European Athletics Championships facts for kids

Quick facts for kids European Athletics Championships
Status	active
Genre	sports event
Frequency	biennial
Location(s)	various
Inaugurated	1934
Most recent	2022
Organised by	European Athletic Association
2024

The European Athletics Championships is a big sports event where the best athletes from all over Europe compete. It's organized by the European Athletic Association. Since 2010, it happens every two years, which means it's a biennial event. Athletes compete in many different outdoor track and field sports.

About the Championships

When and Where it Started

The first European Athletics Championships for men happened in Turin, Italy, in 1934. Women had their first separate championships in Vienna, Austria, in 1938. From 1946 onwards, men and women started competing together in the same event, which was held in Oslo, Norway.

For a long time after World War II, the championships took place every four years. But since 2010, they happen every two years. When the championships happen in the same year as the Summer Olympics, some long-distance events like the marathon and racewalking are not held. Instead, a half-marathon event is sometimes included.

Top Countries in Athletics

Historically, teams from countries like the former Soviet Union and East Germany won many medals. However, in the 2022 championships, Great Britain & Northern Ireland took the lead in the total number of medals won over time. This is true if we count countries as they are now, without combining old and new versions of countries. German athletes, who have competed for different German teams over the years, have won the most gold medals and the most medals overall.

Special Events and Cancellations

In 2018 and 2022, the European Athletics Championships were part of a bigger event called the European Championships. This is a new event where different European sports come together. However, the European Athletics Association has decided not to be part of this multi-sport event in 2026.

The championships planned for Paris in 2020 had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first time the event was cancelled since 1942, during World War II.

There's also an indoor version of this event called the European Athletics Indoor Championships. It takes place in odd-numbered years.

Past Championships: A Look Back

Here's a list of where and when the European Athletics Championships have been held. Notes: ♂ – men, ♀ – women

Edition	Year	Host City	Host Country	Date	Venue	Events	Nations	Athletes	Top of the medal table
1	1934 ♂	Turin	Italy	7–9 September	Stadio Benito Mussolini	22	23	226	Germany
2	1938 ♂	Paris	France	3–5 September	Stade Olympique de Colombes	23	23	272	Germany
	1938 ♀	Vienna	Germany	17–18 September	Praterstadion	9	14	80
3	1946	Oslo	Norway	22–25 August	Bislett Stadium	33	20	353	Sweden
4	1950	Brussels	Belgium	23–27 August	Heysel Stadium	34	24	454	Great Britain & N.I.
5	1954	Bern	Switzerland	25–29 August	Stadion Neufeld	35	28	686	Soviet Union
6	1958	Stockholm	Sweden	19–24 August	Stockholm Olympic Stadium	36	26	626	Soviet Union
7	1962	Belgrade	Yugoslavia	12–16 September	Stadion JNA	36	29	670	Soviet Union
8	1966	Budapest	Hungary	30 August – 4 September	Népstadion	36	30	769	East Germany
9	1969	Piraeus	Greece	16–21 September	Karaiskakis Stadium	38	30	674	East Germany
10	1971	Helsinki	Finland	10–15 August	Olympiastadion	38	29	857	East Germany
11	1974	Rome	Italy	2–8 September	Stadio Olimpico	39	29	745	East Germany
12	1978	Prague	Czechoslovakia	29 August – 3 September	Stadion Evžena Rošického	40	29	1004	Soviet Union
13	1982	Athens	Greece	6–12 September	Olympiakó Stàdio	41	29	756	East Germany
14	1986	Stuttgart	West Germany	26–31 August	Neckarstadion	43	31	906	Soviet Union
15	1990	Split	Yugoslavia	26 August – 2 September	Stadion Poljud	43	33	952	East Germany
16	1994	Helsinki	Finland	7–14 August	Olympiastadion	44	44	1113	Russia
17	1998	Budapest	Hungary	18–23 August	Népstadion	46	44	1259	Great Britain & N.I.
18	2002	Munich	Germany	6–11 August	Olympiastadion	46	48	1244	Russia
19	2006	Gothenburg	Sweden	7–13 August	Ullevi	47	48	1288	Russia
20	2010	Barcelona	Spain	27 July – 1 August	Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys	47	50	1323	France
21	2012	Helsinki	Finland	27 June – 1 July	Olympiastadion	42	50	1230	Germany
22	2014	Zürich	Switzerland	12–17 August	Letzigrund	47	50	1439	Great Britain & N.I.
23	2016	Amsterdam	Netherlands	6–10 July	Olympic Stadium	44	50	1329	Poland
24	2018	Berlin	Germany	7–12 August	Olympiastadion	48	49	1439	Great Britain & N.I.
—	2020	Paris	France	26–30 August	Stade Sébastien Charléty	Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
25	2022	Munich	Germany	15–21 August	Olympiastadion	48	48	1495	Great Britain & N.I.
26	2024	Rome	Italy	7–12 June	Stadio Olimpico	47	48	1559
27	2026	Birmingham	Great Britain	3–9 August	Alexander Stadium
28	2028	Chorzów	Poland	21–27 August	Stadion Śląski

