How to guide the transition from world-class U20 to elite senior athlete was the focus of the coach symposium &ndash; &lsquo;The Bridge to Sustainable Excellence&rsquo; &ndash; held during the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26.
More than 120 coaches and 181 online viewers from around the world gathered on the final day of competition (9 August) to hear from leading experts in athletics and to share ideas and build community.
Keynote addresses from World Athletics President Sebastian Coe and Coaches&rsquo; Commission Chair Frank Dick kicked off the four-hour programme that featured talks by Peter Thompson, Kim Cousins and Jim Radcliffe. The day concluded with a panel discussion between the speakers and four-time Olympic medallist turned coach and broadcaster Ato Boldon. The symposium and panel were moderated by Olympic sprinter Barbara Petr&aacute;hn, a member of the Coaches&rsquo; Commission.
International coach&nbsp;Thompson&nbsp;opened the talks with a session on career management &ndash; &lsquo;Saving the talent, navigating the &ldquo;danger zone&rdquo; (ages 19-22)&rsquo;.
Olympic and Paralympic coach Cousins then gave a talk titled &lsquo;Are you prepared to win? Planning and periodisation for winning performance&rsquo;.
When asked why these symposiums are integral and what it means for her to be involved, Cousins said: &ldquo;I love coaches' education. Coaches before me taught me.
&ldquo;These coaching symposiums allow us to come together from all over the world, to share information, to share scenarios, and to share stories. If we can help each other grow, it only makes a sport grow in itself. It&rsquo;s an incredible honour to be able to share information and talk with folks around the world, and celebrate track and field.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a85f3e0b5589d89726cbd72.jpg" alt="Kim Cousins speaks during the coach symposium in Oregon" />
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Kim Cousins speaks during the coach symposium in Oregon (&copy; World Athletics Media Academy <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,CiAgICA8c3ZnIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjE2IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjE2IiB2aWV3Qm94PSIwIDAgNDgwIDM2MCI+CiAgICAgIDxnIHRyYW5zZm9ybT0idHJhbnNsYXRlKDAsMzYwKSBzY2FsZSgwLjEsLTAuMSkiIGZpbGw9IiNCMkIyQjIiPgogICAgICAgIDxwYXRoIGQ9Ik0xOTA1IDMxODIgYy0xMjYgLTQ0IC0xODcgLTEwMCAtMjUzIC0yMzMgbC00NyAtOTQgLTM1MCAtNSBjLTMyNiAtNQogICAgICAgIC0zNTQgLTYgLTQwMSAtMjYgLTE0NyAtNjAgLTI0NiAtMTgwIC0yNzQgLTMzMSAtMTQgLTc2IC0xNCAtMTY1OSAwIC0xNzM0IDMxCiAgICAgICAgLTE2NyAxNzMgLTMxMyAzMzggLTM0OCAzNyAtOCA0NzYgLTExIDE0OTAgLTExIDE1NDMgMCAxNDgwIC0yIDE1ODggNTAgMTA0IDUxCiAgICAgICAgMjAwIDE4MSAyMjQgMzA1IDggNDMgMTAgMzAwIDggOTEwIGwtMyA4NTAgLTIzIDU2IGMtNDcgMTEyIC0xNDEgMjA2IC0yNTIgMjUyCiAgICAgICAgLTUyIDIxIC03MiAyMiAtNDA1IDI3IGwtMzUwIDUgLTQ2IDk1IGMtNTQgMTEyIC0xMDYgMTY2IC0yMDcgMjEzIGwtNjcgMzIKICAgICAgICAtNDYwIDIgYy00MTYgMyAtNDY1IDEgLTUxMCAtMTV6IG05NzIgLTIzNyBjMTggLTEzIDUyIC02OCA5MyAtMTUwIDQyIC04MyA3NQogICAgICAgIC0xMzcgOTMgLTE1MCAyNyAtMTkgNDcgLTIwIDQxNSAtMjUgNDM4IC02IDQyNyAtNCA0ODcgLTg5IGwzMCAtNDMgMyAtODM2IGMyCiAgICAgICAgLTYxMCAwIC04NDggLTggLTg3NiAtMTcgLTU2IC01NCAtMTAyIC0xMDQgLTEyNSAtNDIgLTIxIC01MSAtMjEgLTE0ODggLTIxCiAgICAgICAgbC0xNDQ1IDAgLTQ0IDIzIGMtMjkgMTYgLTU0IDQwIC03NCA3MiBsLTMwIDQ4IDAgODUxIGMwIDg0NCAwIDg1MSAyMSA4OTEgMTEKICAgICAgICAyMiA0MCA1NCA2MyA3MCBsNDMgMzAgMzg4IDUgYzM2OSA1IDM5MCA2IDQxNyAyNSAxOCAxMyA1MCA2NCA4OCAxNDEgMzMgNjcgNjcKICAgICAgICAxMjkgNzUgMTM5IDM2IDQzIDUzIDQ1IDUxMiA0MiA0MjIgLTIgNDM4IC0zIDQ2NSAtMjJ6Ii8+CiAgICAgICAgPHBhdGggZD0iTTIzMDAgMjQ1MSBjLTM4MiAtNTQgLTY3MSAtMzYzIC02OTcgLTc0NiAtMjEgLTMxOCAxNjEgLTYyNyA0NTIKICAgICAgICAtNzY2IDEyNiAtNjAgMTg5IC03NCAzNTAgLTc0IDExOSAwIDE1MSA0IDIxNSAyMyAyNzYgODcgNDgwIDI5NiA1NTYgNTcyIDI1CiAgICAgICAgOTAgMjYgMjk5IDEgMzkwIC03OCAyODggLTMwMCA1MDkgLTU4OSA1ODQgLTcxIDE4IC0yMTYgMjcgLTI4OCAxN3ogbTI3MCAtMjQ5CiAgICAgICAgYzE5NyAtNjggMzM0IC0yMTQgMzg1IC00MDcgNzQgLTI4NyAtMTA0IC01OTkgLTM5MCAtNjg0IC0xMDEgLTMwIC0yNjcgLTI3CiAgICAgICAgLTM2MCA3IC0xNzQgNjQgLTMyNyAyNDAgLTM2NCA0MjAgLTYyIDMwNSAxMzUgNjA4IDQzOSA2NzcgODIgMTkgMjE1IDEyIDI5MAogICAgICAgIC0xM3oiLz4KICAgICAgPC9nPgogICAgPC9zdmc+CiAgICA=" alt="photographer icon" /> MCayden Marlar)
The final talk of the day, by biomechanics expert Radcliffe, was on the ever-growing world of AI and its role in track and field: &lsquo;AI-powered biomechanics in the field &ndash; smartphone analysis for technical precision?&rsquo;
&ldquo;When you think about all the different coaches throughout the world, or even throughout the US, the one thing, especially about track and field, is there's a certain approach to everything in terms of how it's coached, how it's planned,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So, the more people that can share their views on it and the different ways they go about getting to the same goal and objective, is just helpful for everybody.&nbsp;
&ldquo;All the coaching education is basically giving people more understanding &ndash; whether they agree with it or whether they disagree with it, it's still understanding, which leads to more control over how athletes can develop and perform.&rdquo;
The panel, titled &lsquo;The modern athlete blueprint: scaling sustainable elite careers&rsquo;, was full of lively discussion. It was driven by questions and comments from the various coaches in attendance, highlighting the information sharing and community-driven coaching education that is the beating heart of the symposium.&nbsp;
With a blend of in-person and online learning through the <a href="https://www.elearning.worldathletics.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Education Hub</a>, development is central to the World Athletics vision for the global growth of athletics.&nbsp;&nbsp;
This commitment is implemented through a range of innovative programmes and activities that align with the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/about-iaaf/documents/strategic-plans-and-reports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Plan for Athletics 2022-2030 and Pioneering Change 2024-2027</a>.&nbsp;
Nicole Montello for the World Athletics Media Academy
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World Athletics U20 Championships

How to guide the transition from world-class U20 to elite senior athlete was the focus of the coach symposium held during the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26.

