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European Athletics Championships: Key events, timetable & BBC coverage

European Athletics Championships: Key events, timetable & BBC coverage

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Figure caption,

European Athletics Championships 2024: Keely Hodgkinson says she ran the final despite feeling ill

ByAlistair WatkinsBBC Sport Senior Journalist

    The first European Athletics Championships to be held in Great Britain take place in Birmingham from 10-16 August.

    The Championships get under way at Alexander Stadium on Monday, with Britain fielding a team of 96 athletes.

    Among the British stars on show are defending champions Keely Hodgkinson and Dina Asher-Smith, local boy Matthew Hudson-Smith, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Amy Hunt, Georgia Hunter Bell and Jake Wightman.

    Sweden's Armand Duplantis, Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Greece's Miltiadis Tentoglou are all seeking to win their fourth successive European titles, while Hodgkinson, Italy's Marcell Jacobs and Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh are targeting three in a row.

    Athletes from 49 nations will compete for 50 gold medals, including a mixed 4x100m relay for the first time.

    The BBC will bring you comprehensive coverage of the championships on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, Radio 5 Live, the BBC Sport website, the BBC Sport app and the BBC Sport social media channels including YouTube.

    Can GB return to top of medal table?

    Asher-Smith (100m), Hodgkinson (800m), the women's half marathon team and the women's 4x100m relay squad all won gold as Great Britain came third in the medal table at Rome 2024.

    Hosts Italy won 11 golds, and a total of 24 medals, to top the medal table followed by that year's Olympic hosts France with four golds and 16 medals overall.

    GB topped the medal table in Brussels in 1950 and Budapest in 1998 before finishing first at Zurich 2014, Berlin 2018 and Munich 2022, with the championships being held every two years since 2010.

    With home advantage, the British team will be hoping to get back on top of the podium.

    Italy finished top of the medal table in 2024 as Great Britain came third behind France

    • Hodgkinson & Asher-Smith in GB squad for Europeans

        Asher-Smith eyes European record

        Asher-Smith wins second European 100m gold medal

        Sprinter Asher-Smith has won six European golds and two silvers from four championships and could overtake the seven golds of Croatian discus thrower Sandra Elkasevic (formerly Perkovic) to become the most successful athlete in the history of the championships.

        The 30-year-old could also overtake fellow sprinter Irena Szewinska of Poland as the most-decorated European athlete of all time. Szewinska won a total of 10 medals from 1966-1978.

        Of other current athletes, Norwegian star Ingebrigtsen has six golds (no other medals) and Dutch star Femke Broeders-Bol has five golds and a bronze from just two championships.

        Meanwhile, Hudson-Smith, who has a stand at Alexander Stadium named after him, has four golds and seven medals in total.

        One more medal and he will equal France's Christophe Lamaitre as the championships' most-decorated male athlete of all-time.

        A gold medal would also bring him level with Roger Black and Sir Mo Farah as the British men to have won most European titles.

        When is Keely Hodgkinson racing?

        Hodgkinson pips Broeders-Bol in 800m to return to winning ways

        Arguably the most-anticipated event for British fans is Hodgkinson's 800m battle with Audrey Werro and Femke Broeders-Bol.

        Hodgkinson, 24, sat out the Commonwealth Games and comes into the championships fresh from winning the London Diamond League meeting in July.

        However, she faces two tough opponents in her quest for another title.

        Swiss star Werro, 22, beat Hodgkinson in June and has twice run faster than the reigning Olympic champion this season, edging closer and closer to the 43-year-old world record of one minute 53.28 seconds.

        Broeders-Bol, the 26-year-old world 400m hurdles champion, has moved up to 800m and finished just behind Hodgkinson at London Stadium as she gets up to speed in her new event.

        The women's 800m heats take place on Tuesday morning, the semi-finals on Thursday morning and the final at 21:45 on Friday, 14 August.

        How to follow live on the BBC

        You can watch live coverage of every session on either BBC One or BBC Two as well as iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport app.

        Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds will be in Birmingham to bring you daily live commentary, while the BBC Sport website and app will feature live text, reports, analysis, video clips and a medal table.

        There will also be coverage on BBC Sport's social media platforms, including YouTube.

        Gabby Logan and Jeanette Kwakye will present the BBC TV coverage with Steve Cram, Andrew Cotter, Steve Backley, Colin Jackson and Paula Radcliffe commentating on the action.

        London 2012 Olympic champions Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill and Greg Rutherford plus Hodgkinson's coach Jenny Meadows will also provide analysis.

        Key events, timetable and BBC coverage

        All times BST. Times are subject to late changes.

        Monday, 10 August (5 golds)

        TV: 10:30-13:15 on BBC One

        Max Burgin, the second fastest men in Europe over 800m this year, seeks to book his place in the semi-finals.

        Imani Lansiquot is in the women's 100m qualifying but Asher-Smith and Hunt both have byes to the semi-finals.

        TV: 19:00-20:00 on BBC Two and 20:00-22:00 on BBC One

        Radio: 21:00-22:00 on 5 Live & Sounds

        21:50: Asher-Smith and Amy Hunt will both be aiming to win gold in the women's 100m at 21:50 (semi-finals from 20:10)

        21:40: Great Britain will be among the favourites to claim the mixed 4x400m relay title, the first of six relay gold medals on offer this week

        20:40: Jakob Ingebrigtsen makes his comeback after almost a year out through injury in the men's 5,000m final.

        20:33: Men's shot put

        19:03: Women's shot put

        Tuesday, 11 August (5 golds)

        Hodgkinson begins the defence of her title as the women's 800m gets under way with the qualifying rounds from 12:05.

        Qualifying for the men's 100m semi-finals also takes place from 11:15.

        Radio: 20:25-22:00 on 5 Live & Sounds

        21:45: Men's 100m (semi-finals from 20:32)

        21:30: Women's 110m hurdles (semi-finals from 19:55)

        20:16: Men's long jump

        19:25: Women's 5,000m

        19:10: Men's hammer

        Wednesday, 12 August (4 golds)

        World silver medallist Hunt, Asher-Smith and Success Eduan, the three fastest European women over 200m this year, all have byes to the semi-finals as qualifying gets under way.

        Amber Anning, Britain's 2025 world indoor champion, is hoping to make her comeback from injury to line up in the heats of the 400m.

        And the men's decathlon begins with the 100m, the first of 10 events over the next two days.

        Radio: Updates on 5 Live & Sounds

        21:45: Men's 110m hurdles (semi-finals from 19:55)

        21:08: Britain's Emily Newnham could be one to watch in the women's 400m hurdles

        20:50: Hudson-Smith aims to win the men's 400m individual title for a third time.

        19:45: Women's hammer

        Thursday, 13 August (7 golds)

        Hodgkinson is back on the track as the women's 800m reaches the semi-finals stage at 12:10, while the decathlon continues.

        Radio: 19:30-22:00 on 5 Live & Sounds

        21:50: Hunt and Asher-Smith will both be hoping to win gold in the women's 200m

        21:28: Burgin will look to gain a first international title in the men's 800m

        21:10: 1500m - decathlon's final event

        20:45: Men's discus

        20:30: Women's steeplechase

        19:50: Women's pole vault

        19:40: Women's triple jump

        Friday, 14 August (6 golds)

        Olympic silver medallist Johnson-Thompson starts her bid to win a first European heptathlon title.

        World silver medallist Wightman is the one to watch in qualifying for the men's 1500m, while world record holder Duplantis begins his quest to win a fourth European pole vault title in a row.

        Radio: 20:30-22:00 on 5 Live & Sounds

        21:45: Hodgkinson hopes to retain her women's 800m title

        20:40: Karsten Warholm is aiming for his fourth European title in the men's 400m hurdles

        20:30: Women's discus

        20:00: Men's high jump

        19:45: Women's 10,000m

        Saturday, 15 August (13 golds)

        07:30: The men's and women's half-marathon and marathon race walks take place around the city streets before BBC coverage starts

        TV: 10:00-13:30 on BBC One

        The women's heptathlon continues with the long jump and javelin, while Hunter Bell is in action in qualifying for Sunday's 1500m final. The sprint relay teams also take to the track for the qualifying rounds.

        TV: 19:15-22:00 on BBC One

        21:48: Women's 4x100m relay

        21:33: Men's 4x100m relay

        21:07: Men's 1500m

        20:25: Men's 10,000m

        20:17: Men's triple jump

        20:10: Women's 400m

        20:07: Women's high jump

        20:01: Men's javelin

        19:45: Heptathlon 800m - final event

        Sunday, 16 August (10 golds)

        TV: 07:25-10:35 on BBC One

        The women's and men's marathons take place on the streets of the city from 07:30 and 08:10 respectively.

        TV: 19:00-21:00 on BBC One

        Radio: 2030-2200 on 5 Live & Sounds

        21:48 Men's 4x400m relay

        21:33: Women's 4x400m relay

        21:13: Women's 1500m

        20:50: Men's 3,000m steeplechase

        20:35: Mixed 4x100m relay

        20:05: Women's long jump

        19:55: Women's javelin

        19:30: Men's pole vault

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