All-Time Medal Winners

This section shows which countries have won the most medals over all the championships. Updated after Day 5 of the 2024 European Athletics Championships.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Great Britain & Northern Ireland	125	100	111	336
2	Soviet Union	120	110	101	331
3	East Germany	90	83	66	239
4	France	73	72	71	216
5	Germany	70	71	66	207
6	Poland	59	60	66	185
7	Italy	53	51	56	160
8	Russia	49	50	51	150
9	West Germany	36	44	51	131
10	Finland	35	29	41	105
11	Spain	34	28	37	99
12	Netherlands	32	27	28	87
13	Sweden	31	44	41	116
14	Ukraine	23	30	24	77
15	Norway	19	17	20	56
16	Hungary	18	24	24	66
17	Czechoslovakia	16	16	27	59
18	Portugal	16	15	9	40
19	Greece	16	9	11	36
20	Belgium	15	14	12	41
21	Bulgaria	12	16	12	40
22	Turkey	12	10	9	31
23	Switzerland	11	16	19	46
24	Belarus	10	13	12	35
25	Croatia	9	3	3	15
26	Romania	8	22	10	40
27	Czech Republic	7	14	14	35
28	Yugoslavia	6	6	3	15
29	Ireland	5	8	7	20
30	Denmark	4	7	4	15
31	Estonia	4	6	5	15
32	Latvia	4	3	3	10
33	Lithuania	3	3	5	11
34	Austria	3	2	6	11
35	Israel	3	2	4	9
36	Slovenia	3	2	3	8
37	Iceland	3	1	1	5
38	Serbia	2	8	3	13
39	Slovakia	1	4	1	6
–	Authorised Neutral Athletes	1	3	2	6
40	Albania	1	1	0	2
41	Azerbaijan	0	2	2	4
42	Luxembourg	0	1	0	1
	Montenegro	0	1	0	1
44	Moldova	0	0	1	1
Totals (44 entries)		1,042	1,048	1,042	3,132

•  ANA was a special name used for Russian athletes in the 2016 and 2018 championships. Their medals were not officially added to the main medal table.

Some countries have not yet won a medal at the championships. These include Andorra, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Georgia, Gibraltar, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, North Macedonia, and San Marino.

Athletes with Many Medals

Some athletes have won many medals at the European Athletics Championships. The tables below show those who have won the most.

Most Gold Medals

The record for the most gold medals is held by Sandra Elkasević (Perković) from Croatia. She has won seven gold medals in the discus throw!

Men's Gold Medal Leaders

Rank	Athlete	Country	Events	From	To	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Roger Black	Great Britain & N.I.	400 m / 4 × 400 m relay	1986	1994	5	1	–	6
	Mo Farah	Great Britain & N.I.	5000 m / 10,000 m	2006	2014	5	1	–	6
	Harald Schmid	West Germany	400 m hurdles / 4 × 400 m relay	1978	1986	5	1	–	6
4	Jakob Ingebrigtsen	Norway	1500 m / 5000 m	2018	2024	5	–	–	5
	Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad	France	3000 m steeplechase / 1500 m	2010	2018	5	–	–	5
6	Christophe Lemaitre	France	100 m / 200 m / 4 × 100 m relay	2010	2014	4	2	2	8
7	Kevin Borlée	Belgium	400 m / 4 × 400 m relay	2010	2022	4	2	1	7
	Matthew Hudson-Smith	Great Britain & N.I.	400 m / 4 × 400 m relay	2014	2022	4	2	1	7
9	Valeriy Borzov	Soviet Union	100 m / 200 m / 4 × 100 m relay	1969	1974	4	1	–	5
	Zharnel Hughes	Great Britain & N.I.	100 m / 200 m / 4 × 100 m relay	2018	2022	4	1	–	5

Women's Gold Medal Leaders

Rank	Athlete	Country	Events	From	To	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Sandra Elkasević (Perković)	Croatia	Discus throw	2010	2024	7	–	–	7
2	Marita Koch	East Germany	400 m / 4 × 400 m relay	1978	1986	6	–	–	6
3	Dina Asher-Smith	Great Britain & N.I.	100 m / 200 m / 4 × 100 m relay	2016	2024	5	2	–	7
4	Irena Szewińska (Kirszenstein)	Poland	100 m / 200 m / 400 m / 4 × 100 m relay / 4 × 400 m relay / Long jump	1966	1978	5	1	4	10
5	Fanny Blankers-Koen	Netherlands	100 m / 200 m / 80 m hurdles / 4 × 100 m relay	1938	1950	5	1	2	8
6	Marlies Göhr	East Germany	100 m / 200 m / 4 × 100 m relay	1978	1986	5	1	1	7
7	Grit Breuer	East Germany  Germany	400 m / 4 × 400 m relay	1990	2002	5	1	–	6
	Heike Drechsler	East Germany  Germany	200 m / Long jump	1986	1998	5	1	–	6
9	Renate Stecher (Meissner)	East Germany	100 m / 200 m / 4 × 100 m relay	1969	1974	4	4	–	8
10	Dafne Schippers	Netherlands	100 m / 200 m / 4 × 100 m relay	2012	2018	4	3	1	8