Spotlight on U20 to senior transition during coach symposium in Oregon

Audrey Werro, Mondo Duplantis, Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Masai Russell will be among the stars in action when the Wanda Diamond League resumes in Lausanne this week.
World pole vault record-holder Duplantis headlines the city event on the shores of Lake Geneva on Thursday (20) before the main Athletissima meeting at the Pontaise Olympic Stadium on Friday (21).
Sweden&rsquo;s Duplantis makes his eighth appearance in Lausanne, fresh off clearing a championship record of 6.15m to win his fourth successive European pole vault title in Birmingham. That height also stands as the Athletissima record, set by Duplantis in 2024. He will again be challenged by Greece&rsquo;s Emmanouil Karalis, who added European silver to his major medal collection on Sunday, and Australia&rsquo;s Kurtis Marschall, who handed Duplantis his first defeat in almost three years in Stockholm in June.
It was also in Stockholm that Swiss star Werro ran 1:53.98 to move to third on the world 800m all-time list. She strengthened that position by clocking 1:53.80 in Paris later that month and most recently beat Keely Hodgkinson and Femke Broeders-Bol to the European title in Birmingham.
Werro and Broeders-Bol clash again in Lausanne and this time they face Kenya&rsquo;s world champion Lilian Odira, winner at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene.
Beyond victory in Lausanne, athletes will be competing for places at the Diamond League Final in Brussels where Werro will want to retain her Diamond League title. A win in Brussels also secures guaranteed entry for events contested at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, making the Diamond League Final the last opportunity for athletes to book their place in Budapest automatically.
The men&rsquo;s 800m sees Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic and world champion Wanyonyi return to the scene of his 1:41.11 from 2024 &ndash; a performance that places him joint second on the world all-time list. He goes on the hunt for his first Diamond League 800m win of the year, following the world 1000m record of 2:11.83 he set in Monaco last month. His competition includes Canada&rsquo;s world leader Marco Arop, who won at the Paris Diamond League in 1:41.84, and USA&rsquo;s Brandon Miller, the winner of the London Diamond League.
<h2>D&iacute;az set to soar</h2>
Italy&rsquo;s Andy D&iacute;az Hern&aacute;ndez soared to fourth on the world triple jump all-time list at the European Championships and the world indoor champion will want to maintain the momentum in Lausanne as he competes for the first time since that 18.15m leap.
Portugal&rsquo;s world champion Pedro Pichardo was runner-up in that high-quality contest, while D&iacute;az&rsquo;s compatriot Andrea Dallavalle was third and they all compete again, up against Jamaica&rsquo;s Jordan Scott who beat D&iacute;az during the Diamond League in Oslo. Christian Taylor&rsquo;s meeting record, set in 2015, stands at 18.06m.
The top three in the European long jump final also renew their rivalry as Olympic champion Milti&aacute;dis Tent&oacute;glou again meets Swiss favourite Simon Ehammer and Bulgaria&rsquo;s Bozhidar Sar&acirc;boyukov.
Another home star goes in the pole vault as two-time world indoor medallist Angelica Moser returns to action after winning European gold with a 4.80m clearance. Finland&rsquo;s Wilma Heltel&auml; secured European silver behind her and in Lausanne they face multiple global champions Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon.
Two athletes who have surpassed 90 metres this season &ndash; Sri Lanka&rsquo;s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage and Germany&rsquo;s Julian Weber &ndash; will clash in a javelin contest that also brings together the winners of the past four world titles: Keshorn Walcott, Neeraj Chopra and Anderson Peters.
The women&rsquo;s event features Colombia&rsquo;s Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado who improved her own South American record to 67.34m to retain her title at the Central American and Caribbean Games earlier this month. She competes for her first Diamond League win of the year against Sigrid Borge, who threw 65.00m to finish second in Xiamen, and Adriana Vilago&scaron;, the runner-up in Paris, as well as Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi.
<h2>Sprint showdowns</h2>
The 100m hurdles stars a clash between the Olympic champion and the world champion as USA&rsquo;s Masai Russell goes up against home star Ditaji Kambundji. Russell is unbeaten in the 100m hurdles this year and she ran 12.14 in Xiamen in May &ndash; a performance just 0.02 off the world record. Adding further strength to the field are Monaco runner-up Alaysha Johnson, Nadine Visser and Pia Skrzyszowska.
The 110m hurdles is not a Diamond discipline in Lausanne but it still features a formidable field led by USA&rsquo;s world record-holder Ja'Kobe Tharp.
The men&rsquo;s 200m is the final Diamond discipline on the programme and it brings together Botswana&rsquo;s Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo, Puerto Rico&rsquo;s Jos&eacute; Figueroa and South Africa&rsquo;s Sinesipho Dambile, who have all broken 19.85 this season.
Jamaica&rsquo;s two-time world 200m champion Shericka Jackson takes on Favour Ofili, Kayla White and Amy Hunt in the women&rsquo;s race, Jackson looking to add to her two Diamond League victories this year in China. Hunt returns to Diamond League action after winning a record four gold medals at the European Championships.
Emma Zapletalov&aacute; goes for her fifth Diamond League win this year in the 400m hurdles, while the men&rsquo;s non-Diamond League event includes Olympic and world champion Rai Benjamin in what looks to be his sole hurdles outing in a season in which he is focused on the 400m. His most recent race was the London Diamond League 400m, which he won in a PB of 44.05.
Olympic champion Winfred Yavi goes up against world champion Faith Cherotich in the 3000m steeplechase, both athletes having clocked 8:51 this season. Switzerland&rsquo;s Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu will target back-to-back Diamond League wins following his 5000m victory in Monaco but will line up after a busy week at the European Championships where he contested the 5000m and 10,000m, getting silver in the latter. He faces Birhanu Balew, Parker Wolfe and Grant Fisher.

Audrey Werro, Mondo Duplantis, Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Masai Russell will be among the stars in action when the Wanda Diamond League resumes in Lausanne this week.

Star clashes to light up Lausanne as Diamond League resumes

Yaroslava Mahuchikh claimed the world high jump title in Budapest in 2023 before going on to become crowned Olympic champion the following year. Ahead of her return to the Hungarian capital, we asked her... What's your Ultimate?
Ultimate performance... My world record.
Ultimate event (bar your own)... 100m hurdles.
Ultimate career goal... To become one of the greatest high jumpers of all time.
Ultimate athlete... Usain Bolt.
Ultimate memory... Winning Olympic gold in Paris.
Ultimate venue... Stade de France, Paris.
Ultimate meal... Pasta carbonara.
Ultimate night out/night in... A night out dancing. 💃🏻 
Ultimate possession... The people closer to me. 💗
Ultimate hidden talent... Making a cute journal with stickers. 😅
Ultimate day off... Coffee, books, baking something sweet and no alarm.
Ultimate holiday destination... Ukraine.
Ultimate pre-competition song... You Don&rsquo;t Know Me by Jax Jones.
Ultimate movie... Any Marvel film.

