The 2026 season has been far from short of action and entertainment. Whether records were being broken, rivalries ignited or under dogs shining, it was a great year for European athletics.
But here are 10 of the biggest moments of the 2026 outdoor season…
Werro wins Stockholm Diamond League
As the outdoor season began, a race that would drastically change the discourse of the year was awaiting in Stockholm for the fifth Diamond League of the year.
It would be Keely Hodgkinson’s first 800m of the outdoor season after setting a world record and world indoor championship record over the distance earlier in the year.
But Swiss 22-year-old Audrey Werro delivered a shock of a performance, clocking 1:53.98 to not only take the win but also to move to third on the all-time list.
While Hodgkinson came second, her run was very far from sub-par as she improved her national record by running 1:54.33 and also moved to sixth on the all-time list.
Stockholm was the backdrop of arguably one of the biggest moments of the season across the world, with all eyes suddenly cast upon Werro.
Schilder breaks 21m
But in the very first Diamond League of the season the now three-time European champion, Jessica Schilder, launched the shot put to an incredible 21.09m to take the win.
But her throw was more than just a win, with it she became the first woman in 15 years to throw 21 metres or more, and just the second European woman since the turn of the millennium.
She first broke the 20 metre barrier in 2022, and had edged closer and closer to the landmark barrier, before hitting her throw just right in Shanghai to soar over the mark.
Hunt-ing for gold
With the European Athletics Championships in the UK for the first time, the stage was set for the British athletes to take the spotlight, and Amy Hunt certainly did that.
Before the championships were underway she quoted Sharpay Evans from High School Musical by stating “I want it all,” setting her intentions of sweeping for gold very clear.
Then, one event at a time she did just that.
First she won the 100m, arguably her weakest event, shortly followed by the 200m, women’s 4x100m, and finally on the last night the mixed 4x100m.
With that, she became the first person in championship history to take four golds in one championship, making history look easy.
Karalis puts up a fight
In the penultimate Diamond League of the season Emmanouil Karalis and Armand Duplantis battled for the win as the gap between the two keeps shrinking.
The Greek star soared to literal new heights with a clearance of 6.20m in Zurich, improving his PB in total this year by an incredible 12cm.
He may be overshadowed by Duplantis sometimes, but Karalis is showing that he is not to be overlooked anymore and those global gold medals are within his reach.
Karalis’ 2026 has been so successful that he has broken the pre-Duplantis world record twice this year.
Ultimate comeback for gold
Jakob Ingebrigtsen had already taken six European Athletics Championships gold medals in past years, and was set to defend his titles in Birmingham.
But at the start of the year he revealed he had undergone surgery due to a persistent achilles injury he had been struggling with intermittently for years.
However, in just his first race of the year he took to the 5000m start line in Birmingham, with spectators unsure on what to expect.
But he showed exactly why he is one of Europe’s best athletes as he performed his usual tactful masterclass to storm to his record seventh gold just 28 weeks after surgery.
Díaz Hernández challenges for world record
Italy’s Andy Díaz Hernández put out one of the performances of the championships in Birmingham, with an incredible triple jump of 18.15m to not only take the gold but also move to fourth on the all-time list.
After a no jump in the first round, Díaz Hernández put together a beautiful leap to soar beyond 18 metres for the first time.
He also set a national record, and was just three centimetres from the championship record set two years prior by Spain’s Jordan Díaz Fortun.
Intensely close long jump
The sand at the Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships also saw an incredible competition in the women’s long jump final, with the top five separated by just six centimetres.
It was Italy’s Larissa Iapichino who took the win with her first round jump of 7.00m, but while she sat not so comfortably in the lead, the battles beneath her were firing up.
In the second round France’s Hilary Kpatcha leapt to 6.98m while Great Britain’s Jazmin Sawyers measured 6.96m to move ahead of Germany’s Malaika Mihambo who jumped 6.94m in the first round.
But then in the third round Portugal’s Agate de Sousa also jumped 6.96m, before Sawyers moved into second in the fourth round with a 6.99m effort.
That would be the top five’s best jumps all done, but it made for an anxious closing rounds as each woman knew they were within touching distance of each other.
Kerr breaks mile world record
Great Britain’s Josh Kerr had made his intentions clear for the London Diamond League, he wanted the mile world record and he wanted it in front of a home crowd.
The stage was set, and Kerr more than performed.
He set out with pure determination, with the home crowd roaring him round the track before he crossed the line in 3:42.66, shattering the 27-year-old world record.
As the rest of the field caught up, crossing the line seconds after the Brit, the crowd serenaded Kerr with deafening applause.
Tamberi continued the show
Despite being the defending champion, Gianmarco Tamberi wasn’t the favourite to win in Birmingham 2026 after a tough last year where he struggled to find his form.
But you can never count out Tamberi and he captured the attention and hearts of the Birmingham crowd to soar to a historic fourth gold medal on his daughter's first birthday.
Then a few weeks later he repeated his incredible feat to clear 2.37m and be crowned the ultimate champion – could there be a more fitting title for the Italian?
Big three in Birmingham
But arguably the most spoken about event of the championships was the women’s 800m as Werro, Hodgkinson and Femke Broeders-Bol clashed on the track for the first time.
It was Werro who took the win with Hodgkinson in second and Broeders-Bol taking bronze on her season debut as an 800m runner.
The three of them are set for years of battles as they could dominate the world of women’s 800m for years to come, with Birmingham 2026 being the moment they all met on the track together for the very first time.