Women's Preview: European Athletics Championships Rome 2024

Thursday, 06 June 2024

Three reigning world champions, Femke Bol in the 400m hurdles, Yaroslava Mahuchik in the high jump, and Katarina Johnson Thompson in the heptathlon, are set to headline the women's events at the European Athletics Championships. The prestigious competition will unfold at the iconic Olympic Stadium in Rome from June 7 to 12, bringing together Europe's elite athletes for a showcase of top-tier athletic prowess and fierce competition.

WOMEN'S PREVIEW

Women’s 400 metres hurdles:

Dutch star Femke Bol will defend her European title in the women’s 400 metres hurdles. Bol won three European gold medals in the 400 metres in 49.44, the 400 metres hurdles in 52.67 and the 4x400 relay in 3:20.87 in Munich 2022.

Bol broke Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 41-year-old world indoor record at the Dutch Championships with 49.26 in the 400 metres in Apeldoorn in 2023.

Last year she won the world title in the 400 metres hurdles in 51”70 before anchoring the 4x400 relay to gold medal in 3:20.72.

Bol won the world indoor gold medal in Glasgow 2024 in the 400 metres improving her own world record to 49.17 and led the Dutch team to the gold medal in the 4x400 relay.

Femke Bol: “I am really looking forward to the European Championships. I always love Rome. I had one of my first Diamond League races there in COVID times. There was this huge stadium and just two people I think in the crowd because it was not allowed. Another year I was there and Gianmarco Tamberi was jumping and the crowd went crazy. The Italians go crazy. They are so loud, which is so nice.

Bol will only focus only on the 400 metres hurdles in Rome and will not be make an attempt to double the 400 metres and the 400 metres hurdles two months before the Olympic Games in Paris.

“I won’t do a double of 400 metres and 400 metres hurdles because that is too much right now”, said Bol.

Women’s 100 metres:

Dina Asher Smith will be adding another European gold medal to her collection. The British sprint star will run in the 100 metres and in the 4x100 relay. She won her first gold medal at these championships in the 200m in Amsterdam 2016. Two years later Asher Smith came away with three gold medals in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100 relay at the European Championships in Berlin 2018. She became world champion in the 200 metres in Doha 2019. At the European Championships in Munich 2022 she won the silver medal in the 200 metres, but she pulled up with cramps in the 100 metres. After finishing eighth in the 100 metres and seventh in the 200 metres at the World Championships Asher Smith took the decision to switch from her long-time coach John Blackie in London to Edrick Floreal in Austin (Texas), where she trains with Julien Alfred and Rhasidat Adeleke.

Zaynab Dosso will be looking to add another international medal to her collection after finishing third at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow last March in 7.05. Dosso set Italian records in the 60m with 7.02 in Torun and in the 100m with 11.02 in Savona.

Gina Luckenkemper will defend her European title two years after winning the gold medal in Munich in 10.99 ahead of Mujinga Kambundji from Switzerland. The Swiss sprinter won two European medals in the 100m (bronze in Amsterdam 2016 and silver in Munich 2022) and finished fifth at the World Championships in 10”91 in Eugene 2022 and sixth at the Olympic Games in 10.99 in Tokyo 2021.

Ewa Swoboda from Poland will be looking to add another podium this year to the world indoor silver medal in Glasgow.

Women’s 200 metres:

British sprint star Daryl Neita starts as the favourite in the 200 metres. Neita won the European bronze medal in the 100 metres in Munich 2022. This season she won two Diamond League races in the 200m in Suzhou in 22.62 and in Doha in the 100m in 10.98.

Mujinga Kambundji will defend her 200m European title two years after her win in Munich. The Swiss sprint star won the 200m world bronze medal in Doha 2019.

The other medal candidates are Henriette Jaeger from Norway, who set a PB of 22.58 this year, Boglarka Takacs from Hungary (PB 22.71) and Julia Henrikson from Sweden (PB 22.89).

Women’s 400 metres:

Natalia Kaczmarek leads the European seasonal list with 49.80 set at the Bislett Games in Oslo. The Polish athlete won the world silver medal in 49.57 in Budapest and set a Polish record of 49.48 at the Diamond League meeting in Chorzow last year.

Lieke Klaver from the Netherlands is chasing another international medal after finishing runner-up to her training partner Femke Bol at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow last March.