World Athletics Ultimate Championship

Yaroslava Mahuchikh claimed the world title in Budapest in 2023 before going on to become crowned Olympic champion the following year. On her return to the Hungarian capital, we asked her... What's your Ultimate?

What's your Ultimate? Yaroslava Mahuchikh

Mondo Duplantis brought the European Championships in Birmingham to a spectacular conclusion on Sunday (16), clearing a championship record of 6.15m to win his fourth successive pole vault title.
There was drama elsewhere on the final evening at Alexander Stadium, with Larissa Iapichino prevailing in an extraordinarily close women&rsquo;s long jump, Georgia Hunter Bell delivering another gold medal for the host nation and Amy Hunt becoming the first athlete in European Championships history to win four gold medals at a single edition. Italy then had the final say, winning the men&rsquo;s 4x400m to finish top of the medal table.
Duplantis had been expected to dominate the pole vault, but Emmanouil Karalis pushed the world record-holder deep into the competition.
Duplantis cleared 6.10m at the first attempt, while Karalis came agonisingly close but dislodged the bar on the way down. The Greek then gambled, passing his two remaining attempts to move to 6.15m.
Duplantis again cleared at the first time of asking, improving the championship record of 6.10m he had set in Rome two years ago. Karalis missed once at 6.15m before passing again and using his final attempt at 6.20m, where another near miss ended his challenge. He took silver with 6.00m.
Earlier in the day, Alisa Vainio produced a dominant performance to win the women&rsquo;s marathon in 2:22:26, taking almost three minutes off the championship record. The Finn finished almost five minutes ahead of Hungary&rsquo;s Lili Anna Vindics-T&oacute;th, whose PB of 2:27:21 earned her silver. Britain&rsquo;s Abbie Donnelly took bronze in 2:27:33.
Germany&rsquo;s Amanal Petros also broke the championship record in the men&rsquo;s race, winning his first major title in 2:09:11. The world silver medallist made his decisive move during the second half and spent much of the closing stages running alone before Italy&rsquo;s Pietro Riva reduced the gap late on. Petros held on to win by seven seconds from Riva.
<h2>Iapichino prevails in long jump thriller</h2>
Just six centimetres separated the leading five athletes in a remarkably close women&rsquo;s long jump final.
Iapichino laid down the challenge immediately with a wind-assisted 7.00m in the opening round. Britain&rsquo;s Jazmin Sawyers responded with 6.95m and then improved to 6.99m in round four, putting her within one centimetre of the lead.
France&rsquo;s Hilary Kpatcha was just another centimetre back with 6.98m, while Portugal&rsquo;s world indoor champion Agate de Sousa reached 6.96m and defending champion Malaika Mihambo 6.94m.
None could overhaul Iapichino, who held on to take gold ahead of Sawyers and Kpatcha.
Georgia Hunter Bell gave the home crowd another title to celebrate in the women&rsquo;s 1500m. The world indoor champion produced a decisive final lap of 58.44, pulling clear to win in 4:07.78 and secure her first senior European outdoor title.
Elsewhere in the individual finals, Germany&rsquo;s Frederik Ruppert won the men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase in 8:25.33 and Croatia&rsquo;s Sara Kolak took the women&rsquo;s javelin title with 62.43m.
<h2>Hunt and Asher-Smith make history in mixed 4x100m</h2>
Jeremiah Azu, Dina Asher-Smith, Zharnel Hughes and Hunt combined to win the mixed 4x100m in a European record of 39.97, holding off Germany, who finished second in 40.11.
It completed an extraordinary championships for Hunt. Having already won the individual 100m and 200m titles before anchoring Britain to victory in the women&rsquo;s 4x100m on Saturday, she became the first athlete in the 92-year history of the European Championships to win four gold medals at a single edition.
It was also another landmark race for Asher-Smith. The mixed relay gold extended her all-time European medal tally to 11, making her the outright most decorated athlete in championship history.
The Netherlands successfully defended their women&rsquo;s 4x400m title, winning the event for a third successive edition.
Lieke Klaver opened up a sizeable advantage on the second leg and, although Britain remained in contention, Femke Broeders-Bol resisted a strong challenge from Emily Newnham on the anchor to bring the Dutch team home in 3:21.10. Great Britain took silver in 3:21.68.
<h2>Italy have the final say</h2>
The championships &ndash; and the battle for the top of the medal table &ndash; came down to the final race.
Italy and Great Britain entered the men&rsquo;s 4x400m with nine gold medals apiece. Britain started strongly, but Luca Sito put Italy into the lead on the second leg before Lorenzo Benati held off Britain&rsquo;s Charlie Dobson to win by just 0.03, 2:59.16 to 2:59.19.
That victory ensured Italy topped the medal table for the second successive edition, finishing with 10 golds and 22 medals overall, ahead of Great Britain&rsquo;s nine golds. Italy also topped the placings table with 202 points, ahead of Great Britain &amp; NI on 174.5 and Germany on 161.

European Athletics Championships

Mondo Duplantis brought the European Championships in Birmingham to a spectacular conclusion on Sunday

