Ingebrigtsen and Hunt Claim Gold at European Athletics Championships in Birmingham
On August 10, 2026, at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, Jakob Ingebrigtsen secured his fourth consecutive European 5000m title in 13:15.29 on his season debut following Achilles tendon surgery, while Amy Hunt claimed the women’s 100m title in 11.00 in front of a home crowd during the opening day of the European Athletics Championships.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen Navigates Tactical Field for 5000m Gold
The men’s 5000m final presented a steady single file with four seconds separating the field at the halfway stage, according to olympics.com coverage of the race. With six laps to go, Jakob Ingebrigtsen remained positioned at the back of the pack. Jimmy Gressier made a move into an increasingly cramped front group, while Ingebrigtsen wiped his brow.
Within a lap, Ingebrigtsen and Gressier moved into the top three places. At the final bend, Ingebrigtsen appeared boxed in at third behind Gressier and German runner Florian Bremm. With 100 meters remaining, the awaited explosive lurch arrived as Ingebrigtsen found a gap and sprinted to victory in 13:15.29.
“In that last 600m, that’s when I started to feel confident,” Ingebrigtsen explained, as reported by olympics.com. “It doesn’t matter how much speed you have if you’re tired. So I’ve been trying for the last three weeks to not be tired.”
According to watchathletics.com, this victory marked Ingebrigtsen’s first race since the World Championships in Tokyo in September 2025. The performance secured his seventh European outdoor title overall and his fourth consecutive European 5000m crown.
Amy Hunt Delights Home Crowd in Women’s 100m Final
Amy Hunt captured her first European 100m title with a time of 11.00 seconds at Alexander Stadium, edging out Poland’s Ewa Swoboda, who claimed silver in 11.02 seconds. Belgium’s Delphine Nkansa won the bronze medal in a personal best of 11.06 seconds, finishing ahead of Switzerland’s Géraldine Di Tizio Frey, who clocked 11.07.
Defending champion Dina Asher-Smith placed fifth with a season’s best of 11.10, matching Patrizia van der Weken. World indoor champion Zaynab Dosso finished seventh in 11.12 seconds.
Hunt entered the competition following a silver medal in the 200m at the Tokyo World Championships in 2025, an Olympic 4x100m relay silver, and a Commonwealth Games 100m silver in Glasgow in late July. A Cambridge University graduate, Hunt trains in Padua, Italy, under coach Marco Airale.
“I am so proud of myself. At the end of the day, it is all about getting the gold medal,” Hunt stated, according to watchathletics.com. “As for the execution and how far back I was with 30 metres to go, I am not going to remember that in a few years’ time—just that I won a fabulous gold.”
Reflecting on competing at the venue where she won an English Schools title during her youth, Hunt added: “This win is incredibly special to me, with it being my first in the UK and at a track where I raced so much growing up.”
Additional European Title Defenses in Birmingham
The opening day of the championships also featured successful title defenses in the shot put events. Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri and the Netherlands’ Jessica Schilder both successfully defended their respective European crowns, adding to the day’s high-level competition across track and field events.