Steve Smythe takes a statistical overhaul of Rome and what it might mean to the Paris Olympics

The fact the European Athletics Championships was scheduled to finish just before the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament in Germany kicked off shows how football rules sport by an alarming margin.

Considering Italys success in Rome, crowds were a little disappointing (137,000 over the six days) and tucked away on the BBC red button, it did not get the attention in Britain that the quality of performances deserved, although television viewing figures were healthy in France, Germany and the host nation Italy.

Nearly all of Europes top athletes supported the championships other than a Dutch distance runner, a German decathlete and quite a lot of Brits some by injury but most by design.

Obviously the Olympics is the big one this year but if it was right for the likes of Femke Bol, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Mondo Duplantis and Karsten Warholm, why did athletes not guaranteed medals in Paris, pass on a medal chance which they might regret come the end of the season if they return from France empty handed? And some will.

The lack of a Britains womens 4x400m team and the apathy from those who might be desperate to make the team in Paris to not support the team here was a unique British problem.

Despite UK absentees which cost Britain second place in the medal table, the championships was a roaring success and one of the greatest area championships ever held despite being staged in early June.

It was the 26th Europeans and the 12th I have attended. Prague in 1978 was my first as a spectator and Split in 1990 my first as a journalist but I also saw every event on television in 1969, 1971 and 1974 and so I have an excellent recollection of 18 of the 26 championships and this might just be the best. Furthermore, Birmingham will be hard pressed to beat this in 2026 and hopefully British athletes will show the event more respect.

There were 10 world leads, 20 European leads and 15 championship records despite some of the records from the drug fuelled 1980s and 1990s being unattainable.

Men

100m (Lamont Marcell Jacobs 10.02)
Jacobs became the fifth mens 100m sprinter to win double gold. Although he won, the Italian looks well short of his Olympic winning form but should make the final in Paris.

Romell Glave was a close third and on this from is another potential finalist in Paris as are the missing Brits Zharnel Hughes and Jeremiah Azu, who made withdrawals after the team was announced.

200m (Timothe Mumenthaler 20.28)
The 21-year-old Swiss athlete is an outside bet for a final place at the Olympics if he carries on his improvement and can break 20 seconds. Filippo Tortus 20.14 is the fastest semi-final time in history although the Italian could only run 20.41 in the final.

Frances Pablo Mateo ran 20.03 in March but was disqualified in the Rome final. The Brits who competed Jona Efoloko (20.73) and Jeriel Quainoo (20.81) were well short of impressing the Olympic selectors. Hughes will lead the European challenge in Paris if recovered.

400m (Alexander Doom 44.15)
Dooms 44.15 time was a championships record to break Iwan Thomass 44.52 from 1998 and arguably in championships conditions superior to Matthew Hudson-Smiths European record 44.07 in Oslo.

The world indoor champion certainly must now be in with an excellent medal chance in Paris.

Charlie Dobson ran a splendid 44.38 after a 44.65 (the fastest ever semi final) and could also be in the medal mix with Hudson-Smith. Best ever marks for places were set at first second, fourth and seventh.

The 2022 Euro medallist Alex Haydock-Wilson was short of that form this time (46.04) and only qualified for the semis after another athlete withdrew.

800m (Gabriel Tual 1:44.87)
Tual won Frances first ever gold in the event and on this form could challenge for a medal with fervent home support. He ran a 25.57 last 200m and 51-second last lap.

His 1:45.03 was the fastest ever time in a Euro semi-final with Ryan Clarke running the fastest ever non-qualifying time of 1:46.00.

In the even quicker heats, Paul Anselmini ran the fastest ever time in qualifying of 1:44.73 but then did not make the final as Pieter Sisks 1:45.87 in the heats became the fastest ever non- qualifying time and he finished eighth and last.