Duplantis breaks championship record as Hunt makes history in Birmingham

Mar&iacute;a P&eacute;rez and Sofia Fiorini set world records in the women&rsquo;s half marathon and marathon race walks respectively to provide a spectacular start to a record-laden penultimate day of action at the European Championships in Birmingham on Saturday (15).
P&eacute;rez claimed European gold in the half marathon race walk, clocking 1:30:06* to set a world record for the newly established distance.
P&eacute;rez was at the front from the outset, covering the opening kilometre in 4:36 and initially racing alongside Italy&rsquo;s Antonella Palmisano. The pair had broken clear by 8km, but P&eacute;rez made her move at about 10km and soon started to build a significant advantage. She led Palmisano by 23 seconds at 14km and by 18km her margin over her nearest pursuer had grown to more than a minute.
She passed through 20km in 1:25:30, equalling her own Spanish record for that distance, then went on to reach the finish in 1:30:06, with Italy&rsquo;s Alexandrina Mihai taking silver in 1:31:04 and Ukraine&rsquo;s Lyudmyla Olyanovska earning bronze in 1:31:07.
P&eacute;rez, who also holds the world record for the 35km race walk, has now added a second European title to the 20km crown she won in Berlin in 2018.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t expecting to break the world record today; I didn&rsquo;t even know what the world record was,&rdquo; said P&eacute;rez. &ldquo;It was a difficult race with a lot of medal contenders. The pace was very fast so I just tried to keep up with everyone else, but at some point I just knew I was capable of going for the gold.&rdquo;
There was another world record in the women&rsquo;s marathon race walk as 21-year-old Fiorini produced a huge breakthrough to win in 3:15:11*. The Italian had been locked together with Poland&rsquo;s Katarzyna Zdziebło for much of the race, but made her decisive move with just over 9km remaining and steadily extended her advantage from that point.
Fiorini eventually won by more than four-and-a-half minutes, with Zdziebło taking silver in a Polish record of 3:19:50 and Spain&rsquo;s Raquel Gonz&aacute;lez earning bronze in 3:20:49. Fiorini&rsquo;s performance represented a remarkable improvement of 10 minutes and 31 seconds on the 3:25:42 she recorded when taking silver at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Bras&iacute;lia in April.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a804273f02f0b67d9a354cb.jpg" alt="Sofia Fiorini in the marathon race walk at the European Championships" />
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Sofia Fiorini in the marathon race walk at the European Championships (&copy; Getty Images)
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The half marathon and marathon race walks became official distances from 1 January 2026, with World Athletics setting 1:30:30 as the performance standard required for the inaugural women&rsquo;s half marathon world record and 3:17:00 for the marathon. P&eacute;rez surpassed the former by 24 seconds and Fiorini the latter by 1:49 to become the first official world record-holders for the two distances.
Spain and Italy also shared the honours in the men&rsquo;s race walks. Paul McGrath completed a Spanish half marathon double by winning the men&rsquo;s title in a PB of 1:23:23, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Italy&rsquo;s Francesco Fortunato, with another Italian, Andrea Cosi, third in 1:23:49. Italy&rsquo;s Massimo Stano then won the marathon race walk in a European record and world-leading 2:56:49. Stano moved to the front with just over 4km remaining and held off Spain&rsquo;s Miguel &Aacute;ngel L&oacute;pez, who finished just eight seconds behind in a PB of 2:56:57. France&rsquo;s Aur&eacute;lien Quinion took bronze in 2:59:29.
<h2>D&iacute;az soars to fourth on world all-time list</h2>
Andy D&iacute;az Hern&aacute;ndez produced one of the performances of the championships to win a high-quality men&rsquo;s triple jump final with a world-leading Italian record of 18.15m.
D&iacute;az offered an indication of what was to come with his opening effort, landing significantly beyond 18 metres only to see the red flag raised after his take-off foot went three centimetres over the plasticine. There was no such problem in round two as he bounded out to 18.15m, moving to fourth on the world all-time list behind only Jonathan Edwards, Christian Taylor and Jordan D&iacute;az. He backed it up with 17.78m in the third round.
World champion Pedro Pichardo took silver with a season&rsquo;s best of 17.76m, recorded in the opening round, while world silver medallist Andrea Dallavalle made it two Italians on the podium by taking bronze with 17.37m.
<h2>Championship records for Almgren and Weber</h2>
Andreas Almgren and Julian Weber rewrote championship records in contrasting fashion in the men&rsquo;s 10,000m and javelin.
Sweden&rsquo;s Almgren dominated the 10,000m, breaking away from the field and eventually winning in 27:23.44 to take down one of the longest-standing records in European Championships history. He finished more than 19 seconds ahead of Switzerland&rsquo;s Dominic Lobalu, who clocked 27:42.67, with world champion Jimmy Gressier of France taking bronze in 28:07.90.
Weber, by contrast, left his record-breaking heroics until the very last throw of the men&rsquo;s javelin. The German had led since opening with 83.71m, but compatriot Nick Thumm dramatically moved ahead in the fifth round with a PB of 83.76m.
Faced with one final chance to respond, Weber did so emphatically. His spear landed at 90.40m, improving Steve Backley&rsquo;s 28-year-old championship record of 89.72m and giving Weber the European lead as well as a second successive continental title. Thumm held on for silver, while Latvia&rsquo;s Patriks Gailums took bronze with 82.97m.
<h2>J&aelig;ger, Mahuchikh and O&rsquo;Conner deliver</h2>
Henriette J&aelig;ger underlined her status as Europe&rsquo;s leading one-lap runner with a commanding victory in the women&rsquo;s 400m.
The Norwegian, who had already helped her country to mixed 4x400m gold earlier in the championships, powered clear to win in a national record and European-leading 49.04 &ndash; exactly a second ahead of Poland&rsquo;s Natalia Bukowiecka in 50.04. Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands took bronze in 50.15.
Olympic champion and world record-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh was similarly assured in the women&rsquo;s high jump. The Ukrainian cleared 1.97m to claim her third successive European title. Poland&rsquo;s Maria Żodzik and Montenegro&rsquo;s Marija Vuković both cleared 1.95m to take silver and bronze respectively.
Kate O&rsquo;Connor completed a superb two days in the women&rsquo;s heptathlon by becoming Ireland&rsquo;s first European champion in the event. O&rsquo;Connor took a 51-point advantage over Olympic bronze medallist Emma Oosterwegel into the concluding 800m and kept the Dutchwoman close enough to secure gold with an Irish record of 6751. Oosterwegel took silver and her Dutch teammate Sofie Dokter completed the podium.
<h2>Britain doubles up in the sprint relays</h2>
Britain ended the evening with a sweep of the 4x100m titles. Dina Asher-Smith, Amy Hunt, Success Eduan and Imani-Lara Lansiquot combined to clock a European-leading 42.05 in the women&rsquo;s final, winning by 1.07 seconds from Switzerland, with Poland taking bronze. The margin was one of the largest ever seen in the women&rsquo;s 4x100m at the European Championships.
For Hunt, it completed a remarkable sprint treble after her victories in the 100m and 200m earlier in the week. Asher-Smith also reached a significant milestone: the gold was her 10th European Championships medal, drawing her level with Polish great Irena Szewińska as the joint-most decorated athlete &ndash; man or woman &ndash; in the history of the championships.
In the men&rsquo;s final, Jeremiah Azu, Louie Hinchliffe and Zharnel Hughes put their team in contention before 100m champion Romell Glave finished the job on the anchor leg. Glave crossed the line in 38.45, ahead of Germany in 38.64 and Belgium in 38.70.
Elsewhere, Stefan Nillessen timed his charge perfectly in the men&rsquo;s 1500m as the Dutchman swept through on the home straight to claim his first senior major title in 3:35.70.
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure

María Pérez and Sofia Fiorini set world records in the women’s half marathon and marathon race walks respectively at the European Championships

Pérez and Fiorini set world race walk records in Birmingham

Audrey Werro delivered on the considerable expectations surrounding the women&rsquo;s 800m at the European Championships in Birmingham, producing a championship record of 1:54.81 to defeat Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson on Friday (14).
Karsten Warholm also broke the championship record to claim his fourth successive 400m hurdles crown, while Gianmarco Tamberi won a fourth European high jump title and Nadia Battocletti completed her second consecutive European distance double.
But the eagerly anticipated 800m provided a fitting conclusion to the evening.
Werro&rsquo;s place in the final had briefly been in doubt after she fell in her semifinal, eventually being reinstated after an appeal. Less than 24 hours later, the Swiss world leader showed why she had arrived in Birmingham as the woman to beat.
Hodgkinson initially moved to the front, but Werro soon took control and had the Briton on her shoulder for much of the race.
As Femke Broeders-Bol tracked them in third, Werro continued to dictate the pace before beginning to stretch away from Hodgkinson approaching the final 100 metres.
Hodgkinson attempted to respond down the home straight, but could make up only a small amount of ground as Werro powered to victory in 1:54.81, breaking a championship record that had stood since 1982.
Broeders-Bol&rsquo;s challenge for the top two places faded over the final 150 metres, but she held on for bronze in 1:55.54, equalling the Dutch record set by Ellen van Langen when winning the 1992 Olympic title.
<h2>Warholm and Tamberi win fourth European titles</h2>
Karsten Warholm produced another commanding performance to win his fourth consecutive European 400m hurdles title.
The Norwegian took control early and was never seriously threatened, pulling further clear through the second half of the race before crossing the line in 46.63.
His winning time broke his own championship record and gave him victory by more than a second. Germany&rsquo;s Emil Agyekum was the closest of his rivals, taking silver in 47.87.
Having first won the European title in Berlin in 2018, Warholm has now followed up with victories in Munich, Rome and Birmingham to extend his unbeaten run at the championships. It was also his second gold of the championships, having contributed to Norway&rsquo;s mixed 4x400m victory earlier in the week.
Gianmarco Tamberi provided Italy with another golden moment by claiming his fourth European high jump title, 10 years after winning his first.
The Olympic and world champion had endured a difficult period since 2024 and had not cleared higher than 2.23m in either 2025 or 2026 before arriving in Birmingham, but he rediscovered some of his best form when it mattered most.
Tamberi and Ukraine&rsquo;s Oleh Doroshchuk both cleared 2.30m, before the Italian went over a season&rsquo;s best of 2.32m to take the title. Doroshchuk secured silver with 2.30m, while Tamberi&rsquo;s compatriot Matteo Sioli took bronze with 2.27m.
Tamberi&rsquo;s latest triumph added to the European titles he won in Amsterdam in 2016, Munich in 2022 and on home soil in Rome two years ago.
Italy had further cause for celebration as Battocletti added the 10,000m crown to the 5000m title she had won earlier in the week.
The Olympic and world medallist remained patient during the early stages before asserting herself in the closing laps. Once she moved clear, there was little her rivals could do to respond. Battocletti went on to win in 31:41.17, finishing more than four seconds ahead of the Netherlands&rsquo; Maureen Koster, who took silver in 31:45.76.
It completed a second successive 5000m-10,000m double for Battocletti, who had achieved the same feat at the European Championships in Rome in 2024.
Jorinde van Klinken turned years of European near misses into gold in the women&rsquo;s discus.
The Dutch thrower had earned shot put bronze in 2022, silver in the discus and shot put in 2024, and added another shot put silver in Birmingham earlier in the week.
This time there was no one ahead of her. Van Klinken took control of the discus final with 67.67m and that mark held up to give her a first senior European title.
Elsewhere, Germany&rsquo;s Owen Ansah claimed the final men&rsquo;s sprint title of the championships with a wind-assisted 19.95 (2.5m/s) in the 200m. Britain&rsquo;s Zharnel Hughes entered the straight in contention for victory, but Ansah powered past him during the closing stages to take gold. Hughes secured silver in 20.16.

