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.

At the most recent edition of the championships in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia from 18-21 July, Italy topped the medal table with seven gold medals. Elisa Valensin won the 200m title in a championship best of 23.09 before anchoring Italy to gold in the medley relay. In doing so, she became the only athlete to come away with two gold medals. 

The championships was also highlighted by European U18 bests from home favourite Laura Frlickova who blasted to a 12.86 clocking in the 100m hurdles to smash the previous mark of 12.98 set by current European champion Cyrena Samba-Mayela in 2017. She duly won the final the following day in 12.97 to win Slovakia's first ever gold medal at the European U18 Championships.

Michal Rada decimated the European U18 best in the 400m hurdles, winning the gold in an unopposed 49.42 to become the first European in his age-group to break the 50 second-barrier in the U18 400m hurdles. Remarkably, he provided the second part of a twin double after Nina Radova came home with the 400m hurdles title in the women's race.

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