by Stuart Weir
This is the third of four pieces by Stuart Weir on the 2025 European Athletics Team Championships, held in Madrid, Spain on June 27-29, 2025.
Day 3 and Italy leads the European Teams
Defending champions Italy moved to the top of the table at the end of another dramatic day at the European Athletics Team Championships 1st Division in Madrid on Saturday but there were outstanding performances across the board.
The top five are
1 Italy 290 2 Germany 266 3 Poland 256.5 4 Netherlands 253.5 5 GB 252 |
Itaty will be hard to catch but the next four places are up for grabs with one day to go.
Italy had no wins but it is not so much about winning as scoring points consistently.
Italy had three second places (Matteo Sioli HJ, Lorenzo Simonelli 110h and Ayo Foloruso 400H), three third places (Mattia Furlani LJ, Eliosa Coiro 800 and Erika Anoeta TJ) and five fourth places (both sprint relays, Alessandro Sibio 400H, Giada Carmasi 100H and Sara Fantini Hammer). It is all about accumulating points – one point for every opponent beaten.
Overnight leaders Netherlands won both sprint relays
and Switzerland both sprint hurdles – Jason Joseph and Ditaji Kambundji.
There was a high quality men’s long-jump competition with four athletes beyond 8 meters. The result was:
1 Miltiadis Tentoglou 8.46
2 Thobias Montler 8.08
3 Mattia Furlani 8.07
4 Piotr Tarkowski 8.02
The best British performances was Alastair Chalmers second in 400m hurdles, who is having the season of his life. He commented: “I want to be running quicker, I know I can but when you race five times in a month and travel all around the world it can be difficult. Really proud of myself”.
There were also third places for Anna Purchase (Hammer throw ), Tade Ojora (110m Hurdles), Lina Nielsen (400m Hurdles), Lawrence Okoye (discus) and the men’s 4X100. Kimani Jack, on his GB & NI senior debut came seventh in the High Jump with a PR of 2.21.
