Romell Glave Wins European 100m Gold as Britain Secures One-Two in Birmingham

KUALA LUMPUR, AUGUST 2026 — Great Britain celebrated a spectacular one-two finish in the men’s 100 metres at the 2026 European Athletics Championships, as Romell Glave captured the continental title ahead of fellow Briton Jeremiah Azu in front of a home crowd in Birmingham.

Glave crossed the finish line in 10.09 seconds, with Azu taking silver in 10.16 seconds. Germany’s Owen Ansah completed the podium after clocking 10.19 seconds for bronze.

The result marked another significant chapter in British sprinting history. It was only the third time Great Britain had claimed gold and silver in the men’s 100m at the European Championships, following Darren Campbell and Dwain Chambers in 1998, and Zharnel Hughes and Reece Prescod in 2018.

Glave’s triumph came despite challenging conditions, with a headwind preventing particularly fast times. Rather than focusing on the clock, the 26-year-old concentrated on executing his race and ultimately emerged as the new European champion.

The race also produced a major shock involving Italy’s Marcell Jacobs, the Tokyo Olympic 100m champion and two-time European champion.

Jacobs had appeared in strong form during the semi-final, recording 10.08 seconds, but his hopes of another European crown disappeared when he suffered an injury shortly after the start of the final.

The Italian struggled to complete the race and eventually crossed the line in 12.26 seconds, while Glave and Azu powered ahead to secure Britain’s top-two finish.

Azu had made an aggressive start and initially set the pace before Glave moved through strongly to take control of the race.

For Glave, the victory represented the biggest individual title of his career and completed an impressive progression after he had previously earned bronze at the 2024 European Championships.

Glave’s route to European gold has been far from straightforward.

Born in Jamaica, he moved to London at the age of 15 to live with his family and pursue greater opportunities in athletics. He later established himself as one of Britain’s most promising sprint talents.

His potential was apparent early in his career. In 2017, at just 17 years old, Glave ran 10.21 seconds, making him the world’s fastest teenager at the time.

However, injury problems repeatedly interrupted his development. His back was in a brace throughout 2022, while another back problem affected his attempts to build momentum following his European bronze medal in 2024.

Glave has since worked extensively on his sprint mechanics alongside coach Michael Afilaka, with those adjustments contributing to his return to the top level of European sprinting.

His gold medal in Birmingham therefore carried additional significance, representing a successful comeback after several seasons disrupted by physical setbacks.

For Jeremiah Azu, the silver medal represented another significant championship performance after an inconsistent season.

Azu acknowledged that his form had fluctuated during the year, but he once again produced one of his strongest races when it mattered most at a major championship.

Together, Glave and Azu gave the British crowd one of the standout moments of the second day of competition, reinforcing Britain’s strength in European sprinting.

The men’s 100m was not the only major final contested during an action-packed evening in Birmingham.

Italy’s Nadia Battocletti successfully defended her European women’s 5,000m title after delivering a powerful acceleration over the final 200 metres. She won the tactical race in 15 minutes 37.84 seconds.

Spain’s Marta García claimed silver, while Italy collected another medal through Micol Majori, who finished third. Britain’s Hannah Nuttall ended the race in fifth place.

One of the closest finishes of the championships came in the women’s 100m hurdles.

Dutch athlete Nadine Visser and Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska both recorded 12.67 seconds, forcing officials to examine the photo finish before declaring Visser the European champion.

The margin between the pair was just one-thousandth of a second, giving Visser one of the narrowest victories of the championships.

Greek Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou continued his dominance of the men’s long jump by winning a fourth European title.

Tentoglou produced a winning leap of 8.44 metres, comfortably securing gold, while Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer finished second with 8.29 metres.

However, for the British crowd, the defining moment of the evening remained the men’s 100m final.

Glave’s victory, combined with Azu’s silver medal, delivered a British one-two on home soil and transformed a race that began with Jacobs among the favourites into one of the most memorable sprinting results of the 2026 European Athletics Championships.