Hunt Takes European 100m Gold in Birmingham as Ingebrigtsen Returns With Fourth 5000m Title
Amy Hunt won her first major senior title on home soil, taking the women's 100m gold at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on 10 August in 11.00 seconds — her first major senior title, and the third British win in this event since 2018 (European Athletics).
The 24-year-old went in as the favourite. She had won world silver over 200m in Tokyo and taken the 100m title at the Commonwealth Games a fortnight earlier. Her qualification for Birmingham had come via a 10.97 in Stockholm in June, and her season had opened in Gainesville back in April with a 22.63 over 200m into a strong headwind — the fastest season debut of her career (European Athletics).
Ewa Swoboda of Poland followed Hunt across the line in 11.02, repeating her silver from the previous European Championships in Rome. Delphine Nkansa of Belgium took bronze in a personal best of 11.05 (European Athletics).
The final ran on the opening night of the championships at the Alexander Stadium, a venue that seats around 20,000. The Monday night session looked barely half full, but organisers told the Guardian that 13,623 tickets were sold for that session and 170,000 for the week, with the event approaching a sellout from Thursday onwards (The Guardian).
Earlier on the track, Jakob Ingebrigtsen won his fourth European 5000m title in 13:15.29. It was his first race of the year after surgery on his Achilles tendon in January. Florian Bremm of Germany took second, with France's Etienne Daguinos third (European Athletics).
Norway also won the mixed 4x400m relay (two men, two women each running a full lap) in a championship record of 3:09.62, nearly a second ahead of Great Britain. The Norwegian team was anchored by Karsten Warholm, the 400m hurdles world record-holder, and Henriette Jæger, the fastest woman in Europe that year. Britain's quartet of Ben Jeffries, Charlotte Henrich, Toby Harries and Yemi Mary John took silver (The Guardian).
In the men's 800m heats, Max Burgin of Great Britain won a loaded race in 1:45.80, just 12 days after a virus knocked him out of the Commonwealth Games semi-finals. His teammate Ben Pattison advanced as the fastest non-automatic qualifier, running 1:45.40 for the fifth-fastest time overall. Ireland's Mark English also progressed, while his compatriot Cian McPhillips went out after running below his best, similarly affected by a virus (The Guardian).
Archie Yeo of Great Britain reached the men's long jump final with a last-round leap of 7.92m — one jump, when it mattered, to stay alive in the competition (The Guardian).
What makes Hunt's victory resonate beyond the result is the context: a sprinter winning a continental title on the track she trains beside, in the city she grew up in, on the opening night of a home championships. The crowd may not have filled every seat on a Monday evening, but the roar for the 100m final needed no amplification.