World medallist Ben Pattison chose not to compete and those that did Elliot Giles (seventh) looked short of finishing pace while GB team-mates Thomas Randolph (1:45.58) and Callum Dodds (1:46.39) did not make the opportunity of some bigger names not being available.

1500m (Jakob Ingebrigtsen 3:31.95)
Ingebrigtsen won a record third gold and his 1.35-second margin has only been bettered by his 1.68- second margin in Munich. While he has lost the last two world finals, the Olympic champion remains the most consistent of the top performers. His championships record came with a 26.11 last 200m and 53.34 last 400m from the front off a quick pace.

Neil Gourley looked his most likely challenger at 1400m but faded to ninth. After being fortunate to progress after all the falls in his heat, Adam Fogg ran a PB 3:34.44 but was only 12th.

The absent Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman remain Britains best two hopes in Paris.

5000m (Jakob Ingebrigtsen 13:20.11)
Jakob Ingebrigtsen matched Mo Farahs third gold and the double world champion remains favourite for Paris. He ran a 25.51 last 200m and 1:52 last 800m.

George Mills tracked him until the last 100m and looks more likely to challenge at this event for high places rather than in the 1500m.

Mills GB team-mate James West was solid enough in seventh but needs to find the qualifying time. Jack Rowe has the time but fell in Rome.

10,000m (Dominic Lobalu 28:00.32)
It seems Lobalu, who was also third in the 5000m, will have to compete as a refugee rather than Switzerland in Paris. In Rome he won a tight race with a good kick (26.83 last 200m off a 2:56 last 1200m) but its hard to see him making the top six in Paris.

Patrick Dever acquitted himself well leading to the bell and ended up sixth in 28:04.43 but is just outside a world ranking position to qualify for Rome but he does have a 5000m qualifying time.

Zak Mahamed and Rory Leonard had solid runs but are some distance from the Paris qualifying times.

3000m steeplechase (Alexis Miellet 8:14.01)
It was a competitive final and best marks were set from third to sixth. Miellet, who competed in Tokyo at 1500m and has 1:45.88 800m speed, could cause a shock in a slow race at Paris. Mark Pearce did well to make the final but was only 13th there and would need a big improvement and PB to make Paris.

Half-marathon (Yeman Crippa 61:03)
Crippa set a championship record as Italy scored the first ever one-two by any country. Irrelevant in terms of the Olympic marathon but it was disappointing Britain had no male runners in this event in Rome.

110m hurdles (Lorenzo Simonelli 13.05)
After setting an Italian record 13.20 in his semi, the world indoor silver medallist improved a stunning amount in the final and on this form will be close to a medal in Paris.

Multiple British champion Tade Ojora was a long way from making the final and a resurgent Andy Pozzi withdrew from the team after being selected.

400m hurdles (Karsten Warholm 46.98)
Warholm won his third consecutive gold to match Harald Schmids (1978-1986) and the Olympic champion remains a marginal favourite to successfully defend his title in what should be one of the races of the Games.

Best times for places were set from first to seventh.

Allesandro Sibilios 48.07 time was the fastest ever semi final time and he improved to an Italian record 47.50 and he will make the Paris final with that time.

Wilfried Happios 48.44 was the fastest semi time not to make the final. It previously was just 49.13.

Alastair Chalmers of Britain was third in his semi in 48.76 and was unlucky not to make the final and also to just miss the Olympic qualifier of 48.70.

High Jump (Gianmarco Tamberi 2.37)
Tamberis championships record tied the largest winning margin from Brumel, 62 years earlier. It was a record third gold and came after he only cleared 2.29m at his third attempt.

The standard was poor though with 2.26m winning a medal and Tamberi is the only European challenger for a medal in Paris. No Brits will compete in Paris.

Pole Vault (Mondo Duplantis 6.10m)
Duplantis won his third gold to match fellow Olympic champions Wolfgang Nordwig and Renaud Lavillenie. The winning margin was a record 23 centimetres and Duplantis will start Paris as a huge favourite but none of the other Europeans are expected to medal.

