The Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships came to a close on Sunday, bringing an exciting week of competition to an end for the past and present GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) athletes competing on the European stage.
The final four days provided plenty more to celebrate, with strong individual performances and a series of outstanding relay results, including multiple European titles.
Strong Individual Performances
Thursday saw GSF Alumni Dina Asher-Smith claim bronze in the women's 200m final, with fellow GSF athlete Success Eduan finishing sixth.
Alumni William Battershill competed in the men's 3000m steeplechase, finishing eighth in his heat before returning to finish 14th in Sunday's final. In the men's 1500m, Jake Heyward won Heat 1 on Friday to secure his place in the final. He followed this up with an impressive fourth-place finish in Saturday's final.
The men's 10,000m final featured two GSF athletes, with Joe Wigfield finishing 15th and Alumni Scott Beattie finishing 17th. Sunday's marathon events saw Evans-Graham finish 34th in the women's marathon, while Alumni athlete Mahamed Mahamed, produced a strong seventh-place finish in the men's marathon.
Relay Success
The relay events provided some of the standout moments of the final days. GSF Alumni Sam Lunt, helped the men's 4x400m relay team finish second in qualifying before securing the team went on to secure silver in Sunday's final. Alumni Lina Nielsen, helped the women's 4x400m relay team finish first in qualifying before also taking silver in the final.
The women's 4x100m relay delivered a spectacular gold-medal performance. GSF Ambassador Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Success Eduan, Alumni Kristal Ama-Awuah and Dina Asher-Smith all helped Great Britain claim the European title, with the team recording a European-leading time of 42.05 seconds. GSF Alumni Lauren Roy finished seventh in the final with Team Ireland.
There was further gold medal success in the men's 4x100m relay, with GSF athlete Romell Glave and Alumni Jeremiah Azu, helping Great Britain to victory after finishing first in qualifying.
The championships then concluded with another memorable relay performance. Alumni athletes Jeremiah Azu and Dina Asher-Smith were both part of Great Britain's mixed 4x100m relay team that claimed gold in a European record time of 39.97 seconds.
A championship to remember
The final days provided a fitting conclusion to what has been a hugely successful European Championships for the GLL Sport Foundation family.
Across Birmingham 2026, past and present GSF-supported athletes secured an incredible 13 medals in total – nine gold, three silver and one bronze.
From individual finalists and strong championship performances to European titles and a new European record, the achievements of our athletes have provided plenty to celebrate.
A huge congratulations to all of our past and present GSF athletes who competed at Birmingham 2026. We are incredibly proud to have supported you on your sporting journeys and look forward to seeing what comes next!