Most Medals in the Same Event

Some athletes are so good at one specific event that they win many medals in it. Sandra Elkasević (Perković) from Croatia is amazing. She has won the women's discus throw seven times!

Men's Event Medal Leaders

No	G/S/B	Athlete	Country	Years	Event
5	(3/2/0)	Igor Ter-Ovanesyan	Soviet Union	1958–1971	Long jump
5*	(3/1*/1)	Jonathan Borlée	Belgium	2010–2022	4 × 400 m relay
5	(3/1/1)	Kevin Borlée	Belgium	2010–2022	4 × 400 m relay
4	(4/0/0)	Steve Backley	Great Britain & N.I.	1990–2002	Javelin throw
4	(4/0/0)	Colin Jackson	Great Britain & N.I.	1990–2002	110 m hurdles
4	(4/0/0)	Jānis Lūsis	Soviet Union	1962–1974	Javelin throw
4	(4/0/0)	Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad	France	2010–2018	3000 m steeplechase
4	(3/1/0)	Mo Farah	Great Britain & N.I.	2006–2014	5000 m
4	(3/0/1)	Adam Kszczot	Poland	2010–2018	800 m
4	(3/0/1)	Renaud Lavillenie	France	2010–2018	Pole vault
4	(3/0/1)	Wojciech Nowicki	Poland	2016–2024	Hammer throw
4	(3/0/1)	David Storl	Germany	2010–2018	Shot put
4	(2/2/0)	Viktor Saneyev	Soviet Union	1969–1978	Triple jump
4	(2/1/1)	Matthew Hudson-Smith	Great Britain & N.I.	2014–2022	4 x 400 m relay
4*	(1/2/1*)	Jimmy Vicaut	France	2010–2022	4 × 100 m relay
4	(0/3/1)	Gerd Kanter	Estonia	2006–2016	Discus throw
4	(0/2/2)	Alexander Kosenkow	Germany	2002–2014	4 × 100 m relay
4	(0/1/3)	Lothar Milde	East Germany	1962–1971	Discus throw

* including one medal in the relay event where he only competed in the early rounds.

Women's Event Medal Leaders

No	G/S/B	Athlete	Country	Years	Event
7	(7/0/0)	Sandra Elkasević (Perković)	Croatia	2010–2024	Discus throw
6	(4/1/1)	Anita Włodarczyk	Poland	2010–2024	Hammer throw
5	(2/3/0)	Katerina Stefanidi	Greece	2014–2024	Pole vault
4	(4/0/0)	Nadezhda Chizhova	Soviet Union	1966–1974	Shot put
4	(4/0/0)	Heike Drechsler	East Germany  Germany	1986–2002	Long jump
4	(3/0/1)	Nafissatou Thiam	Belgium	2014–2024	Heptathlon
4	(2/1/1)	Gesa Felicitas Krause	Germany	2012–2024	3000 m steeplechase
4	(1/3/0)	Floria Gueï	France	2012–2018	4 × 400 m relay
4	(1/1/2)	Barbora Špotáková	Czech Republic	2010–2022	Javelin throw
4	(1/1/2)	Linda Stahl	Germany	2010–2016	Javelin throw

Athletes with Many Appearances

Some athletes have competed in the European Athletics Championships many times.

