European Athletics U23 Championships

European Athletics U23 Championships

The European Athletics U23 Championships was introduced in 1997, ostensibly to facilitate the transition between the U20 and senior ranks.

The first edition of the championships were held in Turku and the latest edition returned to Finnish soil, specifically the city of Espoo, situated just outside Helsinki, which staged the four-day championships from 13-16 July 2023.

And the Finns put on a great show in Espoo, winning three gold medals courtesy of Silja Kosonen in the women's hammer, Saga Vanninen in the heptathlon and Juho Alasaari in the men's pole vault.

Meanwhile, a clean sweep of golds in the 5000m and 10,000m races and a championship-record winning performance by the women's 4 x 100m team helped Great Britain & Northern Ireland top the medal table with seven golds in total.

There were championship records from the likes of Lithuania's Mykolas Alekna who snatched world champion Kristjan Ceh’s mark in a dominant men’s discus performance and European indoor and outdoor bronze medallist Ditaji Kambundji of Switzerland who struck gold in the women's 100m hurdles, among others.

Greece's European javelin champion Elina Tzengko added the U23 title to her senior and U20 titles, while the Netherlands’ Alida van Daalen won double gold with victory in the shot put and the discus.

In the decathlon, Norway's soon-to-be Olympic champion Markus Rooth held off his teammate Sander Skotheim in an exciting 1-2 finish and Norway will be looking to deliver more medals on home soil in the next edition, which takes place in Bergen in 2025 from 17-20 July.