medical doctor and two-time previous bronze medallist delivered a perfectly timed final sprint to cross the line first in 1:45.26. “I have been trying for a lifetime to get a title,” English said after the race. “Relief in 2014 when I got my first medal and relief today as well. It is just amazing.” Croatia’s Marino Bloudek took silver, holding off Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui.
In other Thursday night results, Swiss pole vaulter Angelica Moser successfully defended her European title with a best clearance of 4.80m, with Finland’s Wilma Heltela taking silver and France’s Marie-Julie Bonnin claiming bronze. Italy’s Dariya Derkach won the women’s triple jump with a best leap of 14.60m, beating Belgium’s Saliyya Guisse (14.46m) for gold.
As attention turns to Friday’s schedule, Great Britain will look to add another sprint gold to its tally when Zharnel Hughes, the 2022 100m champion, lines up in the men’s 200m final. Hughes won his semi-final in 20.05 seconds, while Germany’s 100m bronze medalist Owen Ansah clocked the fastest qualifying time of 20.04 seconds.