Armand Duplantis bids for fourth European title as stars align in Birmingham
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Sweden’s Armand Duplantis competing in the men’s pole vault event in London on July 18. He withdrew from the event with a left thigh problem.
PHOTO: AFP
BIRMINGHAM – Serial world record setter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis leads 10 world champions seeking glory when a high-quality European Athletics Championships get under way in Birmingham on Aug 10.
The 26-year-old is joined by Isaac Nader (1,500m), Jimmy Gressier (5,000m, 10,000m), Mattia Furlani (long jump), Pedro Pichardo (triple jump), Daniel Stahl (discus) and Leo Neugebauer (decathlon) in men’s events.
Femke Broeders-Bol (400m hurdles but contesting the 800m), Ditaji Kambundji (100m hurdles) and Maria Perez (20km and 35km race walk but contesting the half-marathon race walk) are the female world champions.
Duplantis is also Olympic champion, alongside Jakob Ingebrigtsen (5,000m), Miltiadis Tentoglou (long jump), Keely Hodgkinson (800m), Yaroslava Mahuchikh (high jump) and Yemisi Mabry (shot put).
Duplantis, Ingebrigtsen, Tentoglou and Norway’s 400m hurdler Karsten Warholm are all targeting their fourth successive European titles. Mahuchikh and Hodgkinson are eyeing a hat-trick of golds.
The pole vault star makes his return to competition after a scare that saw him withdraw from the London Diamond League meet with a left thigh problem after clearing 5.95m.
“No sign of injury after a professional examination that also included an MRI and X-ray,” Duplantis’ agent Daniel Wessfeldt told AFP.
“His planned competition programme stays firm. Next meet: the European championships in Birmingham.”
The double Olympic and triple world champion has broken the world record 15 times, first with 6.17m back in 2020. His most recent mark was 6.31m in Sweden in March.
Norway’s Ingebrigtsen is also returning to the track in Birmingham, having not raced at all in 2026 after surgery on his Achilles tendon in January.
“I can confirm he will run. He is looking forward to being back. It is a great relief, and he is looking forward to it,” his spokesman Espen Skoland said.
Ingebrigtsen, unbeaten at the Euros having swept the 1,500m and 5,000m titles at the last three editions dating back to Berlin 2018 when he was just 17, will skip the shorter event in Birmingham to focus on the 5,000m.
“If you’re waiting for the perfect preparation, perfect conditions, perfect timing, you’ll be waiting your whole life,” said the 25-year-old Norwegian.
The defence of his titles in Rome two years ago saw him become the first male athlete in European Athletics Championships history to win six gold medals.
“Anyone who has watched me race over the years will know that competition is what drives me. I am healthy, training has been going well and after discussing with my team, we reached the conclusion that there is no reason not to race,” he said.
“What better way than to return to the European championships, where I have so many golden memories.”
The championships, the first to be held in Britain, will also feature a host of home hopes, notably Olympic 800m champion Hodgkinson, her training partner Georgia Hunter Bell and 2022 world 1,500m champion Jake Wightman.
Their teammate Dina Asher-Smith, the two-time 100m champion, could overtake the seven golds of Croatian discus thrower Sandra Elkasevic with another blue riband victory, to become the most successful athlete in the history of the championships.
In all, athletes from 49 nations will compete for 50 gold medals, including a mixed 4x100m relay for the first time.
The 10 leading performances of the Aug 10-16 competition will each also be rewarded with a cheque for €50,000 (S$73,870). AFP