Men's Appearances

No	Name	Country	Years	Events
7	Jesús Ángel García	Spain	1994–2018	50 km walk
	Zoltán Kővágó *	Hungary	1998–2018	Discus throw
	Jesús España	Spain	2002–2018	5000 m / Half marathon / Marathon
	Gerd Kanter	Estonia	2002–2018	Discus throw
	Marian Oprea	Romania	2002–2018	Triple jump
	David Söderberg	Finland	2002–2018	Hammer throw
6	Abdon Pamich	Italy	1954–1971	20 km walk / 50 km walk
	Ludvík Daněk	Czechoslovakia	1962–1978	Discus throw
	Nenad Stekić	Yugoslavia	1969–1990	Long jump
	Virgilijus Alekna	Lithuania	1994–2014	Discus throw
	Dwain Chambers *	Great Britain & N.I.	1998–2014	100 m / 4 x 100 m relay
	Serhiy Lebid	Ukraine	1998–2014	5000 m / 10,000 m
	Nicola Vizzoni	Italy	1998–2014	Hammer throw
	Szymon Ziółkowski	Poland	1998–2014	Hammer throw
	João Vieira	Portugal	1998–2018	20 km walk / 50 km walk
	Gregory Sedoc	Netherlands	2002–2016	110 m hurdles
	Johan Wissman	Sweden	2002–2016	200 m / 400 m / 4 x 100 m relay
	Hamza Alić	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2002–2018	Shot put
	Fabrizio Donato	Italy	2002–2018	Triple jump
	Ángel David Rodríguez	Spain	2002–2018	100 m / 4 x 100 m relay
	Konstantinos Filippidis	Greece	2006–2018	Pole vault
	Kafétien Gomis	France	2006–2018	Long jump
	Daniele Meucci	Italy	2006–2022	5000 m / 10,000 m / Half marathon / Marathon
	Mustafa Mohamed	Sweden	2006–2022	3000 m steeplechase / 10,000 m / Half marathon / Marathon
	Jonathan Borlée	Belgium	2010–2022	200 m / 400 m / 4 x 400 m relay
	Kevin Borlée	Belgium	2010–2022	400 m / 4 x 400 m relay
	Javier Cienfuegos	Spain	2010–2022	Hammer throw
	Eivind Henriksen	Norway	2010–2022	Hammer throw
	Asmir Kolašinac	Serbia	2010–2022	Shot put
	Stefano La Rosa	Italy	2010–2022	5000 m / 10,000 m / Half marathon / Marathon
	Renaud Lavillenie	France	2010–2022	Pole vault
	Apostolos Parellis	Cyprus	2010–2022	Discus throw
	Andriy Protsenko	Ukraine	2010–2022	High jump
	Dimitrios Tsiamis	Greece	2010–2022	Triple jump
	Jimmy Vicaut	France	2010–2022	100 m / 4 x 100 m relay
	Andreas Vojta	Austria	2010–2022	1500 m / 5000 m / 10,000 m

* including one championship where he was disqualified for a doping offence.

Women's Appearances

No	Name	Country	Years	Events
7	Mélina Robert-Michon	France	1998–2022	Discus throw
	Krisztina Papp	Hungary	2002–2018	5000 m / 10,000 m / Half marathon
	Martina Ratej	Slovenia	2006–2022	Javelin throw
	Dragana Tomašević	Serbia	2006–2022	Discus throw
6	Helena Fibingerová	Czechoslovakia	1969–1986	Shot put
	Heike Drechsler (Daute)	East Germany  Germany	1982–2002	Long jump / 200 m
	Fernanda Ribeiro	Portugal	1986–2010	3000 m / 10,000 m / Marathon
	Felicia Țilea-Moldovan *	Romania	1990–2010	Javelin throw
	Nuria Fernández	Spain	1998–2014	800 m / 1500 m / 5000 m
	Ruth Beitia	Spain	2002–2016	High jump
	Berta Castells	Spain	2002–2016	Hammer throw
	Merja Korpela	Finland	2002–2016	Hammer throw
	Dana Velďáková	Slovakia	2002–2016	Triple jump
	Martina Hrašnová	Slovakia	2002–2018	Hammer throw
	Inês Henriques	Portugal	2002–2022	20 km walk / 35 km walk / 50 km walk
	Barbora Špotáková	Czech Republic	2002–2022	Javelin throw
	Ásdís Hjálmsdóttir	Iceland	2006–2018	Javelin throw
	Kathrin Klaas	Germany	2006–2018	Hammer throw
	Éva Orbán	Hungary	2006–2018	Hammer throw
	Olha Saladukha	Ukraine	2006–2018	Triple jump
	Patricia Sarrapio	Spain	2006–2018	Triple jump
	Fionnuala McCormack	Ireland	2006–2022	3000 m steeplechase / 10,000 m / Marathon
	Patrícia Mamona	Portugal	2010–2022	Triple jump
	Sara Moreira	Portugal	2010–2022	5000 m / 10,000 m / Half marathon / Marathon
	Madara Palameika	Latvia	2010–2022	Javelin throw
	Sandra Perković	Croatia	2010–2022	Discus throw
	Jamile Samuel	Netherlands	2010–2022	100 m / 200 m / 4 x 100 m relay
	Tina Šutej	Slovenia	2010–2022	Pole vault
	Ivana Vuleta (Španović)	Serbia	2010–2022	Long jump

* including one championship where she was disqualified for a doping offence.

See also

In Spanish: Campeonato Europeo de Atletismo para niños

• European Athletics Indoor Championships
• International Athletics Championships and Games
• List of European Athletics Championships medalists (men)
• List of European Athletics Championships medalists (women)
• List of European records in athletics
• List of stripped European Athletics Championships medals
• World Para Athletics European Championships