Hudson-Smith completes European 400m hat-trick as Kosonen, Zapletalová and Joseph win gold
Matthew Hudson-Smith thrilled the home crowd by winning his third European men’s 400m title on Day 3 of the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. Emma Zapletalová claimed her first major gold medal in the women’s 400m hurdles, Jason Joseph triumphed in the men’s 110m hurdles and Silja Kosonen delivered victory for Finland in the women’s hammer throw.
Men’s 400m final
Olympic silver medallist Hudson-Smith won the men’s 400m final in 44.17 in front of his home fans. The victory gave the Briton his third European title following his triumphs in Berlin 2018 and Munich 2022.
France’s Muhammad Abdallah Kounta took silver in 44.40, one day after improving his personal best to 44.38 in the semifinals. European under-23 champion Jonas Phijffers claimed bronze in a Dutch record of 44.41.
Matthew Hudson-Smith: “I’m a proud Birchfield Harrier, and this is my home track. I’ve been here since I was nine years old, so to do this in front of my friends and family is extra special. It is most likely my last European Championships, so there is no better place or way to go out.
“The Matt Hudson-Smith Stand is really cool. It was such a surprise. I thought it was a normal media engagement, but my nan was there to surprise me. Going past it on the lap of honour was an unreal feeling.
“The lane draw never bothers me—a 400m is a 400m. I tried to get out hard over the first 150 metres and take control. I knew I was the fastest in the field, so I wanted to put the race out of reach down the home straight. We still have the relay to come, and another gold on this track would be the dream way to end my European Championships career.”
Women’s 400m hurdles final
Slovakia’s Emma Zapletalová won her first European title in 52.91, one year after earning world bronze in Tokyo.
Zapletalová entered the championships as the favourite after an outstanding season in which she won four Diamond League meetings—in Rabat, Rome, Oslo and Doha—and lowered the Slovak record to 52.30. She became only the second Slovak athlete to win European outdoor gold, following hammer thrower Libor Charfreitag in Barcelona in 2010.
European under-23 champion Emily Newnham of Great Britain took silver in a personal best of 53.32. Portugal’s Fatoumata Binta Diallo secured bronze with a national record of 53.55.
Belgium’s Paulien Couckuyt finished fourth, equalling her PB of 53.87. Italy’s Ayomide Folorunso placed fifth in 54.29, matching her finish from Rome 2024, while Great Britain’s Lina Nielsen was sixth in 54.35.
Emma Zapletalová: “It is a great relief to confirm why I was the favourite and to win my first major gold medal. I fulfilled my goal of becoming European champion. Honestly, I am not very happy with my performance. The target was to run close to a PB, but I was far from my maximum. I am endlessly happy that I managed it and was not affected by the pressure. The energy from the fans was crazy.”
Men’s 110m hurdles final
Jason Joseph won his first European outdoor title in a season’s best of 13.12. The Swiss athlete added the crown to his European indoor 60m hurdles gold from Istanbul 2023 and European outdoor bronze from Rome 2024.
France’s Just Kwaou-Mathey earned silver in a season’s best of 13.16, while European and world indoor champion Jakub Szymański of Poland claimed his first major outdoor medal with bronze in 13.26. France’s Thomas Wilkes finished fourth in 13.36. Great Britain’s Samuel Bennett struck the third hurdle and faded to seventh in 13.62.
Jason Joseph: “I’m feeling great. It was a tough race, but I did what I had to do to win gold. I managed a season’s best and came very close to a PB. My last couple of training sessions were really good, so I knew I only had to reproduce what I had done in practice. I suffered a small hamstring injury a couple of weeks ago, and my coach did a great job of getting everything to click for me.”
Men’s 110m hurdles semifinals
Kwaou-Mathey won the first semifinal in 13.33. Cyprus’ Milan Trajković finished second in 13.40, edging Belgium’s Elie Bacari by one hundredth of a second.
Joseph won the second semifinal in 13.38 ahead of Wilkes (13.40), while Spain’s Enrique Llopis finished third in 13.47. Szymański won the third semifinal in a season’s best of 13.26, with Bennett credited with the same time. France’s Théo Pedre and Austria’s Enzo Diessl advanced as the fastest non-automatic qualifiers in 13.31 and 13.35.
Women’s hammer throw final
Finland’s Silja Kosonen claimed European gold with 76.38m after taking control of the competition in the second round.
Kosonen improved through her opening three throws, recording 69.76m, 74.97m and 76.38m. She backed up the winning mark with further efforts of 74.05m and 75.47m.
Defending champion Sara Fantini of Italy won silver with 74.35m, completing her set of European medals after taking bronze in Munich 2022 and gold in Rome 2024.
Norway’s Beatrice Nedberge Llano secured bronze with 72.88m. Three-time Olympic champion Anita Włodarczyk finished fourth with 71.81m, ahead of Ireland’s Nicola Tuthill (70.30m).
Men’s decathlon after five events
Germany’s Leo Neugebauer leads the overnight standings with 4483 points after five events. Dutchman Jeff Tesselaar is second with 4412, while Norway’s Sander Skotheim sits third with 4382.