British record-holder Harry Coppell, who was seventh in Tokyo, has only cleared 5.22m so far in 2024.

Long Jump (Miltiadis Tentoglou 8.65m)
Olympic champion Tentoglou underlined his championships credentials and consistency as he produced world leads of 8.42m, 8.49m and then 8.65m twice and he remains Olympic favourite. The first eight broke eight metres for the first time as standards continue to rise though it was obviously a very good run-up and take off.

Simon Ehammers 8.41m was the longest ever qualifying jump and he together with silver medallist Mattia Furlani, who set a world under-20 record of 8.38m, could be challenging for the minor medals.

Fourth-placer Jacob Fincham-Dukes is comfortably within a world rankings quota and having achieved the easier UKA standard of 8.15m in the Rome qualifying his selection should be a formality as he would easily make the Paris final on his Rome form.

Triple Jump (Jordan Diaz 18.18m)
First and second place (Olympic champion Pedro Pichardos 18.04m) exceeded Jonathan Edwards championships record 17.99m in the greatest head to head ever in the event. No Britons featured in Rome and nor will they in Paris.

Shot (Leonardo Fabbri 22.45m)
Fabbris winning mark was a championships record and gave Italy their first ever gold in the event. He won by 1.25m and Fabbri is the only European who will challenge for a medal in Paris.

Scott Lincoln was a superb fourth, just six centimetres off the record (the best British performance in the event for half a century), and though he has not got the 21.50m Olympic standard, he has the British standard of 21.00m and is a certainty for Paris and has a good chance of making the final

Discus (Kristjan Ceh 68.08m)
Ceh became the first Slovenian male to win gold at any event. World record-holder Alekna achieved the second longest ever throw in qualifying with a 67.50 behind Cehs 69.06m in 2022 but his 67.48m saw him only third in the final. All the first four in Rome will challenge for medals in Paris in one of Europes strongest events.

Lawrence Okoye was a solid eighth and he has the UKA standard and will easily qualify from the world rankings. Nick Percy surprisingly chose to not compete in Rome but has the Olympic standard.

Hammer (Wojciech Nowicki 80.95m)
With his final throw Nowicki won his third gold to match world record-holder Yuri Sedykh and also won a record fourth medal. Europe will also be a force in Paris with Bence Halasz and Mykhaylo Kokhan also over 80 metres.

Jake Norris was 10th in Rome after being fifth best at qualifying. His 77.37m PB is close to UKAs easier standard of 77.50m and he is safely in a world rankings position. Kenny Ikeji is also close but not in a raking position so would need the harder standard of 78.20m.

Javelin (Jakub Vadlejch 88.65m)
The very consistent Czech finally won a gold by a big margin and looks like the only European to challenge for a medal in France. The leading Briton in 2024 is almost 10 metres short of the Olympic standard and the UK will be unrepresented.

Decathlon (Johannes Erm 8764)
The Estonian won by over 100 points with a PB score but would need further improvement to challenge for a medal in Paris. The European challenge should be led by NCAA champion Leo Neugebauer, who scored a huge 8961 at the NCAA Championships in Eugene and missed Rome.

4x100m (Italy 37.82)
Italys 0.64 winning margin was the largest in history and surprisingly Italys as they are Olympic champions, their first ever European gold. Britain failed to make the final after a poor final changeover in their heat but should have a more experienced team in Paris.

4x400m (Belgium 2:59.84)
Belgium, already had the lead before Alex Doom set off on their anchor and they won easily and should be in the medal challenge in Paris. Their team was Jonathan Sacor (45.00), Robin Vanderbemden (45.92) Dylan Borlee (45.04) and Doom (43.88).

Britain, who were already without Hudson-Smith, also went without individual silver medallist Dobson and were in a clear medal position on the last leg before fading to seventh in the final straight and they should replicate their Budapest medal if their best quartet are fit.