Audrey Werro delivered on the considerable expectations surrounding the women’s 800m at the European Championships in Birmingham, producing a championship record of 1:54.81

Werro stars as Warholm and Tamberi claim fourth European titles

The young Caterine Ibarg&uuml;en cut a disconsolate figure as her heels dislodged the bar with her third and final attempt at 1.89m in the high jump qualifying round at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
The 20-year-old Colombian needed to clear a minimum of 1.92m to make it to the final. Instead, she finished joint last in qualifying group B &ndash; 30th overall &ndash; with 1.85m.
It was not the only painful Olympic baptism in the Greek capital. The 17-year-old Usain Bolt exited at the first-round stage of the men&rsquo;s 200m, suffering from a hamstring injury as he struggled across the line fifth in his heat in 21.05.
Twelve years later, in Rio de Janeiro, the Jamaican sprint phenomenon completed his third successive Olympic 100m-200m double and anchored his country&rsquo;s 4x100m team to victory.
Ibarg&uuml;en&rsquo;s own Olympic journey also turned to gold in Rio. The high jumper who had finished 30th in qualifying in Athens returned as a 32-year-old triple jump great, claiming a history-making title for Colombia.
Already a two-time world champion in the hop, step and jump &ndash; and beaten just once in her previous 36 competitions &ndash; Ibarg&uuml;en took the lead with a second-round effort of 15.03m. She proceeded to nail down the gold medal, her country&rsquo;s first in Olympic athletics, with a fourth-round jump of 15.17m. Venezuela&rsquo;s Yulimar Rojas took silver with 14.98m.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the biggest dream for me to achieve this,&rdquo; Ibarg&uuml;en declared. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very happy and very proud.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a7f3238d5643fd23f5b609b.jpg" alt="Caterine Ibarguen in action in Rio" />
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Caterine Ibarguen in action in Rio (&copy; Getty Images)
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It was quite some transformation. But Colombia&rsquo;s first Olympic athletics champion had long since shown the resilience required to make such a reinvention possible.
Ibarg&uuml;en was raised by her grandmother, Ayola Rivas, after her parents fled the armed conflict raging around her home town of Apartad&oacute; in north-west Colombia in the 1980s. Her father, William, settled in Venezuela; her mother, Francisca, moved to the port city of Turbo.
Her natural sporting prowess, initially as a volleyball player, earned her a place at the Villa Deportiva high-performance sports centre in Medell&iacute;n.
Her ability as a high jumper, however, was soon discovered. In 1999, aged 15, she won bronze at the South American Championships, held in the Colombian capital, Bogot&aacute;, clearing 1.75m.
She also took silver that year at the Area U20 Championships in Concepci&oacute;n, Chile, and competed at global level for the first time, placing 15th in qualifying with 1.73m at the inaugural World Youth (U18) Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, where the winning clearance was 1.89m.
Ibarg&uuml;en continued as a high jump specialist as she progressed into the senior ranks, following her Olympic debut in Athens with appearances at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki (23rd in qualifying with 1.85m), the 2006 World Indoor Championships in Moscow (17th in qualifying, 1.81m) and the 2009 World Championships in Berlin (28th in qualifying, 1.85m).
As early as 2001, though, she started to expand her jumps repertoire. As well as claiming high jump gold (1.77m) at the South American U20 Championships in Santa Fe, Argentina, she also earned long jump silver (5.87m), triple jump bronze (12.65m) and 4x100m silver.
In 2003, aged 19, Ibarg&uuml;en&rsquo;s spring and versatility took her to a high jump (1.80m) and triple jump (13.17m) double at the South American U20 Championships in Ecuador. That year, she also claimed long jump silver (6.04m) and triple jump bronze (13.07m) at the senior South American Championships in Venezuela, finishing fourth in the high jump with 1.80m.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a7f325ad5643fd23f5b609e.jpg" alt="Caterine Ibarguen on the Olympic podium in Rio" />
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Caterine Ibarguen on the Olympic podium in Rio (&copy; Getty Images)
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Between 2005 and 2009, Ibarg&uuml;en won four South American titles as a high jumper. The 1.93m she achieved at the 2005 championships in Cali stood as the Colombian record until 2019, when Mar&iacute;a Murillo jumped 1.94m.
The transition to triple jump specialist began at the end of 2008.
After failing to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, Ibarg&uuml;en considered quitting athletics before deciding to move to Puerto Rico to study nursing and train under the guidance of Ubaldo Duany, an 8.32m long jumper who finished seventh for Cuba at the 1989 World Indoor Championships.
Duany saw her as an athlete of greater potential in the triple jump and, after a last high jump appearance in the qualifying round at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, the switch was made.
&ldquo;We had to start from scratch,&rdquo; Ibarg&uuml;en recalled. &ldquo;We had to correct the major technical mistakes I was carrying. It was pretty hard for me but I always remained optimistic, thanks to the support of a great coach.&rdquo;
As a secondary option, Duany introduced his charge to the heptathlon, in which she showed her all-round prowess with an impressive PB of 5742 points. The big breakthrough, however, came in the triple jump in 2011.
Ibarg&uuml;en improved the Colombian record on nine occasions, and the South American mark on six. She captured Colombia&rsquo;s first World Championships field-event medal, claiming triple jump bronze in Daegu with 14.84m &ndash; behind Olha Saladukha of Ukraine (14.94m) and Kazakhstan&rsquo;s Olga Rypakova (14.89m). Olympic silver followed a year later in London, with a 14.80m jump, behind Rypakova (14.98m).
From 2013 to 2016, Ibarg&uuml;en reigned supreme in the women&rsquo;s triple jump. She won back-to-back world titles, in Moscow in 2013 (14.85m) and Beijing in 2015 (14.95m), racked up a winning streak of 34 competitions, then claimed that historic Olympic gold for her country in Rio in 2016.
Ibarg&uuml;en was beaten by the fast-rising Rojas at the 2017 World Championships in London, finishing runner-up to her South American rival, but she regained global dominance in 2018.
Unbeaten in her specialist event, she swept to the Diamond League and Continental Cup titles in both the long jump and triple jump, improved her national long jump record to 6.93m and earned the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year Award.
Rojas proceeded to establish herself as the greatest women&rsquo;s triple jumper of all time, but Ibarg&uuml;en still emerged from injury to land world bronze behind the Venezuelan in Doha in 2019 before concluding her glittering career with 10th place at the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve achieved more than I ever dreamed of,&rdquo; the retiring Colombian great reflected.
From Athens high jump disappointment to Rio triple jump gold, Ibarg&uuml;en had completed one of athletics&rsquo; great reinventions.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage

Remembering Caterine Ibarguen's Olympic triumph in 2016

Ibargüen’s leap from Athens setback to Rio gold

Our sport comes alive in major global championship moments. That is when athletics reaches its widest audience, captures the public imagination and creates memories that can bring new fans into the sport.
I see World Athletics&rsquo; role as threefold: to govern the sport, to stage major events that showcase it at its best, and to grow it. The World Athletics Ultimate Championship delivers against the second and third of those objectives.
Every four years, the outdoor athletics calendar has neither an Olympic Games nor a World Athletics Championships. Leaving that gap unfilled felt, in some ways, like an act of self-harm &ndash; as though tennis decided to go a year without staging a Grand Slam.
We felt we were missing an opportunity, so we set out to create a major global championship that would provide a fitting climax to the 2026 season.
Launching something new is exciting, but it is also daunting. The first edition is always the hardest: there is no track record and no delivery manual to take from the shelf. We are creating this event from scratch, and that is a huge undertaking, but there is enormous excitement around it.
Crucially, we do not want the Ultimate Championship to feel like a shortened version of the World Athletics Championships. It needs its own character, style, look and atmosphere, while retaining the meaning and jeopardy of a major global championship.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/69989ca7333a89b61a8aea4d.jpg" alt="Budapest's National Stadium" />
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Budapest's National Stadium (&copy; World Athletics <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> Laszlo Zsigmond)
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Across three evenings in Budapest, there will be 28 finals and a record US$10 million prize fund. Individual track events up to and including the 800m will begin at the semifinal stage, while the 1500m, 5000m and relays will be straight finals. All field events will also be straight finals.
There are no preliminary rounds in which athletes can ease themselves into the competition. They will either begin with a semifinal or go directly into a final, so they will need to perform from the moment they enter the stadium. It will be fast-paced and unforgiving from the outset.
We are delighted to be returning to Budapest for the inaugural edition. The 2023 World Championships produced packed stands, memorable performances and an exceptional atmosphere. The athletes remember that experience, and the National Athletics Centre is a fitting venue in which to launch something new.
We are also working closely with some of the sport&rsquo;s highest-profile figures. Usain Bolt is our Ultimate Legend, while Mondo Duplantis, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Noah Lyles, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Letsile Tebogo are among the Ultimate Stars helping us shape and promote the event.
They are outstanding athletes with strong personalities and creative ideas. It is important that we listen properly to them and give them a meaningful role.
Mondo, for example, is not only preparing to compete but also composing and rehearsing the anthem for the Ultimate Championship. Athletes such as Mondo want to perform at the highest level, but they also recognise the opportunity they have to grow the sport and connect with new audiences. We have a generation of stars who have something to say and want the platform to say it.
The event has also been designed with fans in mind, both inside the stadium and watching around the world.
The infield will be transformed into a striking black competition arena, with only the active competition areas illuminated. There will be new broadcast graphics, while the mixed 4x100m relay will make its global senior track and field championship debut following its inclusion at the World Athletics Relays earlier this year.
The Ultimate Championship can also serve as an incubator for ideas that could eventually be introduced elsewhere in the sport, including at future World Championships or Olympic Games.
Some elements will work better than others, and we accept that. Experimentation is important. But this is not circus athletics. It is a bona fide global championship, featuring the leading athletes in the world and offering prize money that reflects the significance of the competition.
We understand that people may not fully grasp what the Ultimate Championship is until they see the first edition. That makes global reach particularly important.
More than 30 major broadcasters have already signed up to show the event live, and our focus is on making the Ultimate Championship available to as many people as possible around the world.
Our immediate priority is delivering an outstanding inaugural edition in September, but the Ultimate Championship is here to stay. We are already in discussions with potential host cities in Europe and beyond, and we expect to announce the host of the 2028 edition by the end of this year.
World Athletics is not a perfect organisation, but we are ambitious and determined to grow the sport. That means being prepared to introduce new ideas, take calculated risks and create events such as the Ultimate Championship.
When a major championship succeeds, there is nothing quite like it. It creates a special energy for the athletes, the spectators and everyone involved in delivering it. Our aim is to create that feeling again in Budapest this September &ndash; while giving the sport something genuinely new.

When a major championship succeeds, there is nothing quite like it

Ridgeon: Ultimate Championship can give athletics something genuinely new

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 Zapletalov&aacute; dominated the women&rsquo;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 St&aring;hl (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."
<h2>Hunt completes sprint double</h2>
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 Zapletalov&aacute; 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.
<h2>Neugebauer holds off Kaul in decathlon</h2>
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&rsquo;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.
<h2>English turns record into gold</h2>
Ireland&rsquo;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&rsquo;s Gesa Felicitas Krause won her third European steeplechase title in 9:12.69.

Kristjan Čeh produced one of the finest discus series in European Championships history to successfully defend his title

Čeh smashes championship record as Hunt completes European sprint double in Birmingham

