European Athletics U18 Championships

European Athletics U18 Championships

The European Athletics U18 Championships is a biennial competition for European athletes under the age of 18 in the year of competition.

The newest addition to the calendar of age-group events, the European Athletics U18 Championships was created to promote higher-level competition among the most talented members of this age group in Europe and provide a stepping stone to the U20 age group. The first edition of the European Athletics U18 Championships was held in Tbilisi, Georgia in 2016.

The third edition of the championships in Jerusalem, Israel in 2022 were highlighted by 15-year-old Topi Parviainen from Finland setting a European U18 best of 84.52m in the javelin, Mattia Furlani winning gold medals in both the long jump and high jump and Serbia's Angelina Topic clearing 1.92m in the high jump.

Once again, Great Britain topped the medal table in Jerusalem with eight gold medals, all of which came in women's events. Standout highlights included Mia McIntosh winning the 100m hurdles in a championship record of 13.05 and Faith Akinbileje winning gold in the 200m and helping the Brits to the medley relay title.

The fourth edition of the European Athletics U18 Championships will be held in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia from 18-21 July 2024 and will be the second major European event to be held in Slovakia after the 2017 SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Samorin. 

The host city of Banská Bystrica is located on the Hron River and home to 76,000 inhabitants, making it the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia. 

The 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships will take place in Rieti, Italy.