In the heats the British team was Lewis Davey (46.18), Michael Ohioze (45.85), Toby Harries (44.71) and Charlie Carvall (44.95). In the final it was Harries (45.73), Ohieze (45.20), Davey (45.60) and Haydock-Wilson (45.36).

20km walk (Perseus Karlstrom 1:19:13)
The highly consistent Swede will be a medal challenger again in Paris. Callum Wilkinson was a fine ninth in Rome but has not competed enough to be in a good ranking position.

Mixed 4x400m (Ireland 3:09.92)
Ireland and Netherlands will be in the medal battle in Paris. The quickest legs came from Alex Doom (44.16), Isay Klein Ikkink (44.68) and Luca Sito (44.75) from the men and Femke Bol (49.21), Sharlene Mawdsley (49.40), Rhasidat Adeleke (49.53) among the women.

Britain would have been medal challengers in Rome if they picked somewhere near their best team but generally focus on individual events. Their team was Charlie Carvall (45.67), Hannah Kelly (51.48), Lewis Davey (45.62) and Emily Newnham (51.20).

Women

100m (Dina Asher-Smith 10.99)
Despite a poor start, Asher-Smith won her second European 100m gold to join Marlies Gohr and Dafne Schippers. The sixth to eighth times were the fastest ever.

On this form the Briton, who has now won six European golds and eight medals (to go with eight global medals), will easily make the final in Paris.

The 11.16 by Boglarka Takacs is the fastest time not to make the final.

Daryll Neita and Imani Lansiquot are likely to join Asher-Smith in a strong British team though Amy Hunt did well to make the final in Rome.

200m (Mujinga Kambundji 22.49)
The 0.01 of a second between the leading protagonists tied the shortest margin in history as Kambundji successfully defended from Neita but that sort of time could see them well over half a second short of the medals in Paris.

The 2019 world champion Asher-Smith and possibly Hunt will also be in Paris to strengthen the European challenge.

400m (Natalia Kaczmarek 48.98)
Kaczmareks Polish record has only been beaten in Europeans by world record setters Marita Koch and Jarmila Kratochvilova and on this form her and silver medallist Rhasidat Adeleke will be in major medal contention in Paris.

Laviai Nielsen, sixth in Rome, is getting faster all the time and will be in France but Amber Anning is the more likely to make the final based on her recent 49.51 clocking in the USA.

800m (Keely Hodgkinson 1:58.65)
An unwell Hodgkinson became the third athlete to win double gold and she remains the top European challenger by some margin. Her 1:58.07, when feeling healthier, was the fastest semi final in history.

Gabriela Gajanova was only fifth in her semi and was only 0.14 behind the Brit in the final.

Erin Wallaces 1:59.89 became the fastest time not to make the final while Alex Bell just missed out too.

Jemma Reekie and Phoebe Gill will also be challenging for Olympic selection at the trials in Manchester on June 29-30.

1500m (Ciara Mageean 4:04.66)
Mageean won Irelands first gold in the event to add to her previous silver and bronze and she certainly will head the European challenge in Paris from those who competed here.

Two-time champion and Tokyo silver medallist Laura Muir was surprisingly absent but will lead a strong British trio with Rome silver medallist Georgia Bell and Katie Snowden her most likely team-mates with Reekie, fifth in Rome, likely to focus on 800m.

5000m (Nadia Battocletti 14:35.29)
Battoclettis time was a championships record thanks mostly to the pacemaking of Karoline Grovdal but aided by a 2:43 final kilometre.

The Italian should be in the top eight in Paris although the absent Sifan Hassan will be the top European should she choose this event from her many options.

Izzy Fry was the leading Briton in Rome in ninth although tenth placer Hannah Nuttall is close to the Olympic standard and is currently in the world rankings quota.

Megan Keith has the qualifier but is more likely to focus on the 10,000m.