The other medal candidates are Rhasidat Adeleke from Ireland, NCAA champion in 49.20 and fourth at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 in 50.13, Lurdes Gloria Manuel, European under 20 champion in Jerusalem 2023 and second in Ostrava in 50.59, Sharlene Mawdsley from Ireland, who recently improved her PB to 50.72 in Chorzow, Henriette Jaeger from Norway, who won the European under 23 silver medal and set the national record of 50.81 at the Bislett Games in Oslo, and Andrea Miklos from Romania, who set a PB of 50.67 last year.

Women’s 100 metres hurdles:

Ditaji Kambundji leads the entry list with her seasonal best set on 10 May, when she won at the Diamond League meeting in Doha in 12.49. The Swiss hurdler won the European indoor gold medal in Istanbul and set a national 100 metres hurdles record of 12.47 in Bern.

Cyrena Samba Mayela from France won the world indoor gold medal in Belgrade 2022 and the world indoor bronze medal in Glasgow 2024. The French hurdler claimed her first Diamond League race in the 100m hurdles in Eugene setting a national record of 12.52.

Pia Skrzyszowka from Poland will defend her European outdoor title two years after her win in Munich 2022 in 12.53. The Polish hurdler also won the world indoor bronze medal in Glasgow 2024 in 7.94. She finished third in

The other medal contenders are Nadine Visser from the Netherlands, double European indoor gold medallist in Glasgow 2019 and Torun 2021, and Sarah Lavin from Ireland, fifth at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow 2024 in 7.91.

Women’s high jump:

Yaroslava Mahuchik will defend her European outdoor title two years after winning for first time at these Championships in Munich 2022 with 1.95m. The Ukrainian jumper has collected three world outdoor medals (gold in Budapest 2023 with 2.01m and two silver medals in Doha 2019 with a world under 20 record of 2.04m at the age of 17 and Eugene 2022 with 2.02m, two European indoor gold medals in Torun 2021 (2.00m) and in Istanbul 2023 (1.98m), two world indoor medals (gold in Belgrade 2022 with 2.02m and silver in Glasgow 2024 with 1.97m) and two Diamond League Trophies in Zurich 2022 and Eugene 2023. She opened her outdoor season with a win in the Diamond League in Stockolm with 2.00m last Sunday.

Mahuchik returns to the Olympic Stadium in Rome where she finished second with 1.95m in the Golden Gala in 2020.

Yaroslava Mahuchik: “Rome is a special place for me. My first Diamond League was in Rome in 2018. Second, the world record in high jump was set in Rome by Stefka Kostadinova at the 1987 World Championships. This place has a lot of energy. Italian fans are so loud, so crazy. I am looking forward to this competition. The Rome Olympic Stadium is one of the great stadiums in the world. You walk past all the statues, all the historic stuff. It’s a great place to have the event”.

Mahuchik will take on Serbian rising star Angelina Topic, who won the European bronze medal in Munich 2022 with 1.93m to become the youngest ever medallist at these championships. Topic, daughter of European high jump champion in Split 1990, set the Serbian indoor record with 1.97m in Banska Bystrika last February and won two Diamond League competitions in Doha with 1.94 and in Marrakesh with 1.98m. Topic won two gold medals at the European under 18 Championships in 2022 and at the European under 20 Championships in 2023 in Jerusalem.

Lia Apostolovski will be seeking the second medal of her career after winning the world indoor bronze medal in Glasgow. Christina Honsel from Germany is aiming to win her first senior medal after finishing fourth at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

The other medal contenders are Iryna Gerashchenko, fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 with 1.98m and at the World Championships in Eugene 2022 with 2.00m, Imke Onnen from Germany, second in the Diamond League in Stockolm with 1.94m, Morgan Lake from Great Britain, fourth at the World Championships in Budapest 2023, and Mirela Demireva from Bulgaria, silver medallist at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016.

Women’s heptathlon:

Two-time world outdoor champion Katarina Johnson Thompson will go head-to-head against two-time Olympic, world and European outdoor champion Nafissatou Thiam.

Thiam won the last two European outdoor titles in Berlin 2018 with 6816 points and Munich 2022 with 6628 points. The Belgian athlete has not completed a heptathlon competition since the European Championships in Munich 2022, but she won the European indoor gold medal in the pentathlon in Istanbul 2023 breaking the world record with 5055 points in her last combined events competition. She was forced to miss the World Championships in Budapest due to injury. Thiam is the second woman after Jackie Joyner Kersee to win back-to-back Olympic titles in the heptathlon. She set the world record for the high jump within the heptathlon competition with 2.02m in Talence in 2019.

Nafissatou Thiam: “Obviously it’s the world record and I was so happy, but what’s even more exciting for me was how much better I could still do and how much potential is there”.

Johnson Thompson has not won a European gold medal in the heptathlon yet in her career. The British athlete achieved her best result at these Championships in Berlin when she finished second with 6759 points. Last year the athlete from Liverpool won her second world gold medal in Budapest with 6740 points. She competed in selected individual events this year and set the second best performance of her career in the javelin throw with 44.88m in Graz.

Katarina Johnson Thomson: “It’s a title I have not won. I would like to have it, but as a heptathlete I know so much can go right, so much can go wrong, so much can happen in the lead-up. I am feeling really motivated, probably more motivated than ever coming off the back of last year. Now I just want to put out a good performance”.

Noor Vidts won two world indoor gold medals in the pentathlon in Belgrade 2022 with 4773 points and in Glasgow 2024 with 4773 points and finished fourth in the heptathlon at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 with 6571 points.

Annik Kaelin from Switzerland won the European bronze medal in Munich 2022 with a national record of 6515 points beating Vidts. Kaelin recently finished second at the Hypo Meeting in Goetzis with 6506 points behind Anouk Vetter, who has opted to skip the European Championships in Rome to focus on the Olympic Games in Paris. During the Austrian meeting Kaelin set the Olympic qualifying standard in the long jump with 6.70m and in the 100m hurdles with 12.97 despite a minor knee injury.

Saga Vanninen from Finland is another major candidate for a medal. The 21-year-old Finnish athlete won European under 20 title in Tallinn 2021 and the European under 23 title in Espoo 2023, two world under 20 titles in Nairobi 2021 and Cali 2022. Last March she made a major breakthrough at senior level when she won the world indoor silver medal with 4677 points at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

The Dutch team is led by Sofie Dokter, who won the world indoor bronze medal in Glasgow.

The other medal candidates are German specialists Carolin Schaefer (world silver medallist in London 2017 and European bronze medallist in Berlin 2018) and Sophie Weissenberg (seventh at the World Championships in Budapest), and Hungary’s Xenia Kriszan, fourth at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 and winner in Goetzis in 2021.

Women’s pole vault:

Molly Caudery from Great Britain is seeking another major medal following her world indoor title in Glasgow 2024 with 4.85m. The British pole vaulter set the world lead of 4.86m during the indoor season in Rouen last February. She took the win at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava with 4.84m on 28 May.

Caudery will face defending European champion Wilma Murto from Finland. Murto won the gold medal at the European champion improving her PB three times to 4.85m to win the continental gold medal.

Slovenia’s 35-year-old Tina Sutej is aiming to win her second European medal after her bronze medal in Munich 2022. Sutej also finished fourth at the last two editions of the World Championships.

Ekaterini Stefanidi from Greece, Olympic gold medallist in Rio de Janeiro 2016, is seeking her fifth consecutive European medal after silver in Zurich 2014, gold in Amsterdam 2016 and Berlin 2018 and another silver in Munich 2022.

Italian fans will cheer on national record holder Roberta Bruni, second at the Marrakesh Diamond League meeting with 4.65m and Elisa Molinarolo, who finished ninth at the World Championships in Budapest and third in Marrakesh before clearing 4.66m in Caorle on 26 May.

Women’s long jump:

Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo from Germany is seeking her fourth European outdoor medal after winning bronze in Amsterdam 2016, gold in Berlin 2018 and silver in Munich 2022. Mihambo completed a full set of major titles with gold medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and at the World Championships in Eugene 2022.

The German team will be also formed by Mikaelle Assani, European under 20 gold medallist in Tallinn 2021 and finished fourth at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow 2024 and Laura Raquel Muller, European under 20 bronze medallist in Jerusalem 2023.

Italian long jump star Larissa Iapichino is seeking her second continental medal after finishing second at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul with a national indoor record record of 6.97m behind Jazmin Sawyers. Iapichino, the daughter of two-time world outdoor champion Fiona May and former pole vaulter Gianni Iapichino, jumped 6.65m in Kalithea and a seasonal best of 6.86m at the Italian Club Championships in Palermo in her most recent competitions.

The other major contenders are Alina Rotaru from Romania, world outdoor bronze medallist in Budapest 2023, and Fatima Diame from Spain, world indoor bronze medallist in Glasgow 2024.

