Italy has retained its place at the top of European athletics after a dramatic final night in Birmingham, finishing the 2026 European Athletics Championships with 10 gold medals – one more than hosts Great Britain.
The title was decided in the final event of the championships, with Italy’s men’s 4x400m relay team beating Great Britain by just three hundredths of a second. Edoardo Scotti, Luca Sito, Mohamed Soudassi and Lorenzo Benati crossed the line in 2:58.20, holding off the British quartet in a finish that gave Italy the gold medal and top spot in the overall standings.
Italy finished with 22 medals in total – 10 gold, six silver and six bronze – compared with Great Britain’s 19 medals, including nine gold, eight silver and two bronze. Germany collected 21 medals overall, but its six golds left it third in the table.
The result also means Italy has topped the European Athletics medal table at two championships in succession. At Rome 2024, the home team won 11 golds and 24 medals overall, making the Birmingham result another strong showing for Italian athletics away from home.
Iapichino leads the final-day charge
One of Italy’s final golds came from Larissa Iapichino in the women’s long jump. The 24-year-old produced a winning leap of 7.00 metres, edging Britain’s Jazmin Sawyers, who jumped 6.99m. The one-centimetre margin was another reminder of just how close the competition was between the two nations throughout the championships.
For Iapichino, the victory adds a senior European title to a career that has already attracted considerable attention. She also won silver at the 2024 European Championships in Rome.
Another of the Italian highlights was Nadia Battocletti, who successfully defended both her 5,000m and 10,000m titles. Her second victory came in a time of 31:41.17, with the Italian producing her trademark strong finish to complete the double. She had already made history in Rome in 2024 as the first Italian woman to win two individual European titles at the same championships.
Tamberi returns to the top
There was also an emotional gold for Gianmarco “Gimbo” Tamberi in the high jump. After a difficult period, the Olympic champion returned to European glory, adding another chapter to a career that has made him one of Italy’s best-known athletes. His victory was particularly significant given the uncertainty surrounding his form in the run-up to Birmingham.
Leonardo Fabbri was another Italian field-event winner, taking gold in the shot put. Fabbri has become one of the leading throwers in Europe and had already won the European title in Rome in 2024, when he set a championship record of 22.45m.
Andy Díaz also produced one of the performances of the championships in the triple jump. The Italian came within 14 centimetres of Jonathan Edwards’ long-standing world record of 18.29m, underlining just how close the event came to witnessing one of athletics’ most famous records finally fall.
Italy also collected gold in the road events, including the men’s and women’s half-marathon race walks, contributing to the depth of a medal haul that extended well beyond the better-known track and field stars.
A successful year for Italian sport
The athletics triumph comes as Italy is enjoying a particularly strong summer across European sport.
At the European Aquatics Championships in Paris, Italy finished top of the overall medal count with 20 medals, although Great Britain led the gold-medal table with eight. Italy’s swimming team was led by Simona Quadarella, who completed a third consecutive European 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle sweep.
There was also a breakthrough performance from 20-year-old Sara Curtis. She broke the world record in the women’s 50m backstroke twice in Paris, first recording 26.63 seconds before lowering it again to 26.56. Curtis finished the championships with six medals, marking her out as one of the rising stars of European swimming.
Italy’s established stars also delivered, with Nicolò Martinenghi among those adding to the country’s medal haul.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni celebrated the athletes’ success, describing them as “the Italy that knows how to win” and linking the athletics results with the country’s performances in the European Aquatics Championships.
