More gold changed hands on the second day of competition at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on Tuesday as Romell Glave closed out the evening with a spark to take the men’s 100m while a host of qualifiers advanced to their respective next rounds.
Glave led the way to victory in 10.09 as he and teammate Jeremiah Azu grabbed the top two podium spots for Great Britain with dominant starts out of the blocks. Azu finished in 10.16 while Germany’s Owen Ansah took bronze in 10.19.
“It’s an amazing feeling. The work I’ve put in to reach this point was a lot,” Glave said. “Me and my coach have been working on the first 30 meters. It paid off and it’s amazing to upgrade my bronze from 2024. The aim was to get a 1-2-3 finish for British athletics. We got 1 -2 instead which is still absolutely amazing.”
Italy’s Nadia Battocletti powered her way to a 15:37.84 win in the women’s 5,000m after a reserved few early laps from the field in a race that ignited on the final 400 meters. But Battocletti emerged from fourth place and surged with 200 meters remaining and opened a huge gap that she widened with the finish line in sight.
Spain’s Marta García was second in 15:39.98 while Battocletti teammated Micol Majori got third in 15:40.65 for bronze.
“When we were getting to the last lap, I felt I needed to push harder because anything can change in the last lap –
you can lose or win it there – so it was a little tricky,” Battocletti said. “When I was ahead, I was determined not to let go of the lead. The double would be a dream for me. Of course, the 10k will be another race. We will be pushing from the first
kilometer. It will be different. I am not scared, I am just excited. I really want to win the double.”
Nadine Visser struck gold in the women’s 100m hurdles in a 12.67 photo finish for The Netherlands over Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska who also crossed the line in 12.67. Visser got the edge with just enough of a lean to take the win. France’s Laeticia Bapté took bronze in 12.73.
“Winning by a thousandth, this was unnecessary,” Visser said. “I’m a really big perfectionist, always thinking about things that could have gone better. Waiting for the photo finish, I wasn’t really thinking about whether I would get the gold medal or not, I just felt this wasn’t the perfect race. In the end it doesn’t matter because it was enough.”
Hungary’s Bence Halász tossed a world leading 84.25m on his fifth attempt in the men’s hammer throw to take gold over Germany’s Merlin Hummel (81.30m) and Ukraine’s Mykhaylo Kokhan (79.49m) while Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou soared to an 8.44m
win in the long jump over Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer (8.29m) and Bulgaria’s Bozhidar Sarâboyukov (8.26m).
Day 2 Results
Men’s Hammer Throw
1. Bence Halász (Hungary) – 84.25m WL
2. Merlin Hummel (Germany) – 81.30m
3. Mykhaylo Kokhan (Ukraine) – 79.49m
Women’s 5,000m
1. Nadia Battocletti (Italy) – 15:37.84
2. Marta García (Spain) – 15:39.98
3. Micol Majori (Italy) – 15:40.65
Men’s Long Jump
1. Miltiadis Tentoglou (Greece) – 8.44m
2. Simon Ehammer (Switzerland) – 8.29m
3. Bozhidar Sarâboyukov (Bulgaria) – 8.26m
Women’s 100m Hurdles
1. Nadine Visser (Netherlands) – 12.67
2. Pia Skrzyszowska (Poland) – 12.67
3. Laeticia Bapté (France) – 12.73
Men’s 100m
1. Romell Glave (Great Britain) – 10.09
2. Jeremiah Azu (Great Britain) – 10.16
3. Owen Ansah (Germany) – 10.19
