40-year-old Jo Pavey became the oldest ever female gold medallist at the European Athletics Championships, when she won 10,000m gold at Zurich 2014, just 11 months after giving birth.
In the lead up to the Birmingham 2026 on 10-16 August, we are taking a look back at 26 magical moments from the European Athletics Championships, including Pavey’s age-defying run.
The background
A veteran of 17 years standing in the British athletics team, Pavey had a succession of near misses in her international career, most notably placing 5th over 5000m at the Athens 2004 Olympics and 5th and 4th in successive 5000m finals at the European Athletics Championships in Munich 2002 and Gothenburg 2006.
She’d had some medal success, winning bronze at the 2004 Heringsdorf SPAR European Country Championships, European silver over 10,000m at Helsinki 2012 and 5000m silver at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 2006.
She was also eventually awarded world 10,000m bronze from Osaka 2007 after Türkiye’s Elvan Abeylegesse—the original silver medallist—was disqualified for a retroactive doping violation.
But Pavey had never won gold at a major championship.
As of 2014, Pavey was seemingly winding down her career and having just given birth to her second child – Emily – was making a final charge to see if she could still qualify for major championships as she neared her 41st birthday.
She achieved this by winning the UK 10,000m trial at a time when she was still breastfeeding.
Ten days prior to the women’s 10,000m final at Zurich 2014, the British runner took a surprise 5000m bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
What happened
Clémence Calvin of France started as the pre-race favourite, having won at the European 10,000m Cup in Skopje, North Macedonia earlier in the year in 31:52:86, more than 20 seconds quicker than Pavey had managed that year.
In an attritional race on the opening night of the championships, Pavey, Calvin and Portugal’s Sara Moreira looked set for a three-way battle on the penultimate lap.
But as they entered the final lap, Pavey took the lead from Calvin and surged. She forced the pace throughout the final lap and as they ran down the home straight, she finally began to shake off Calvin and ran to a famous gold medal.
The aftermath
"I really enjoyed it, but I found it a long way," Pavey said afterwards. "I just kept relaxed and went for it. I tried to run a controlled last lap, and I gave it my all, so I had no regrets.
"It's quite funny to think that I've been trying for the gold medal for all of these years and to get it now at 40 is weird."
“People say, ‘Does having a baby make you stronger?’ but I think the disadvantages outweigh it,” said Pavey. “I got really unfit when I was pregnant and had to come back.
“But I feel so happy in my personal life. Before my first child it concerned me that I hadn’t had a child. Now I’m fortunate to have two children, my running can just be what it is now.”
Pavey kept running after Zurich and made her fifth Olympics, racing in the 10,000m final at Rio 2016, where she placed 15th aged 42. Along with husband Gavin Pavey, she helps 2025 European U20 3000m and 5000m champion Innes FitzGerald, who lives locally in Exeter, UK.