Birmingham, 09 August (H.S.):

World record holder and Olympic champion Armand “Mondo” Duplantis will headline a star-studded field as the 2026 European Athletics Championships begin on Monday, with 10 reigning world champions set to compete for medals.

Being held in Britain for the first time, the championships will feature athletes from 49 countries competing for 50 gold medals.

Duplantis will be the centre of attention in the men’s pole vault. Other reigning world champions competing in Birmingham include Isaac Nader in the 1,500 metres, Jimmy Gressier in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres, Mattia Furlani in the long jump, Pedro Pichardo in the triple jump, Daniel Stahl in the discus throw and Leo Neugebauer in the decathlon.

In the women’s events, Femke Bol in the 400m hurdles, Ditaji Kambundji in the 100m hurdles and María Pérez are among the prominent world champions expected to compete.

Duplantis targets fourth consecutive European title

Duplantis, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Miltiadis Tentoglou and Norway’s 400m hurdles star Karsten Warholm will all compete with the aim of securing a fourth consecutive European title. Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Keely Hodgkinson, meanwhile, will be seeking their third successive European gold medals.

Duplantis missed the London Diamond League meeting after experiencing an issue with his left thigh. He withdrew from the competition after clearing 5.95 metres. However, subsequent examinations found no injury, and he is now ready to make his return in Birmingham.

Duplantis has broken the world record 15 times so far. He first set the world record with a clearance of 6.17 metres in 2020, while his current world record stands at 6.31 metres, which he achieved in Sweden in March.

Ingebrigtsen set for comeback after injury

Norwegian distance-running star Jakob Ingebrigtsen will also make his comeback in Birmingham. He has not competed so far in 2026 after undergoing heel surgery in January. He will compete only in the 5,000 metres in Birmingham.

Ingebrigtsen has won both the 1,500m and 5,000m titles at each of the last three European Championships. He has remained unbeaten at the European Championships since 2018 and has already collected six gold medals at the continental event.

Home stars also in focus

For hosts Great Britain, Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson, her training partner Georgia Hunter-Bell and 2022 world 1,500m champion Jake Wightman will be among the leading contenders.

British sprint star Dina Asher-Smith is also on the verge of making history. The two-time European champion in the 100 metres could become the most successful athlete in European Championships history if she wins another title, surpassing Croatia’s discus thrower Sandra Elkasević, who has won seven gold medals.

The championships will also feature the mixed 4x100m relay for the first time. In addition, the 10 athletes recording the best performances will each receive prize money of 50,000 euros.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar