GB’s Glave and Azu claim European 100m one-two

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GB’s Glave and Azu claim European 100m one-two

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ByHarry Poole

BBC Sport journalist
  • Published

Romell Glave declared “total domination” for Great Britain after leading team-mate Jeremiah Azu to a sensational European 100m one-two for the hosts, 24 hours after Amy Hunt’s triumph in the women’s event.

Glave made an international podium for the first time by winning 100m bronze at these championships in Rome two years ago, but the 26-year-old upgraded to gold with a dominant victory in 10.09 seconds in Birmingham.

Raising a finger to the sky in celebration, he became the sixth British man to win the European 100m title – and third in the past six editions after Zharnel Hughes (2018) and James Dasaolu (2014).

Azu, the world and European champion over 60m indoors in 2025, improved on his 2022 bronze as he followed his team-mate over the line in 10.16 to the delight of the home crowd at Alexander Stadium.

German Owen Ansah completed the podium after Italy’s two-time defending champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs pulled up with an injury at halfway.

Three British men had qualified for the final, but Louie Hinchliffe did not contest the medal race.

“Upgrading from a bronze medal from 2024 is an amazing feeling,” Glave told BBC Sport.

“The aim was to get [British] one, two, and three, but we got one-two, which is also amazing.

“I was ready for this occasion. The last week or so has been up and down with my body, but I was able to come out here regardless of how I was feeling.

On Great Britain’s 100m performances, he added: “It is domination. Total domination.”

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Glave has made significant progress this season, breaking the 10-second barrier for the first time in legal conditions to win his first British title in June.

He has run sub-10 on six separate occasions, in all conditions, this season – including when he defeated the in-form Jacobs, a surprise Olympic champion five years ago, on his home turf in Italy.

That confidence was evident as Glave dominated his semi-final earlier in the evening, and he executed to perfection when it mattered most.

A talented junior, Glave was the fastest 17-year-old in the world in 2017 after he recorded a time of 10.21.

His progress has been disrupted by injury setbacks since, including a fracture in his back.

But, able to remain consistent with his training this year, Glave captured the gold medal he believed he was capable of winning two years ago.

The foundations of Glave’s recent progress has come from a focus on sharpening the first 40 metres of his race.

After hitting the front by the 30-metre mark, he never looked back – and continued running far beyond the finish line in celebration.

After a golden 2025 season, Azu had finished fourth and fifth respectively at this year’s World Indoor Championships and Commonwealth Games, with a season’s best of 10.00 in Glasgow two weeks ago not proving to be enough.

While it was not gold in Birmingham, the 25-year-old was delighted to secure his return to an international podium following what he described as a “tough year”.

“The most irregular [season] in terms of races, quite inconsistent,” Azu said.

“When it comes to championships, I know I find my best. We always say times are irrelevant at this point. You want to go out there and race for medals.

“I want to put in my best performance in the final and I felt like I did that today. You always want to be on the podium. In the 100m there are over 100 guys that are competitive, so it is always tough.”

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There was a fifth-place finish for Hannah Nuttall in the women’s 5,000m, as Italy’s Nadia Battocletti retained her title.

Matthew Hudson-Smith, who has a stand named after him at the stadium where he trained as a junior for the duration of the championships, qualified for Wednesday’s men’s 400m final – although he had to settle for second place in his heat.

“I misjudged it a little bit. I thought I was clear,” Hudson-Smith said.

“I was looking at the screen and I saw the guy try and surge. But he ran a PB, so he’s messed up with the final ahead.”

Elsewhere, Nadine Visser clinched the women’s 100m hurdles by one thousandth of a second, with a photo finish required to separate the Dutch athlete and Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska.

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