Kristjan Ceh in the discus at the European Championships in Birmingham (© Getty Images)
Kristjan Čeh produced one of the finest discus series in European Championships history to successfully defend his title in Birmingham on Thursday (13), while Amy Hunt completed a memorable sprint double in front of the home crowd.
Those performances highlighted a busy two days of action at Alexander Stadium, where Matthew Hudson-Smith won a third European 400m crown on his home track, Emma Zapletalová dominated the women’s 400m hurdles and Leo Neugebauer survived a fierce late challenge from fellow German Niklas Kaul to take the decathlon title.
Čeh was quick to make his mark in the final. The Slovenian opened with 70.83m, immediately breaking the championship record of 69.78m that Mykolas Alekna had set in Munich four years ago.
Čeh backed it up with 70.13m in round two before producing an even bigger throw in the third. His discus landed at 72.51m, extending his championship record by almost three metres from the mark that had stood at the start of the evening.
Such was Čeh's dominance that he surpassed 70 metres four times, adding 70.68m in the final round.
World record-holder Alekna threw 69.89m to secure silver, while Germany's Henrik Janssen produced a season's best of 69.53m for bronze ahead of three-time world champion Daniel Ståhl (68.22m).
"From my training, I knew that I was ready to throw very, very far, so I'm not surprised," said Ceh, the 2022 world champion.
"I would say this was the highest quality competition in the history of these championships. We had perfect conditions for the discus, a perfect circle and everybody just had great throws. And when you throw alongside these guys, it is like another boost."
Hunt completes sprint double
Amy Hunt added the European 200m crown to the 100m title she had won on the opening night.
The world 200m silver medallist attacked the bend and entered the straight battling with British teammate Dina Asher-Smith, but Ireland's Rhasidat Adeleke was also finishing strongly on the outside.
Hunt held on to win in 22.19, nine hundredths ahead of Adeleke, who took silver in a national record of 22.28. Asher-Smith was just one hundredth further back, earning bronze in 22.29.
It completed a superb individual sprint double for Hunt, who had won the 100m three days earlier in 11.00.
Fellow British sprinter Matthew Hudson-Smith had provided another special moment for the host nation by winning a record third European 400m title at the stadium he has regarded as home since childhood.
Starting in lane nine, the European record-holder committed from the outset and built a clear advantage before entering the home straight. His rivals closed slightly in the final metres, but Hudson-Smith had done enough to win convincingly in 44.17.
France's Muhammad Abdallah Kounta took silver in 44.40, with the Netherlands' Jonas Phijffers setting a national record of 44.41 for bronze.
World bronze medallist Emma Zapletalová was an emphatic winner of the women's 400m hurdles, pulling away to win in 52.91. Britain's Emily Newnham finished strongly to take silver with a PB of 53.33, while Portugal's Fatoumata Binta Diallo claimed bronze in a national record of 53.55.
Neugebauer holds off Kaul in decathlon
World champion Leo Neugebauer held off a determined second-day charge from fellow German Niklas Kaul to win a gripping decathlon by just 38 points.
Neugebauer had led for much of the competition, building his advantage with a 7.82m long jump, a championship decathlon best of 17.13m in the shot put and another championship best of 54.31m in the discus.
But Kaul, renowned for his strength on day two, steadily closed the gap. His decisive move came in the javelin, where he threw 73.54m to Neugebauer’s 60.10m, cutting the deficit to 154 points with only the 1500m remaining.
Kaul needed to finish roughly 24 seconds ahead of Neugebauer to take the title. He gave it everything, running 4:20.70, while an exhausted Neugebauer battled home in 4:38.36.
The 17.66-second gap was not quite enough. Neugebauer secured his first European title with 8611, Kaul taking silver with 8573. Sander Skotheim, the 2025 world indoor champion, completed the podium with 8433. It was the first decathlon the Norwegian had completed since setting a national record of 8909 in Gotzis last year.
English turns record into gold
Ireland’s Mark English proved strongest when it mattered in the 800m, timing his kick to perfection to win his first European outdoor title in 1:45.26. Croatia's Marino Bloudek held on for silver in 1:45.62 and Spain's Mohamed Attaoui took bronze in 1:45.71.
English had made his intentions clear in the semifinals on Wednesday, running 1:43.49 to take 0.35 off a championship record set by Olaf Beyer back in 1978.
Elsewhere, Switzerland's Angelica Moser cleared 4.80m to retain the pole vault crown she won in Rome two years ago. Ten years after winning her first European title, and 14 years after winning her first continental medal, Germany’s Gesa Felicitas Krause won her third European steeplechase title in 9:12.69.
