BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) 鈥� Amy Hunt won a record fourth gold medal in a single edition of the European championships when Britain clinched victory in the mixed 4×100 relay on Sunday.
Hunt had already won two individual titles 鈥� the and 鈥� and added a third gold Saturday in the women鈥檚 4×100 relay at Alexander Stadium.
The team of Jeremiah Azu, Dina Asher-Smith, Zharnel Hughes and Hunt won Sunday in a time of 39.97 seconds. Germany was second in 40.11 and Spain third in 40.42.
On the anchor leg, Hunt pulled away from Gina L眉ckenkemper to cross the line for gold.
鈥淥h my gosh, I’m over the moon,鈥� Hunt told the BBC. 鈥淭o finish it off with some of my best friends in the sport … to do it all together is incredible.鈥�
Asher-Smith won her career eighth European championships gold and became the competition’s most decorated athlete with her 11th medal, moving one ahead of the late Polish sprinter Irena Szewinska.
This was the debut of the mixed 4×100 relay in the European championships.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good to get to try something new,鈥� Asher-Smith told the BBC, although she added, 鈥淚 was absolutely terrified.鈥�
Four in a row for Duplantis
Swedish pole vaulter Armand 鈥淢ondo鈥� Duplantis earned his fourth consecutive European championship title by clearing 6.15 meters.
Duplantis is the world record holder 鈥� he vaulted 6.31 meters in March. That was his . He first broke it in 2020 and has eclipsed his mark by 1 centimeter each time since.
The watched on as Greek rival Emmanouil Karalis (6.00) lost momentum after getting over 6.10 but knocking the bar off on his way down. Karalis took his second straight silver at the championships. France’s Baptiste Thiery (5.85) earned bronze.
Italy wins medal table
Bragging rights were on the line in the last event of the week-long championships when Britain and Italy were tied at nine golds each atop the medal table.
The Italians pulled out the victory in the men’s 4×400 relay final, and the home team settled for silver. That means Italy topped the table with 10 golds and an overall 22 medals, three more than Britain’s total.
Italy also topped the medal table two years ago in Rome.
In the penultimate event of the championships, the Dutch women’s 4×400 relay team won gold when star Femke Broeders-Bol held off Britain’s Emily Newnham down the stretch. It was the third straight women鈥檚 4×400 relay championships title and Broeders-Bol’s sixth career gold at the championships.
In the women’s 1,500 final, Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell improved on her silver medal from two years ago by crossing the line first in 4:07.78.
Larissa Iapichino had added to Italy’s gold tally by winning the women’s long jump, leaping 7.00 meters for the title.
Memorable marathons
Amanal Petros made sure there was no photo finish this time.
The German won the men鈥檚 marathon on Sunday morning by a whopping 7 seconds, less than a year after missing out on gold in a in Tokyo.
Petros crossed the finish line in Birmingham in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 11 seconds 鈥� breaking the championships record in the process. Italy鈥檚 Pietro Riva took silver with his 2:09:18, three seconds better than Israel鈥檚 Gashau Ayale.
Last September, the Eritrean-born Petros settled for silver behind Tanzania鈥檚 Alphonce Simbu in the closest marathon in world championships history. Both men were officially clocked at 2:09:48, but it was determined that Simbu crossed the line a fraction sooner.
In the women鈥檚 marathon Sunday, Finland鈥檚 Alisa Vainio dominated the field to finish in 2:22:26, nearly five minutes ahead of silver medalist Lili Anna Vindics-Toth of Hungary. Britain鈥檚 Abbie Donnelly took bronze. Vainio broke Christelle Daunay鈥檚 championship record from 2014 by almost three minutes.
___
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
