by Stuart Weir
GB shines in the European Under-20s Championship.
Great Britain took a large team (50 athletes) to the European Under-20s in Tampere, Finland, and had a successful campaign. Italy topped the medal table with 14 medals, including six gold, just as it did in the 2024 senior Europeans. Britain was second with 13 (five gold, seven silver, and one bronze). Spain was third with five golds and 14 in total.
Britain’s star performer was Innes FitzGerald, who won both the 5 K and the 3K – see the separate post on Innes. GB dominated the men’s 800, with the first three home. First to finish was William Rabjohns, but he was later disqualified, leaving Rafferty Mirfin first in 1:48.09 with Tom Waterworth second in 1:48.20. Rafferty commented, “A dramatic race is what we will call it. I am pleased with my performance.
Coming in as a first-year under 20 and being able to run like that was special. It was great coming home together as one, two, three. It is great to be part of Team GB. It just shows the strength of middle-distance running, and it feels great. Keely is a significant inspiration to all young runners in the UK. The seniors keep pushing us to show some great performances. This is my first competition and my first big international start for Team GB, so I wasn’t expecting to end up winning the race. I was coming in ranked 9th. It feels fantastic, but it’s a bittersweet experience [with Will’s DQ].
Charlotte Henrich carried on the strong GB tradition in the 400m, winning in 51.68, a PR. She was overwhelmed with the win, commenting: “I am over the moon, I cannot describe it. I am just chuffed. Honestly, I had no thoughts of winning. I am not the best with concentration, but I told myself, ‘I cannot get distracted. I have to focus on the race. I needed to get out well. Then, in the last 100m, I could hear them saying other names, and I thought: No, no, no, no… I am going to win. I just kept trying to stay in front, and I am so grateful that I was in lane two. My mum is here, and I hope my family is proud of me. They are there for me and I am so grateful for them, especially my mum. She drives me to all my competitions, as I am not yet allowed to drive. She likes to call herself my Mum and driver”.
Britain dominated the women’s middle distance with Lyla Belshaw taking gold in the 1500m in 4:14.59 and Isobelle Jones third in 4:16.18. Belshaw had a clear plan: “I wanted to get out, get into the inside, and kind of stick in third or fourth, and then pick it up on the last lap. Coming into the race with the blue bib, I tried not to think about that too much. I prefer being an underdog. But I did pretty well. Isobelle and I are good friends, and it is going to be great to stand on the podium together. I am so happy for both of us. The atmosphere in the team is perfect and very lovely. I feel that we all want each other to succeed. I am sure that when everyone is done competing, we will celebrate a bit. I feel there is a little bit of pressure (because of the great middle-distance running history in GB), but at the same time, when you make it into the middle-distance running, you have a great chance of making the podium. So we appreciate each other. I feel like the 2028 Olympics are now my main goal. I look up to Keely and Georgia, and Kelly Holmes, who has done it before”.
Britain’s other silver medallists were:
Teddy Wilson 100m 10.47
Mabel Alande 100m 11.41
Thea Brown Long Jump 6.44m
Lucy Tallon 200m 23.49
Otis Poole High Jump 2.19m
GB women 4X100 (Nell Desir, Lucy Tallon, Kaya Slater, Mabel Akande)