Another athlete to watch is Agathe De Souza, who switched citizenship from Sao Tomé and Principe to Portugal. De Souza set a national record of 7.03m in Weinheim in 2023.

Women’s triple jump:

Ana Peleteiro-Compoaré from Spain starts as the favorite in the women’s triple jump in the absence of reigning European outdoor champion Maryna Bekh Romanchuk.

The Spanish jumper won the world indoor bronze in Glasgow 2024 with 14.75m and the European indoor title in 2019. She will compete in her first major outdoor championship since returning from her maternity leave.

The other medal contenders are Tugba Danismaz from Turkey, European indoor champion on home soil in Istanbul 2023, Kristina Makela from Finland and Hanna Minenko from the Ukraine, who won silver and bronze medallists at the European Championships in Munich 2022.

Women’s 800 metres:

Keely Hodgkinson is chasing her second consecutive European outdoor gold medal at the age of 22 two years after claiming the victory in Munich 2022. Hodgkinson has also collected the Olympic silver medal in Tokyo 2021 and two world silver medals in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023 and the European indoor gold medal in Torun 2021. The British athlete started her 2024 season with a PB of 51.61 in the 400 metres in Savona and a win in the Diamond League in Eugene in a world lead of 1:55.78 ahead of world champion Mary Moraa. Great Britain has the chance to claim a podium sweep. Erin Wallace and Alexandra Bell are ranked second and third in the European seasonal list with 1:59.19 and 1:59.55.

The other medal contenders are Slovenia’s Anita Horvat, seventh at the World Championships in Eugene 2022, Italian middle distance runners Elena Bellò, who set her PB of 1:58.97 at the Golden Gala in Rome in 2022 and set a seasonal best of 1:58.83 in Marrakesh, and Eloisa Coiro, who set the second fastest Italian indoor time in history with 1:59.76 at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow 2024, and Lore Hoffmann, fourth at the European Championships in Munich 2022.

Women’s 1500 metres:

Georgia Bell from Great Britain is looking forward to follow in the footsteps of her compatriot Laura Muir, who will not defend her European title to focus on her preparation for the Olympic Games in Paris.

Bell finished fourth at the World indoor Championships in Glasgow on home soil last March and finished seventh at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene setting a personal best of 4:00.41.

Katie Snowden leads the entries on seasonal best times with her seasonal best of 4:00.24 set in Eugene. The 30-year-old British middle distance runner set her PB of 3:56.72 in the semifinal of the World Championships in Budapest before finishing eighth in the final with 3:59.65.

Jemma Reekie, fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and world indoor silver in Glasgow in the 800 metres, is entered in the 1500 metres. The Scottish middle distance runner built up for the European Championships in Rome with two wins in the 1500m in Chorzow in 4:02.57 and in the 800 metres in Stochkolm in 1:59.79.

Clara Mageean from Ireland is chasing her third European medal after finishing third in Amsterdam 2016 and second in Munich 2022. Magaeen, who also won the Commonwealth Games silver medal in Birmingham 2022, won the 1500m at the Golden Spike in Ostrava in 4:01.98. She set her PB of 3:55.87 at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels. Mageean’s compatriot Sarah Healy, former European under 18 champion in the 1500m and 3000m, finished second in Ostrava in 4:02.12 .

Another major contender is Poland’s Sofia Ennaoui, who won bronze medals at the European Championships in Munich 2022 and at the European indoor Championships in Istanbul 2023.

Women’s 5000 metres:

Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal from Norway is chasing her third European medal after finishing third in the 10000m in Amsterdam 2016 and in the 3000 metres steeplechase in Berlin 2018. Grovdal improved Grete Waitz’s long-standing national record in the 3000 metres with 8:27.02 at the Bislett Games in Oslo last week.

Italian middle-distance running star Nadia Battocletti is aiming to add another medal to her collection that includes four European Cross Country medals (two at under 20 level and two in the under 23 category). Battocletti finished seventh at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and set the Italian 5000m record with 14:41.30 at the London Diamond League meeting last year.

The next generation is led by Agate Caune from Latvia, who won European under 20 titles in Jerusalem 2023.

Women’s 10000 metres:

Megan Keith from Great Britain leads the entry list in the 10000 metres. Keith won the European under 23 titles in the cross country and in the 5000 metres in 2023. She improved her PBs to 14:43.24 in the 5000m and to 30:36.84 in the 10000m.

