The finalists for the 2026 men’s and women’s European Athlete of the Year and Rising Star awards are being revealed this week (1-4 October). Here, we reveal the final three for the women’s award.
From the shortlists of 10 athletes in each category, the final three have now been confirmed following a voting process that attracted over 40,000 votes. Fans, media, member federations and an expert panel each accounted for 25 percent of the final result.
The women’s Athlete of the Year finalists comprise three athletes who each delivered historic performances at the Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships in August.
The winners will be crowned at the Golden Tracks awards night, which takes place in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Saturday 24 October.
Women’s Athlete of the Year finalists
- Nadia Battocletti (ITA)
- Amy Hunt (GBR)
- Audrey Werro (SUI)
Italian distance runner Nadia Battocletti has become one of the most reliable and prolific winners in European distance running history. Already a continental champion on the track, road and cross country, she launched her year by adding her first major indoor title.
She left a quality field in her wake to win 3000m gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun in March. Then, at Birmingham 2026, she made history by defending her 5000m and 10,000m titles in brilliant style.
Following her breakthrough 200m silver medal at last year’s World Athletics Championships, expectations began to grow around British sprinter Amy Hunt ahead of this summer. First, she won 100m silver at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
But her showstopper came at Birmingham 2026, where her audacious bid for four gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m and mixed 4x100m all came to fruition. It was an unprecedented achievement in European sprinting.
The women’s 800m has been one of the defining events of the 2026 athletics season, with Audrey Werro emerging as a leading protagonist.
The Swiss athlete was beaten to gold by Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, but as the outdoor season began, she turned the tables on the British star.
First, she outran Hodgkinson at the Stockholm Diamond League, clocking an outstanding 1:53.98 to move to third on the all-time list. She improved to 1:53.80 in Paris as she maintained her winning form heading into Birmingham 2026.
There, a three-way battle with home favourite Hodgkinson and the rapidly improving Femke Broeders-Bol – the two-time 400m hurdles world champion making a successful transition to the event – awaited in one of the championships’ most eagerly anticipated contests.
After recovering from a tumble in the semi-final, Werro brilliantly held firm in a riveting final to win gold. She then moved ever closer to the world record two weeks later in Zurich, clocking 1:53.70, and subsequently added victories in the Diamond League final and at the Ultimate Championships to remain unbeaten throughout the summer.
2025 winner: Femke Broeders-Bol (NED)
