Birmingham 2026, Day Six, August 15, 2026, The View from Wisconsin

Editor’s note: The European Athletics Championships were held August 10-16, 2026, in Birmingham, England. The recently renovated Alexander Stadium hosted the championships well, despite overpriced snacks, long walks to the stadium, and expensive Lyft rides. Saturday night was a bit of a mess, as fans were unable to get transportation for several hours due to a local arrest.  

Even with the aforementioned situations, the crowd, which seemed to grow each day, had exciting events to watch! 

The finals for Day six:

1. The Women’s 400 meters. What a huge victory for Henriette Jaeger, NOR, who ran 49.04. The Norwegian long sprint star had lost to Lieke Klaver, NED, in #Apeldoorn2025, the European Indoor, so this race must have been quite satisfying. Natalia Bukowiecka, POL, took silver in 50.04, and Lieke Klaver was bronze in 50.15.
2. Upset of the European Champs-Men’s 1,500 meters. Jake Wightman, 2022 WC gold and 2025 WC silver, was the prohibitive favorite, but had a rough day. Stefan Nillessen, NED, surprised many with a wonderful, well-timed kick and moved forward as the leaders collapsed, running 3:35.70 for gold. Samuel Pihlstrom, SWE, took the silver, with his 3:36.16. Ireland’s Andrew Coscoran, IRL, took the bronze, to the absolute delight of Irish fans, in 3:36.24. WC Isaac Nader, POR, did not have a good day as well!

   

3. Men’s 10,000m-a strange race. The pace, for the first 2000 meters, was, well, pedestrian. Andreas Almgren, WC silver at 10,000m, decided to begin his long run for home. Some serious kickers were there: Jimmy Gressier, 2022 EAC 10,000m champ, Yemane Crippa, defending champion Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu, SUI, were lurking! Andreas Almgren did not give anyone a chance. Almgren hit the 5k in 14:08, with Lobalu, Crippa, and Gressier. Almgren broke the race open in the second half, running 13:18.55 for the second five thousand meters. The Swedish distance star, Andreas Almgren, took gold in 27:23.44, breaking the European Champs record set in 1978. Defending champ Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu, SUI, took silver in 27:42.90. The battle for the bronze, between Yemane Crippa, and Jimmy Gressier, was won by Gressier, who took bronze in 28:07.90.
4. A fun Men’s 4x100m relay. The sprint relay is truly like watching car crashes at NASCAR. The combination of fast sprinters, fast handoffs, and under-practicing leads to catastrophes for many fast teams. Great Britain (Jeremiah Azu, Louie Hinchiliffe, Zharnel Hughes and Romell Glave) had some close calls, but delivered a fine 38.45. Germany took silver in 38.64, and Belgium surprised with a 38.70 in the sprint relay. Belgium is known for its 4x400m relay power. Italy had a rough last handoff, moving up Germany and Belgium!
5. Team GB wins Women’s 4x100m relay! Team GB took both sprint relays! Dina Asher-Smith, Amy Hunt, Success Eduan, and Imani Lansiquot delivered gold for Team GB in 42.05. Team Switzerland took silver in 43.12, and Poland took the bronze.
6. Women’s high jump won by Mahuchikh! Yaroslava Mahuchikh won the high jump in 1.97m, a relatively low height for the Ukrainian. Maria Zodzik, POL, took the silver medal in 1.95m, and Marija Vukovic, MNE, took the bronze in 1.95m. A fine group of European jumpers, surprised that Anjelica Topic had a tough day.

   

7. The Triple Jump is Back! Andy Diaz Hernandez, ITA, moved his PB from 17.80m to 18.15 meters. That 18.15m jump is the number 4 best TJ ever! Pedro Pichardo, POR, took silver in 17.76m,  a bit shocked by the Italian’s jump, and this may motivate Pichardo to make some big jumps (he’s been over 18 meters). Andrea Dallavalle, ITA, gave Italy a second medal in the triple jump, with his bronze, at 17.37 meters.

   

8. The Javelin is won by Julian Weber. Weber, GER, is a tremendous thrower. His 90.40m throw shook up the event, giving him a six-meter-plus winning margin, breaking the CR of Steve Backley from 1998! Nick Thumm, GER, had led the event until Julian’s huge throw, with Thumm taking silver in 83.76 meters. Patriks Gailums, LAT, took bronze in 82.97 meters, giving Latvia a cherished medal, their first since 2016!
9. A close heptathlon. Kate O’Connor took her second gold in a heptathlon in three weeks. Kate added the European Champs gold in a very tactical 6,751 points. Emma Oosterwegel, NED, was silver at 6, 713 points. Sofie Dokter, NED, took bronze on 6,654 points.