The 2026 European Athletics Championships kick off with the 100m final on the first two days.
The European Athletics Championships begin next August with two 100m finals on the opening two days.
The medals for the women’s 100m will be decided on Monday evening, August 10, while the men’s 100m is scheduled for Tuesday, August 11.
Great Britain’s interest will also be high in the race to be crowned European sprint king and queen.
Dina Usher-Smith is the reigning European women’s 100m champion and is likely to defend her title.
However, some of her biggest rivals could also be teammates with Amy Hunt and Daryl Neita, who have been in such great form in recent years. Hunt won world 200m silver in 2025, while Neita came inches away from winning the European 200m title in Rome two years ago, finishing just one-hundredth of a second behind Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji.
Kambundji is also likely to be at Birmingham 2026. Also look out for European 100m silver and bronze medalists from 2024: Ewa Swoboda (Poland) and Zainab Dosso (Italy).
Germany’s Gina Lukenkemper won the European title on home soil in Munich in 2022 and remains a force to be reckoned with.
Other possible contenders include Luxembourg’s Patricia Van der Veken. Birmingham 2026 may come too soon for Kelly Dualla, however, as he will still only be 16, but the Italian youngster stormed to European under-20 gold this year and looks destined for greatness.
At the 2026 European Championships in Rome, the Italians dominated on home soil, with Marcel Jacobs winning gold from team-mate Chituru Ali, with Britain’s Romel Glawe third.
Home advantage helps, so competing in Birmingham will no doubt boost the British sprinters, led by British record holder Jarnell Hughes.
Hughes won the European 100m title in 2018 and 200m gold in 2022. Depending on who qualifies for the team, he could be joined by the likes of Glave, Jeremiah Azu, Louis Hinchliffe and Eugene Amo-Dadzi.
Azu won the European and World 60m titles in 2025, while Amo-Dadzi won the 100m at the European Team Championships and ran a final season time of 9.87 to move equal second in the British all-time rankings.
Possible contenders include Italians Jacobs and Ali, plus Dutchman Elvis Afrifa, Swedish Henrik Larsson and German Owen Ansah.
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The women’s 100m will take place on the morning of Monday August 10, with the semi-finals at 8.10pm and the final at 9.50pm.
The men’s 100m will take place on the morning of Tuesday 11 August, with the semi-finals at 8.30pm and the final at 9.45pm.
In 2026, these athletes will fight for the European titles in Birmingham on August 10-16. Tickets are still available available here.