Eilish McColgan will run her first race on the track since April 2023, when she improved Paula Radcliffe’s British record from 30:01.09 to 30:00.03.

The German hopes for a medal will be carried by Hanna Klein, who won the European indoor title in Istanbul 2023. Konstanze Klosterhalfen will not defend her 5000m European title due to injury.

Women’s discus throw:

Double World and European champion Sandra Elkasevic from Croatia has won a record six consecutive European gold medals since Barcelona 2010 in the women’s discus throw under her maiden name Sandra Perkovic. The Croatian star, who is now married to former world under 20 champion Edis Elkasevic, is aiming to extend her record to seven consecutive European titles. She finished second at the Diamond League meeting in Oslo setting a seasonal best of 66.48m.

Perkovic claimed the win at the 2022 European Championships in Munich with 67.95m beating Kristin Pudenz from Germany, who improved her PB to 67.87m to win silver in front of her home fans.

Pudenz will not compete in Rome, but the German team will have solid medal chances with Claudine Vita and Shanice Craft, who threw seasonal best of 64.76m and 64.75m this year.

A major medallist is Jorinde Van Klinken from the Netherlands, who won the European under 23 gold medal in Tallinn 2021 and finished fourth at the European Championships in Munich 2022, at the World Championships in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023. She set the national record of 70.22m in 2021 and set a seasonal best of 64.88m in Eugene.

Portugal’s 33-year-old Irina Rodrigues won the European Throwing Cup on home soil in Leira with 66.30m and could be a potential medal candidate.

Italian hopes will be carried by 2019 World University Games gold medallist Daisy Osakue, who equalled Agnese Maffeis’ Italian record with 63.66m at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and improved this mark to 64.57m last year. She finished third at the Bislett Games in Oslo with 63.29m.

French 44-year-old veteran Melina Robert Michon will make a record eighth appearance at the European Championships. Robert Michon won three silver medals at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016, at the World Championships in Moscow 2013 and at the European Championships in Zurich 2014.

Women’s shot put:

German 26-year-old Yemisi Ogunleye won the world indoor silver medal in Glasgow last March with a lifetime best of 20.19m. Ogunleye is second in this year’s European list behind reigning European outdoor champion Jessica Schilder from the Netherlands, who won the National indoor title in Apeldoorn with 20.24m last February. Schilder finished fifth at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow with 19.37m. The Dutch athlete will defend the title she won in Munich 2022 with a national record of 20.24m. That year she won the world indoor and outdoor bronze medal. Jorinde Van Klinken won the European bronze medal in Munich two years ago and is aiming to win medals in both the shot put and in the discus throw.

Women’s javelin throw:

Adriana Vilagos from Serbia is aiming to win another European medal two years after winning the silver medal in Munich 2022. Vilagos, two-time world under 20 champion in Nairobi 2021 and Cali 2022, set the second best performance in Europe with 63.58m in Offenburg on 12 May.

Victoria Hudson from Austria, who finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest 2023, surpassed Vilagos with 66.05m in Eisenstadt,

Tzengko is currently 12th on the European seasonal list with 60.43m but she has the ability to perform well in the major championships. The Greek thrower won the European gold medal in Munich with 65.81m in 2022 and the silver medal at the World under 20 silver medal in Nairobi 2021.

Olympic silver medallist Maria Andrejczyk, who set the third best performance in history with 71.40m, has returned from a shoulder injury with a seasonal best of 62.72m.

The other athlete to watch is Latvia’s Anete Sietina, who set a seasonal best of 63.21 on 18 May in Chorzow.

Women’s hammer throw:

Moldova’s Zalina Marghieva leads the European list with a national record of 75.95m set in Balchik. Marghieva finished fifth at the Olympic Games in Rio 2016 and fourth at the World Championships in Doha 2019.

Krista Tervo from Finland and 2022 European champion Bianca Ghelber from Romania are ranked second and third in the European list with 74.63m and 74.06m respectively.

Italian record holder Sara Fantini is aiming to win her second consecutive European medal two years after finishing third in Munich 2022. Fantini set the Italian record of 75.77m in Madrid in 2022 and set a seasonal best of 73.67m in Modena.

Another medal contender is Hanna Skydan from Azerbaijan, who finished fourth at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 and won the European bronze medal in Amsterdam 2016. Skydan won in Chorzow with 73.25m on 18 May.