The 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham proved to be a highly successful championship for Top Athletics, with athletes represented by the agency winning eight medals across seven different events.
The medal tally included five European titles, two silver medals and one bronze, with performances ranging from championship records and national records to historic achievements for several countries.
Bence Halázs
After years of collecting major championship medals without reaching the very top step of the podium, Bence Halász finally fulfilled his ambition in Birmingham.
The Hungarian produced a spectacular performance in the men’s hammer throw final, winning the European title with a national record of 84.25m. The throw also became the world lead at the time and crowned a competition in which Halász had been in control from the opening round.
Sara Kolak
Sara Kolak’s return to the top of a major championship podium was one of the emotional highlights of championships.
The Croatian javelin thrower secured the European title with a 62.43m from the first series, finishing ahead of Germany’s Julia Ulbricht. It was Kolak’s second major senior title, exactly ten years after her Olympic triumph in Rio 2016.
Emma Zapletalová
Emma Zapletalová delivered one of the most significant performances in Slovak athletics history.
The 400m hurdler won the European title in 52.91 seconds. Her victory made her only the second Slovakian athlete to win an individual gold medal at the European Athletics Championships as an independent nation. Zapletalová arrived in Birmingham as one of the biggest favourites after an outstanding season that had seen her establish herself among the world’s leading 400m hurdlers. She handled the pressure perfectly when it mattered most and added a European title to her World Championships bronze medal from Tokyo 2025.
Miltiadis Tentoglou
Miltiadis Tentoglou once again demonstrated why he has dominated European long jump for past years.
The Greek star won his fourth consecutive European outdoor title, producing a winning leap of 8.44m in Birmingham. He had previously taken European gold in Berlin in 2018, Munich in 2022 and Rome in 2024. Beside to this, Miltiadis holds the title collection from every major championships.
Kristjan Čeh
Kristjan Čeh successfully defended his European discus title in spectacular fashion.
The Slovenian produced a winning throw of 72.51m, setting a new European Athletics Championships record. In the process, Čeh became the first athlete in European Championships history to break the 70-metre barrier in the men’s discus final, doing so four times during his series.
The performance earned him not only another European title but also one of the championships’ Gold Crowns for the leading performance in the men’s throwing events.
Marino Bloudek
Marino Bloudek produced one of the surprise performances of the championships by taking silver in the men’s 800m.
The Croatian finished second in 1:45.62, behind Ireland’s Mark English, securing his first senior major championship medal.
Emmanouil Karalis
Emmanouil Karalis added another European Championship silver to his collection after clearing 6.00m in a thrilling pole vault final. The Greek cleared the height with room to spare and then took on ambitious attempts at 6.10m, 6.15m and 6.20m, with each clearance attempt showing that an even bigger performance was within reach.
Adriana Vilagoš
Adriana Vilagoš completed Top Athletics’ medal collection in Birmingham with bronze in the women’s javelin throw.
The Serbian produced a 60.93m throw to take third place behind European champion Sara Kolak and silver medallist Julia Ulbricht. The medal continued Vilagoš’ remarkable run of success at the European Championships, giving her a third consecutive European medal at just 22 years of age.
Strong fourth-place finishes for Molnár and Manuel
Attila Molnár came away from Birmingham with a strong fourth-place finish in the 400m final, running 44.55 just 0.14 seconds away from the bronze medal, while also producing an outstanding 43.58 split in the Hungarian 4x400m relay. His performance helped Hungary break the three-minute barrier for the first time, before the team went on to finish fifth in the final.
There was also a significant moment away from competition, as Attila was elected to the European Athletics Athletes’ Committee.
Lurdes Gloria Manuel narrowly missed the podium in the women’s 400m, finishing fourth in 50.86. She had already shown her form in the semi-final, where she ran a solid time of 49.81
As the reigning 21-year-old World Indoor Champion, Lurdes has already achieved a great deal at a young age, and with further progress still ahead of her, there is every reason to believe that major championship medals will follow.
Presence behind the podium
Boglárka Takács reached the women’s 200m final, finishing eighth in 22.82 seconds. She also helped Hungary’s 4x100m relay reach the final, in which the team placed sixth, clocking a huge national record of 42.84 in the semi-final.
Jakub Vadlejch finished fifth in the men’s javelin throw, recording 82.88m in a world-clas final, only 9cm off the medal.
Luca Kozák reached the women’s 100m hurdles final and finished fifth in 12.84 seconds. She was also part of Hungary’s sixth-place 4x100m relay team.
Anita Włodarczyk, one of the greatest hammer throwers in history, placed fourth in the women’s hammer throw with 72.37m, narrowly missing out on another European Championship medal.
Milan Trajković finished eighth in 110m hurdles, adding another European Championship final appearance to his long and distinguished career.
Matic Ian Guček also advanced to a major championship final in the men’s 400m hurdles, finishing seventh in 48.76 seconds. Earlier in the championships, he had improved the Slovenian national record to 48.03 seconds in the semi-finals.
Birmingham brought five European titles, two silver medals and one bronze to the Top Athletics roster, with eight athletes standing on the podium. Beyond the medals, the championship also produced numerous finalists and several standout performances, including national records, a championship record and some historic milestones. Birmingham showed the great range of our athletes and left plenty of momentum heading into the rest of the season.