Nino Portmann opened the competition by clocking the fastest 100m time of 10.69, worth 931 points. Tesselaar ran 10.75, defending champion Johannes Erm clocked 10.88 and Neugebauer began his campaign with 10.90.
Neugebauer took the overall lead in the long jump, reaching 7.82m on his third attempt for 1015 points. Skotheim marked his return from ankle surgery with a season’s best of 7.80m, while Tesselaar jumped 7.67m.
The German strengthened his lead in the shot put, producing a European Championships decathlon best and season’s best of 17.16m for 921 points. He became the first decathlete to surpass 17 metres in the history of the championships.
France’s Antoine Ferranti won the high jump with 2.05m, beating Sweden’s Emil Uhlin and Skotheim on countback. Niklas Kaul cleared a season’s best of 2.02m, while Neugebauer earned 794 points with 1.99m.
Tesselaar then improved his 400m PB to 47.06, collecting 955 points and reducing Neugebauer’s advantage to 71 points. Skotheim ended the day a further 30 points behind. Neugebauer closed his first day with 48.81.
European bronze medallist Makenson Gletty remains in contention in fourth with 4323 points. Erm is fifth with 4282, while strong second-day performer Kaul sits sixth with 4214.
Leo Neugebauer: “It felt amazing. I knew I had a big throw in me, but seeing it land beyond 17 metres and hearing the Birmingham crowd explode was incredible. The 100m was solid, the long jump went exactly as planned and the shot put kept the momentum going. But a decathlon is a 10-chapter book, and we have only finished five. I feel great physically and am trying to stay grounded.”
Women’s 200m semifinals
Dina Asher-Smith, the 2019 world 200m champion and a six-time European champion, won the first semifinal in 22.49. France’s Gémima Joseph claimed the second automatic spot in 22.68. Defending champion Mujinga Kambundji finished seventh in 23.90 and failed to advance.
World 200m silver medallist Amy Hunt won the second semifinal in 22.37, two days after claiming European 100m gold. Spain’s Jaël Bestué secured the other automatic place in 22.69.
Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke won the third semifinal in 22.43. Swiss under-23 record-holder Fabienne Hoenke booked the second automatic spot with a PB of 22.46.
Men’s 800m semifinals
European leader Mark English produced the performance of the round, winning the second semifinal in a championship record of 1:43.49.
The Irishman improved the previous mark of 1:43.78, set by Olaf Beyer when he beat Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe to win the European title in Prague in 1978.
Mark English: “I did not know what the championship record was, so it was nice to run it. Now the focus turns to tomorrow’s final. The Irish fans here are amazing. I heard them before, during and after the race.”
Great Britain’s Ben Pattison finished second in 1:43.72, while France’s Corentin Le Clezio improved his PB to 1:43.80. Mohamed Attaoui and Francesco Pernici advanced as the fastest non-automatic qualifiers in 1:43.82 and 1:43.84.
Great Britain’s Max Burgin won the opening semifinal in 1:44.74. Croatian record-holder Marino Bloudek took second in 1:44.96, beating Spain’s David Barroso by one thousandth of a second.
Men’s 400m hurdles semifinals
Oskar Edlund stormed to victory in the opening semifinal in a Swedish record of 47.81. The European under-23 bronze medallist heads into the final as the fastest qualifier. Owe Fischer-Breiholz secured the second automatic place in 48.23.
Oskar Edlund: “The national record is amazing. This is a fast track with a great atmosphere. My family and friends are here, and that gives me extra motivation.”
German record-holder Emil Agyekum won the second semifinal in 48.17. Italy’s Alessandro Sibilio improved his season’s best to 48.44 to secure the second automatic place.
World record-holder and three-time European champion Karsten Warholm won the third semifinal in 48.01. Slovenia’s Matic Ian Guček finished second in a PB of 48.03, ahead of Turkey’s İsmail Nezir (48.20).
Karsten Warholm: “It was a good race. It has only been a couple of days since the mixed 4x400m relay, so I am still recovering a little. I am safely through to the final, so I am happy.”
Men’s triple jump qualifying
World champion Pedro Pichardo led qualifying with 17.16m. World and European indoor champion Andy Díaz Hernández also advanced comfortably, reaching 17.05m on his opening attempt.
Women’s 400m heats
The Netherlands’ Eveline Saalberg won the first heat in 51.65 ahead of Spain’s Paula Sevilla (51.78) and Ireland’s Sophie Becker (52.30).
Belgium’s Hanne Claes won the second heat in 51.56, followed by Spain’s Ana Prieto (51.81) and Italian indoor record-holder Alice Mangione (51.96).
Women’s 200m heats
Hungarian record-holder Boglárka Takács returned to the track after competing in the 100m and won her heat in a season’s best of 22.84. Italy’s Dalia Kaddari recorded the second-fastest time with a season’s best of 23.14.
Women’s discus qualifying
Sweden’s Vanessa Kamga led qualifying with 64.65m. Germany’s Shanice Craft (63.46m) and Dutch throwers Jorinde van Klinken (62.74m) and Alida van Daalen (62.58m) also secured automatic qualification.