10,000m (Nadia Battocletti 30:51.32)
Battocletti became the third woman after Sonia OSullivan and Yasmin Can to win the 5000m and 10,000m double. The Italian does not have the qualifying time but has a high world ranking due to her cross-country form and will place highly in Paris.

Keith already had the Olympic selection sealed and she re-emphasised her credentials with a bronze medal. Eilish McColgan dropped out in Rome and needs more to guarantee selection for Paris.

3000m steeplechase (Alice Finot 9:16.22)
Finot survived an initial disqualification with an assured win over former double champion Gesa-Felicitas Krause and both should place highly in Paris.

Behind them the best marks for places were set from third to eighth led by Lizzie Bird who gained an Olympic qualifier of 9:18.39 to pretty much guarantee Paris selection.

The 9:30.00 by Stella Rutto was the fastest ever qualifying time.

Half-marathon (Karoline Grovdal 68:09)
Grovdal followed up her 5000m silver by setting a championships record and winning by 46 seconds. Paris marathon-bound Calli Hauger-Thackery took bronze and led Britain to an easy team victory.

100m hurdles (Cyrena Samba-Mayela 12.31)
Samba-Mayela won the final in a world leading French record and is bound to be in medal contention with huge support in Paris. She also ran the fastest ever semi final time in Rome of 12.38.

Klaudia Wojtunik became the quickest ever non-qualifier with 12.84.

Cindy Sember will lead the British challenge in Paris after her 12.56 fourth place which form should see her make the final in France.

400m hurdles (Femke Bol 52.49)
The 1.74 second winning margin was the longest in history at the European Championships but Bol will still only start a distant second favourite in Paris if Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone competes.

The 54.73 by Alice Muraro is the fastest time to not qualify for the final. No one had ever run under 55 and not made the final.

Lina Nielsen would have been in medal contention had she matched her 54.43 PB and Olympic qualifying mark from her heat but ended up seventh.

High Jump (Yaroslava Mahuchikh 2.01m)
Mahuchikh defended easily and will be one of the favourites in Paris. Britains Morgan Lake was sixth equal and has the qualifying mark from last year when she was fourth in Budapest.

Pole Vault (Angelica Moser 4.78m)
Moser won Switzerlands first medal of any colour in this event after struggling at her opening height of 4.43m when she had two failures.

Katerini Stefanidi won her fifth medal having now won two gold and three silvers. Both could challenge for medals in Paris though the top European should be world indoor champion Molly Caudery, who took third here.

Tokyo medallist Holly Bradshaw doesnt have the standard yet but is getting closer as the season progresses and is easily within the rankings quota.

Long Jump (Malaika Mihambo 7.22m)
Mihambos winning mark and world lead has only been bettered by Heike Drechsler in the Championships and on this from makes her favourite to defend her Olympic crown. The 28 centimetres margin was the joint longest.

In second Larissa Iapichino gained Italys first medal in the event since 1998 when her mother Fiona May won a medal.

With Jazmin Sawyers injured the Brits were absent in Rome and will also likely be missing in Paris in an event that has been among its strongest in recent years.

The 6.63m by Pauline Hondema was the longest jump to fail to make the final.

Triple Jump (Ana Peleteiro-Compaore 14.85)
The Spaniard equalled the outdoor world lead and should be close to a medal in Paris. No Brits will be competing in Paris with the top Brit of 2024 Temi Ojora half a metre short of the qualifier, although Naomi Metzger made a comeback from injury this month.

Shot (Jessica Schilder 18.77)
It was the worst winning mark since 1966 but Schilder has thrown 20.31m this year which could challenge for a medal in Paris. A British participant is unlikely though Amelia Campbell is easily in the world rankings quota but well short of Britains Olympic qualifying mark of 18.67m which incidentally would have won a medal in Rome.

Discus (Sandra Elkasevic 67.04m)
A record seventh gold (at any event) for Elkasevic and they have also been consecutive and she will have a fair chance of winning her third Olympic gold.