Georgia Hunter Bell has finished on the podium at Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth level but previously worked in cyber security tech sales. The middle-distance runner reflects on her past life in the latest Side Track.
<h3>What was your past career and how did you get into it?</h3>
I used to work in cyber security tech sales and there&rsquo;s no direct line to it. It wasn&rsquo;t like I grew up thinking I wanted to work in cyber security tech sales when I was a kid! I went to the University of Birmingham, and did geography there then went to Berkeley in California for two years and did a masters out there. There was someone in my masters group who had just started working at Darktrace, which is a UK-based cyber security tech firm but had a San Francisco arm as well. I went for an interview, got the job and worked in that industry for seven years.
<h3>So were you US-based rather than UK-based?</h3>
I spent one year working and living in San Francisco, in the North Beach area. It was really cool and such a fun year for me. I had quit running and was actually very happy that I&rsquo;d finished running at that point. I was ready to be done with it, it hadn&rsquo;t been going that well, I&rsquo;d done it my whole life and I was ready for a fresh start. It felt like going to a new school but I was a working girl in San Francisco and had lots of friends, and absolutely loved it. After a year my visa expired and that&rsquo;s when I moved back to the UK working for the same company. That&rsquo;s when I started to really miss running, I was asking, 'is this my life now, did I have it better before?'
<h3>I imagine it was a pretty steep learning curve.</h3>
Almost immediately, you&rsquo;re going to big boardrooms to talk about cyber attacks and their impact on a business. So it&rsquo;s heavy and big already but I liked being thrown into it. The first year was a bit of a learning curve. The first year of sales is always hell as you&rsquo;re building a pipeline and also learning the product and the industry. It&rsquo;s only in years two and three that you start to see the impact and, by year four, I was the No.1 sales rep. But that first year I constantly worried I was going to get fired as I was not hitting my quota.
<h3>Was that work journey similar to the return to athletics from year one onwards?</h3>
Yeah, I think so. Experiencing what I did gave me some perspective with my running as well because the pressure in both is quite high, and I understand that running is a high-pressure job. With both, it&rsquo;s a case that you have to get on with it no matter the scenario and that does help with the running. So, it doesn&rsquo;t matter if a race goes wrong or you don&rsquo;t get into the position you want, you just have to find a way out of it.
<h3>What makes a good salesperson?</h3>
A lot of stuff, and again that&rsquo;s relatable to running. You need to put in the hours, you need a big pipeline of opportunities so that means constantly reaching out to companies, meeting companies, having lots of options to turn things into opportunities. You need to be very well prepared once you get in the room with a company, do your research on them, understand their weaknesses and how that impacts their business if they don&rsquo;t do this. We&rsquo;d plug in software, they&rsquo;d trial it for free and find all these problems. At that point, you&rsquo;d think it was an easy sell as seeing is believing but often they wouldn&rsquo;t have a budget for it. So, you need to work with the team to create a budget. You also have to be creative, persistent, make people your friends so people want to pick up the phone when you call. You are helping them solve a problem but you&rsquo;re getting a deal at the end of it. You were genuinely selling something they need. You could work for six months on a project and the person you&rsquo;re working with might get fired so you start all over again.
<h3>It must be a buzz when you pull off a big sale.</h3>
Oh yeah. I closed a very big deal with a big tech company in the UK which had taken a year and a half of work. Everyone in my organisation was across it in some way up to the CEO so there was quite a lot of pressure. When it did come off, that was very cool and also cool to get pay cheque as it&rsquo;s commission-based!
<h3>Is it similar to a race win?</h3>
It is like that. And again it&rsquo;s similar as you can go in with a strategy and hope it comes off but then the race goes differently but it still all comes together. So, it&rsquo;s about doing all the prep - that&rsquo;s why when I&rsquo;m racing I like to go in feeling really prepared. So for the Commonwealth Games final the other day, I met with [coaches] Jen [Meadows] and Trev [Painter] and spent nearly an hour going through scenarios that might happen and what I should do. So on the start line I felt very calm as I felt whatever way the race went I was ready for that and I wasn&rsquo;t going to be caught short in any way. The race didn&rsquo;t go as I expected but it was fine.
<h3>You were clearly enjoying the work but when did the running itch come back in?</h3>
The first year of the job I wasn&rsquo;t doing any kind of sport as there was a lot of schmoozing so drinks with clients which wasn&rsquo;t conducive to being an athlete. Back in London, I started to go for more runs. Then I got into duathlons - running and cycling - so I remember speaking to my boss saying this is what I&rsquo;m doing outside work so I won&rsquo;t be doing any evening events but I'm happy to do breakfasts and lunches, and I&rsquo;ll need to take time off to do races. So it was always on their radar and they were really supportive. But it changed at the World Indoors in Glasgow, I told them they could watch it on the BBC. That&rsquo;s when they really started to say, 'ok, she is actually really good'. And I think Steve Cram said on the commentary, as I came fourth, &lsquo;Georgia Bell must know that she&rsquo;s good enough to make the Olympics if she just quits her job and takes it seriously,&rsquo; and so that kind of did me a solid. So I spoke to them and asked to take a sabbatical with the plan to come back in September. I said, 'I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;ll make the Olympics but I need to try; I need this time off to go to prep camps and do the work'. They were very supportive. They said, 'absolutely, go for it'. They had a sweepstake at work of whether I&rsquo;d come back or not after I got bronze, and most people thought I wouldn&rsquo;t. Obviously after that the contract changed with Nike so I was able to make the decision to leave.
<h3>Do you ever wonder what might have happened if you&rsquo;d done it sooner?</h3>
Of course, you think what could have happened and what I could have achieved. I was with Trev when I was younger before I went to the US and he was confident he could make me into a world-class 800m runner. He wanted me to move to Manchester and I wanted to live the American dream. I came back to him and obviously I&rsquo;ve been running well but I feel it wouldn&rsquo;t have worked for me then. I wasn&rsquo;t mature enough plus I would not have met my husband!
<h3>Do you miss your old job and life at all?</h3>
The first year no, I look back and think how on earth was I doing that? Towards the end, I was training like a full-time athlete but working for a pre-IPO tech start-up company where it&rsquo;s sales so you can never be doing enough. So I really did feel like I was burning the candle at both ends. That first year I couldn&rsquo;t believe it when I could just wake up at nine, go for a run, go for lunch, go for physio and I just absolutely loved it. This past year I have started to miss elements of it - more just the stimulation probably for my brain. I&rsquo;ve missed that side of it. I&rsquo;ve missed some of the urgency even if it can be unhealthy and stress you out. But I do like the idea that there&rsquo;s a big project deadline and you have to do some critical thinking around it, and the buzz when that comes together. I really have to work to activate my brain now.
<h3>Might you go back to that after the track career?</h3>
I could see myself going back into that in the future. It&rsquo;s incredibly interesting. I&rsquo;ve had lots of good connections with my previous employers, I&rsquo;ve gone back to do talks or just to see them. I hope there&rsquo;d be a route back in. But who knows where running will go? In my mind it used to be just track and plan to do that through to LA and beyond but then there&rsquo;s the whole thing with the roads, and I love the running lifestyle so we&rsquo;ll see year by year.
<h3>Do you ever get a chance to reflect on your journey?</h3>
I do a bit, and I carry that perspective quite a lot when I race. I think that&rsquo;s one of the things that makes me quite a good competitor because I can see beyond the race in a way that lots of people I line up with can't. All they know is running and that's all they&rsquo;ve done whereas I&rsquo;ve worked a 9 to 5 job for seven years in an office and I think that means when I step up to race, I&rsquo;m going to take the moment with both hands and not leave anything out there, but I also know that if it goes terribly wrong, it&rsquo;s going to be OK. So it&rsquo;s a nice kind of freedom in racing which I think works really well.
<h3>What do your former work colleagues make of all your success?</h3>
After winning Commonwealth Games gold, I had a load of messages from people I used to work with saying, 'what the hell, I can&rsquo;t believe you&rsquo;re here'. Some came to the Commonwealth Games, some to the London Diamond League or the Diamond League in Zurich. I have quite a nice community.

Georgia Hunter Bell has finished on the podium at Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth level but previously worked in cyber security tech sales. The middle-distance runner reflects on her past life in the latest Side Track.

