The final entries for the inaugural European Running Championships in Brussels-Leuven on 12-13 April have been published.
A total of 343 athletes representing 45 Member Federations have entered the first edition of the European Running Championships which is comprised of a 10km, half marathon and marathon.
One of the star names of the championships will be Italy’s Nadia Battocletti who is seeking her fourth European title in the space of 10 months on a third surface.
Battocletti won a memorable 5000/10,000m double on home soil at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships before capping her stellar year by becoming the first Italian winner of the women’s senior title at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya.
Battocletti has entered the 10km which could be a near repeat of the European 10,000m final in Rome. The line-up also features Diane van Es from the Netherlands and Slovenia’s Klara Lukan who were second and fifth respectively behind Battocletti in the Italian capital. Lukan leads the 2025 European 10km list with 30:26.
Fellow European 10,000m champion Dominic Lobalu from Switzerland headlines the men’s 10km. He faces a strong French contingent including Yann Schrub - the silver medallist behind Lobalu in Rome as well as the 2023 European cross country champion - and former European 10km record-holder Etienne Daguinos along with Isaac Kimeli, one of Belgium’s principal medal prospects.
In the half marathon, France’s Jimmy Gressier is seeking his first European senior title. He was the first European finisher in the half marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga where he finished fifth in a lifetime best of 59:46.
The fastest entrant for the women’s half marathon is Diane van Es - one of the few athletes who could potentially double up in Brussels-Leuven - with a recently-set lifetime best of 68:03. And there will be strong Belgian medal prospects with Juliette Thomas (69:48 PB) and Paris 2024 Olympian Chloe Herbiet (70:04 PB) both due to compete.
The marathon entry-lists are headed by Türkiye's former European record-holder Kaan Kigen Ozbilen (2:04:16 PB) and Israel's Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (2:17:45 PB) who won 10,000m gold at the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships and has finished third and fourth respectively in the marathon at the last two editions of the World Athletics Championships.
In-depth previews will be published on the European Athletics website from Monday (7) and there will be comprehensive coverage of the European Running Championships across all European Athletics channels next weekend.
The European Running Championships will also be streamed live from start to finish with English-language commentary on the European Athletics website without any restrictions.
Entries are still open for the inaugural European Running Championships, where recreational runners will have the opportunity to run with the elite athletes. Limited places are still available across 10km, half marathon and marathon disciplines.