Hosts Germany enjoyed their best European Athletics Championships since 1998 by winning seven gold medals at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August, part of the multi-sport European Championships, to top the medal table.
The gold rush started unexpectedly in the first session of Munich 2022 as Richard Ringer mustered up a seemingly impossible final kilometre to win the marathon title and finished fittingly with the German 4x100m team producing an electric collective display of sprinting to conclude the championships.
The women’s 4x100m final acted as a de facto tiebreaker for who would top the medal table between hosts Germany and Great Britain. The Brits uncharacteristically didn’t get the baton past the first changeover but their six gold medals in Munich were significant in taking them past the Soviet Union - 124 to 121 gold medals - as the most bemedalled country in the history of the European Athletics Championships.
It was also an auspicious championships for 2024 hosts Italy. They won eleven medals in total, their most since Split 1990 when they won 12. Individual highlights included Marcell Jacobs equalling the championship record in the 100m with 9.95, fellow Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi winning his second European high jump title and Yeman Crippa sprinting to victory in the 10,000m.
Greece matched their best ever medal haul at the European Athletics Championships with four gold medals, equalling the four gold medals they won in 2002. Unexpectedly, their star performer was 38-year-old race walker Antigoni Ntrismpioti who won gold medals in both the 20km and 35km race walk. In between her successes, Miltiadis Tentoglou set a championship record of 8.52m in the long jump - one of eleven championship records - and 19-year-old Elina Tzengko won the javelin title.
Switzerland won a record six medals at the European Athletics Championships, a record by one medal. After just missing out on the 100m title by 0.005, perennial minor medallist on the European stage Mujinga Kambundji won 200m gold and her younger sister Ditaji came away with bronze in the 100m hurdles.
Israel won a record five medals, doubling their overall medal tally at the European Athletics Championships from five to ten. Prior to Munich, Israel had never won more than one medal in any edition of the European Athletics Championships. Three of those medals came in the men’s marathon with silver and bronze medallists Maru Teferi and Gashaw Ayale leading Israel to a historic gold.
Serbia also enjoyed a record championships with four medals, taking their overall medal tally in European Athletics Championships history from seven to eleven. Ivana Vuleta showed her class by regaining her long jump title with a 7.06m leap and there were also medals for 18-year-old Adriana Vilagos in the javelin and 17-year-old Angelina Topic in the high jump. Armin Sinancevic also won bronze in the shot put.
Albania won their first ever gold medal at the European Athletics Championships courtesy of Luiza Gega in the 3000m steeplechase who upgraded on her silver medal from six years ago in Amsterdam where she picked up Albania’s first ever European medal. Her winning time of 9:11.31 also smashed the championship record.
Montenegro also won their first ever medal at the European Athletics Championships from former world U20 champion Marija Vukovic who won silver behind Yaroslava Mahuchikh from Ukraine in the high jump.
The standout individual performer was Femke Bol who came away with three gold medals, including an unprecedented 400m/400m hurdles double before anchoring the Netherlands to gold in the 4x400m relay. The Dutchwoman becomes only the seventh athlete to win three gold medals at the same European Championships, emulating the likes of her compatriot Fanny Blankers-Koen who won four medals, including three golds in 1950.
Championship records (11)
- Marcell Jacobs (ITA) - 9.95m, 100m (=)
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) - 3:32.76, 1500m
- Karsten Warholm (NOR) - 47.12, 400m hurdles
- Armand Duplantis (SWE) - 6.06m, pole vault
- Miltiadis Tentoglou (GER) - 8.52m, long jump
- Kristjan Ceh (SLO) - 69.06m, discus (qualifying)
- Mykolas Alekna (LTU) - 69.78m, discus (final)
- Great Britain & NI (GBR) - 37.67, 4x100m relay
- Femke Bol (NED) - 52.67, 400m hurdles
- Luiza Gega (ALB) - 9:11.31, 3000m steeplechase
- Wilma Murto (FIN) - 4.85m, pole vault (=)
Championship bests in combined events (3)
- Simon Ehammer (SUI) - 8.31m, long jump
- Niklas Kaul (GER) - 76.05m, javelin
- Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) - 1.98m, high jump
World leads (2)
- Miltiadis Tentoglou (GER) - 8.52m, long jump
- Wojciech Nowicki (POL) - 82.00m, hammer
Multiple medallists (16)
- Femke Bol (NED) 3-0-0
- Zharnel Hughes (GBR) 2-1-0
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) 2-0-0
- Matthew Hudson-Smith (GBR) 2-0-0
- Antigoni Drisbioti (GRE) 2-0-0
- Gina Luckenkemper (GER) 2-0-0
- Yasemin Can (TUR) 1-1-0
- Mujinga Kambundji (SUI) 1-1-0
- Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (GBR) 1-1-0
- Pia Skrzyszowska (POL) 1-1-0
- Alex Haydock-Wilson (GBR) 1-0-1
- Jeremiah Azu (GBR) 1-0-0
- Yemaneberhan Crippa (ITA) 1-0-1
- Anna Kielbasinska (POL) 0-2-1
- Natalia Kaczmarek (POL) 0-2-0
- Eilish McColgan (GBR) 0-1-1
Title defenders (12)
- Matthew Hudson-Smith (GBR) - 400m
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) - 1500m
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) - 5000m
Karsten Warholm (NOR) - 400m hurdles
Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE) - long jump
Armand Duplantis (SWE) - pole vault
Wojciech Nowicki (POL) - hammer
Great Britain & NI (GBR) - 4x100m
Alvaro Martin (ESP) - 20km race walk
Laura Muir (GBR) - 1500m
Sandra Perkovic (CRO) - discus
Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) - heptathlon