Runner-up Van Klinken became the first shot and discus medallist since Tamara Press in 1962.

Jade Lally was not selected for Rome despite having a qualifying mark. She is just five centimetres short of Britains Olympic qualifying mark and is firmly within the world rankings quota but will presumably again be overlooked even though any other country would select her.

Javelin (Victoria Hudson 64.62m)
Hudson narrowly won Austrias first ever gold and their first medal in this event for 74 years. She has a chance of a medal in Paris on this form.

Britains Bekah Walton is not far short of the world rankings quota but will need to significantly improve her 59.95m PB.

Hammer (Sara Fantini 74.18m)
The Italian would need significant improvement to challenge the North Americans in Paris. World record-holder Anita Wlodarczyk won her sixth medal and she now has four gold, a silver and a bronze but would need a big improvement to win her fourth successive gold.

Britains Anna Purchase made the final and was a fine eighth while team-mate Charlotte Payne just missed out on making the final by 19 centimetres.

Purchase is well within the world rankings quota but needs a minimum of 72.36m to get the British standard and selection.

Rachele Moris 68.52m was the longest ever throw not to make the final.

Heptathlon (Nafi Thiam 6848)
Thiams score broke Jess Ennis-Hills championships record of 6823 and she is favourite for the Olympic title and could win her third gold in Paris. Annik Kalins 6.84m was the longest ever European heptathlon long jump.

World champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson withdrew from Rome with a niggle and if fully fit will be challenging for a medal in Paris. Jade ODowda finished seventh in Rome and bettered the British Olympic standard and she is in the world rankings quota for Paris.

4x100m (Great Britain 41.91)
Britain won by two metres and could be stronger in Paris and should win a medal. The splits were given as Asher-Smith (11.23), Desiree Henry (10.30), Amy Hunt (10.24) and Neita (10.14). The heats were Asha Philip (11.72), Hunt (10.15) Asher-Smith (10.13) and Henry (10.25).Italys 43.27 became the fastest time not to make the final.

4x400m (Netherlands 3:22.39)
World champions Netherlands won by a small margin from Ireland but its hard to see either challenging USA with the likes of McLaughlin-Levrone in their team. The Dutch team was Lieke Klaver (50.57), Cathelijn Peeters (50.96), Lisanne de Witt (50.41) and Femke Bol (50.45). The quickest leg came from Frances Amandine Brossier (49.28) ahead of Irelands Adeleke (49.36) and Kaczmarek (49.68).

Best mark for places were set from fifth to eighth even with Britain not taking up their place despite having sufficient athletes in Rome. If their best quartet are fit they will be in the medal mix in Paris.

Norways 3:26.05 easily became the fastest non qualifying time at the European Champs.

20km walk (Antonella Palmisano 1:28:08)
The Italian won comfortably and should be among the favourites in Paris. Laura Garcia-Caro presumably has learnt her lesson and wont celebrate a future medal until she is across the line.

The golden crown winners (best performances in each section and winners of 50,000 were:
Sprints and hurdles: Karsten Warholm and Femke Bol
Middle and long distance: Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Nadia Battocletti
Jumps: Mondo Duplantis and Malaika Mihambo
Throws: Leonardo Fabbri and Sandra Elkasevic
Road, Combined events & relays: Johannes Erm and Nafissatou Thiam

There were 16 title defences from Munich: Bol, Duplantis, Elkasevic, Hodgkinson, Ingebrigtsen (1500m and 5000m), Jacobs, Kambundji, Mahuchikh, Netherlands (4x400m), Nowicki, Schilder, Tamberi, Tentoglou, Thiam and Warholm.

Points
1 ITA 232; 2 FRA 193; 3 GER 163; 4 GBR 138.5, 5 ESP 127.5, 6 NED 103; 7 SUI 83; 8 BEL 79; 9 NOR 67; 10 SWE 53