Side Track with Georgia Hunter Bell

With a focus on coaching, officiating and leadership opportunities, Athletics Kenya is working to close the gender gap by making greater inclusion of women a priority.
The initiative aligns with the World Athletics Gender Leadership Strategy, which sets a target for member federations to have a minimum of 40% female representation on their executive boards by 2029.
World Athletics has also set a target of at least 40% female representation among CECS Level 1 coaches by 2029, with an interim target of 35% by 2027.
&ldquo;When we look at what World Athletics is doing, we do not want to be left behind,&rdquo; said Athletics Kenya chief administrative officer Susan Kamau, who is also chair of athlete support personnel.
&ldquo;We also looked at the goal of creating an environment for women so that they can be fully represented in athletics. Looking long term, we expect that this will inspire many girls.&rdquo;
Athletics Kenya has already taken steps towards those targets. In October last year, the federation trained 44 women from its affiliated regions on a CECS Level 1 course delivered by the African Athletics Development Centre (AADC).
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a7dc5e11f50035f82dd4a90.jpg" alt="The Athletics Kenya coaching course" />
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The Athletics Kenya coaching course
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The programme was also open to affiliated institutions including the Kenya Defence Forces, National Police Service, Kenya Prisons, National Youth Service, Kenya Forest Service and Kenyan universities.
One of the participants was Jane Kiende, a teacher at DEB Kioru Primary and Junior School in Meru County, about 225km north-east of Nairobi. Kiende, who competed as a race walker in her younger days, is also in charge of sport and coaches at the school.
Through her work, she has seen the gender disparity in coaching first hand.
&ldquo;I looked at the field and saw more men than women. I thought, how can we fill these gaps in coaching?&rdquo; said Kiende. &ldquo;Therefore, I had that interest to know more about coaching.&rdquo;
Kiende also completed the World Athletics Gender Leadership online course in June.
The in-person World Athletics CECS Level 1 course covered areas including effective communication, mental skills, coaching philosophy, training principles, talent identification, athlete and coach welfare, athlete growth and development, and the planning of training and competitions.
Before the coaching programme, participants also completed mandatory online safeguarding training.
For Kiende, that training led to another opportunity. She was selected to serve as safeguarding officer and a coach for the Kenyan team at the African Championships in Accra, Ghana, in May.
&ldquo;I was able to interact with the athletes, understand them, know their challenges, strengths and weaknesses. I was able to exercise skills such as team spirit, good communication, openness and cooperation,&rdquo; said Kiende, who coaches several athletes and also works as a technical official.
&ldquo;It was an eye-opener,&rdquo; she added of her time in Accra. &ldquo;The experience improved my skills and gave me more knowledge. Now I understand the athletes very well.&rdquo;
<h2>Female coaches do matter</h2>
World 800m champion Lilian Odira is a strong supporter of the Athletics Kenya and World Athletics efforts to increase female representation in coaching.
Odira herself is coached by a woman, Jacinta Muraguri, and points to the importance of female coaches and mentors across the sport, including those working with athletes such as Agnes Ngetich and Audrey Werro.
&ldquo;I love being coached by a woman because she understands more about me as Odira, that I'm a mother just like she is,&rdquo; said Odira. &ldquo;She knows what I go through when it comes to sports. When I come to explain it to her, she understands more than maybe when I explain it to a male coach.&rdquo;
Muraguri welcomed the World Athletics target for greater female representation in coaching, adding that female coaches can offer particular insight into issues affecting women athletes, including reproductive health.
&ldquo;It is very encouraging and it is high time ladies came up because who will fill this 40% if we are not there?&rdquo; she asked.
Muraguri herself was a two-time national champion and has been coaching for several years.
<h2>Beyond coaching</h2>
Athletics Kenya, which has five women on its Executive Committee, is also pushing for greater gender balance in technical officiating, team management, physiotherapy, leadership, medical and safeguarding roles, as well as mentorship and training through the AADC.
&ldquo;That is one area that the Executive Committee has taken a bold step in, to say that we are going to include it in our budget when we are drawing the budgets at the beginning of the year,&rdquo; said Kamau.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a7dc6811f50035f82dd4a93.jpg" alt="Susan Kamau presents Jacqueline Wanjiru Muchira with her coaching certificate" />
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Susan Kamau presents Jacqueline Wanjiru Muchira with her coaching certificate
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Kamau also highlighted efforts to give women greater responsibility within Kenyan teams, with women taking on leadership and support roles at major championships.
&ldquo;This has really helped us because the athletes are supported through this transition, when they stop running,&rdquo; she said.
Kamau singled out retired athletes Milcah Chemos, Janeth Jepkosgei and Rose Tata Muia among the women continuing to make an impact in athletics.
Athletics Kenya has also embarked on the registration and validation of coaches, medical personnel and technical officials under the government-funded Enhanced Programme, working alongside the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) and the Ministry of Sports.
According to Kamau, there are currently 200 registered female coaches, with about 30 having been vetted and validated to a level that makes them eligible for selection as officials or coaches for senior national teams.
&ldquo;We are happy because we have seen women are not sitting back,&rdquo; she said.
Those who did not meet the required standard have been encouraged to repeat the process and undergo further assessment.
<h2>Looking to the future</h2>
Athletics Kenya also acknowledges the wider challenges facing women seeking to progress in the sport, including cultural stereotypes, family responsibilities, financial constraints and limited mentorship opportunities.
&ldquo;We are encouraging the women not to look at what the culture says about women. Do not sit back,&rdquo; said Kamau. &ldquo;We have administration, technical and coaching courses that you can take.&rdquo;
Odira agrees, adding that perceptions of female coaches also need to change.
&ldquo;We should change the narrative that it is only the male coaches who are capable of doing it. Female coaches have also done excellent work,&rdquo; she said.
&ldquo;We've changed the sport narrative. People back then thought that women could not do well in sports but now the narrative has changed. When you look at the Kenya team, it is now the women who are performing.&rdquo;
Rather than simply rushing to train more coaches this year, Athletics Kenya is monitoring and evaluating the progress of the 44 women who completed the programme last year.
For Kiende, the coaching journey continues with her athletes and at Athletics Kenya camps. She is also working to involve more sports teachers in her county and encourage more women to take up coaching.
Closing the gender gap will take time, but Athletics Kenya hopes that each new coach, official and leader will help create more opportunities for the women who follow.
Michelle Katami for World Athletics

With a focus on coaching, officiating and leadership opportunities, Athletics Kenya is working to close the gender gap by making greater inclusion of women a priority

How Athletics Kenya is working to close the gender gap

World Athletics is saddened to hear that Italy&rsquo;s 1960 Olympic 200m champion Livio Berruti died on Sunday (9) at the age of 87.
Berruti produced one of the defining performances of the Rome Olympic Games, equalling the world 200m record twice on 3 September 1960. He first clocked 20.5 in the semi-finals before matching that time in the final later that day. In doing so, Berruti became the first athlete from outside North America to win the Olympic men&rsquo;s 200m title.
Just 21 at the time and studying chemistry, Berruti&rsquo;s victory in front of a home crowd at Rome&rsquo;s Olympic Stadium made him one of the biggest sporting figures in Italy and delivered the country its first Olympic sprint title. He narrowly missed out on a second medal at those Games when Italy finished fourth in the 4x100m.
Born in Turin on 19 May 1939, Berruti discovered athletics while at school in 1955, having initially hoped to pursue tennis. He quickly emerged as one of Italy&rsquo;s leading sprinters and, at the inaugural Universiade in his home city in 1959, won gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m. He later added another Universiade relay title in Tokyo in 1967.
Berruti was also a leading 100m runner. In 1960 he clocked 10.2, setting an Italian record and equalling the European record. He won the Italian 100m and 200m titles in each of the six seasons from 1957 to 1962, and added two further national 200m titles in 1965 and 1968.
He competed at three Olympic Games. Four years after his triumph in Rome, he returned to the 200m final at the Tokyo Games and finished fifth, while also helping Italy reach the 4x100m final. At his third Olympics in Mexico City in 1968 he reached the 200m quarter-finals and was again part of Italy&rsquo;s 4x100m team, which finished seventh.
His international career ultimately spanned more than a decade and included 41 appearances for Italy. Berruti retired from competitive athletics in 1969, completed his studies in chemistry and went on to work in public relations. He nevertheless remained closely connected to athletics and a revered figure within Italian sport.
In April 2024, ahead of the European Championships in Rome, and more than six decades after his Olympic triumph, Berruti met members of Italy&rsquo;s relay squad at the renovated Stadio dei Marmi, alongside the Olympic Stadium where his 1960 victory had made him a national sporting icon.

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