Sports
Mondo Duplantis breaks championship record to win fourth consecutive European title
Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis won his fourth consecutive European title by jumping 6.15m for a championship record in Birmingham, England.
The two-time Olympic and seven-time world champion went 5 centimeters higher than he did at the European Championships in 2024, which had stood as the previous championship best.
Duplantis, 26, outjumped Greek vaulter Emmanouil Karalis, who took silver with a second-time clearance at 6.00m. Crosswinds and cool temperatures at Alexander Stadium made for difficult jumping — even Duplantis failed his first attempt at 6m — which meant that 5.85m was enough for Frenchman Baptiste Thiery to take bronze.
“I just want to jump high, I love being out on the track and doing what I’m good at,” Duplantis told reporters afterwards. “I have this weird inner motivation (that) this is what I’m meant to do.”
The win continues an outstanding championship record for Duplantis, who has had, by his standards, a difficult season.
He lost for the first time in three years at the Stockholm Diamond League in June and then did not finish at the Diamond League in London last month because of a thigh injury sustained during competition.
“It’s been difficult and stressful,” he said of managing the injury sustained in London. “We’ve been going back and forth (over) whether or not I should compete and if it was the right decision. I feel good now.”
This is his 12th consecutive gold, and seven of those have been won with either a championship or world record. The Swede first set a world record in 2020 and has broken it 14 times since.
Asked whether he had enjoyed Birmingham, Duplantis said: “I’ve had some really good food. I made a really, really bad mistake of having chicken tikka masala for lunch today. I don’t know why I did that, it’s super silly. If you want good gut health while you’re competing, don’t do that.”
Elsewhere on the seventh and final night, history was made in the inaugural mixed 4x100m relay, which features two men (legs one and three) and two women (legs two and four).
Amy Hunt anchored Great Britain to win in a European-record time of 39.97 seconds, claiming her fourth gold medal of the championships, the most anyone has won at a single edition.
“It’s so beyond the bounds of my dreams, I’m so euphoric right now,” Hunt told reporters after producing the best split among the final leg runners and adding to her 4x100m gold and individual 100m and 200m titles.
“I think it will all sink in later. I’m so proud of myself and the way I handled this week, the emotions and the recovery of it, being strict and staying disciplined after the highs of it (winning).”
Dina Asher-Smith, who ran the fastest among the second-leg athletes, earned her eighth continental gold — the most by anyone in the history of the championships, overtaking middle and long-distance runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen and discus thrower Sandra Elkasevic (seven each).
“I never really thought I would get to this point, I didn’t think that would be me,” Asher-Smith said. “When you start track and field, you just want to be fast and see how fast you can go. I’m incredibly humbled and grateful to be in a position to be medalling 12 years after my European debut, 13 years after my senior debut.”
Jeremiah Azu (R) passes the baton to Dina Asher-Smith of in the mixed 4x100m relay final (Maja Hitij / Getty Images for European Athletics)
Georgia Hunter Bell produced a fast and composed final lap to take gold in the women’s 1,500m. It’s her third individual title of 2026 and underlines her versatility in the middle-distance events. She took the 800m Commonwealth title in Glasgow, Scotland, earlier this summer, and claimed a first world crown over 1,500m indoors in March.
A slow opening two laps (68.81s and 72.47s) meant that most of the field was in contention by the time they hit the bell. Hunter Bell held her position on the rail and closed in 58.44s to win in 4 minutes and 7.78 seconds. Poland’s Klaudia Kazimierska was a little over a second back and took silver, while Patricia Silva of Portugal overtook Agathe Guillemot to finish in the bronze medal spot.
“I thought, if it comes down to a kick, I’ve got it, so I didn’t want it to go too quick,” Hunter Bell said. “A 600m burn-up was perfect for me.”
The women’s long jump final was decided by the finest of margins. Aided by a tailwind, Larissa Iapichino landed at 7.00m (+2.1m/s wind) with her first effort, a mark nobody went beyond. She adds gold to her world indoor silver from five months ago, and improves on her runner-up finish at these championships two years ago.
Silver went to Great Britain’s Jazmin Sawyers, who jumped 6.99m on her fourth attempt, following 6.95m and 6.96m efforts, her best outdoor performances ever. It’s a second medal for her this summer after winning Commonwealth gold.
There were silver medals for Great Britain in the 4x400m relays. A strong Dutch quartet, featuring Lieke Klaver and Femke Broeders-Bol, were victorious in the women’s final, never rescinding a lead they held from the first lap.
Broeders-Bol, who took bronze in a blockbuster women’s 800m final, ran her leg in 49.5s, the fastest of the entire field. She held off Britain’s Emily Newnham, a hurdler, and the top two were two seconds clear of Italy in third. “This was a great way to finish this week,” said Broeders-Bol, with this her and the Netherlands’ third-straight gold in the event.
The men’s 4x400m closed out the championships, and it panned out in very similar fashion: a GB athlete chasing hard for the win but running out of track. Italy claimed gold, their 10th in Birmingham to top the medal table ahead of the hosts. Charlie Dobson came close to running down Lorenzo Benati, though the Italians won out by three hundredths.
Top 5 countries in the medal table
- Italy (10 golds, six silvers, six bronzes)
- Great Britain and Northern Ireland (nine, eight, two)
- Germany (six, 10, five)
- Netherlands (five, three, six)
- Norway (four, zero, two)
>