The UK will host the European Athletics Championships for the first time when it comes to Birmingham next week.
There are 98 British athletes in action on home soil, with a whole host of both established and up-and-coming names set for Alexander Stadium.
Here are to keep an eye on as they compete for European crowns.
Matthew Hudson-Smith (400m)
Matthew Hudson-Smith is already a four-time European champion and would love to make it five on his home track.
Hudson-Smith grew up training at Alexander Stadium as part of Birchfield Harriers, and the Wolverhampton-born athlete will receive a hero’s welcome when he takes to the track.
He is the European record holder over 400m and was back-to-back champion in 2018 and 2022 but did not contest 2024.
Hudson-Smith will look to win his title back and will also target the 4x400m relay.
Romell Glave (100m)
Romell Glave burst onto the scene with a brilliant bronze two years ago but now returns to the European stage as a bona fide contender for gold.
Glave ran 10.06s to finish third behind Italian pair Marcell Jacobs and Chituru Ali but has knocked his personal best down to 9.97s this season.
That puts him just one hundredth behind Jacobs in the fastest Europeans this year and both will have eyes on top spot in Birmingham.
Keely Hodgkinson (800m)
The golden girl who became 800m Olympic champion in Paris 2024, Keely Hodgkinson is looking to complete a European hat-trick this summer.
Hodgkinson has won gold in the past two editions over two laps of the track, and heads to Birmingham for a third amidst a packed field.
The 24-year-old has already set a new British record this season but her time of 1:54.33 was beaten by Switzerlad’s Audrey Werro and the pair are set for an intriguing battle in Birmingham.
Hodgkinson is an athlete who performs on the big occasions and will want to ensure she retains her crown in front of a home crowd.
Dina Asher-Smith (100m, 200m)
Few athletes can boast a medal collection like Dina Asher-Smith, and the fastest British woman in history is out to extend it in Birmingham.
Asher-Smith is a six-time European champion and regained her 100m title two years ago in Rome, having first won the title in 2018.
She also has two golds and a silver over 200m, plus a pair of relay golds, and will contest both sprints in Birmingham.
Asher-Smith missed the Commonwealth Games in July but looked in strong form when she ran 22.28s over 200m at the London Diamond League.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Heptathlon)
Katarina Johnson-Thompson is one of the most decorated heptathletes in history but she is still chasing European gold.
She will look to put that right in Birmingham, as she tries to add to the silver she won at Berlin 2018.
The 33-year-old is a two-time world champion and won bronze at least year’s World Championships, following up her Olympic silver in 2024.
She has all the experience you could want and will be willed home by the Birmingham crowd.
Scott Lincoln (Shot put)
Scott Lincoln has dominated the British shot put scene for over a decade but now wants to take the next step to a European Championships medal.
Lincoln won European Games bronze in 2023 and has a pair of bronzes from the last two Commonwealth Games.
He finished fourth at Rome 2024, 43cm off the podium and backed it up with an eighth-place finish at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
A British man has not won a European Championships shot put medal since Geoff Capes in 1974 – how Lincoln would love to change that.
Kimani Jack (High jump)
Kimani Jack is a rising talent in the high jump and will hope to continue his breakout year in Birmingham.
The 22-year-old won the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the US and recently won a bronze medal for England at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with a jump height of 2.20m.
Once a student at the University of Birmingham, he returns to the city as an athlete in British colours hoping to add a medal to his steadily growing collection.
Elise Thorner (3000m steeplechase)
Elise Thorner returns to the European Championships as an athlete transformed from four years ago.
Then, she made her debut and finished 14th in her heat but in Birmingham she will be a real medal contender.
She became a British 3000m steeplechase champion at the 2025 UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham and won a silver medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, lowering her personal best to 9:05.45.
She is within touching distance of the British record and may need to break that barrier in search of a medal in Birmingham.
Charlotte Henrich (400m)
Charlotte Henrich is out to continue her meteoric rise at Birmingham 2026.
The 19-year-old is European champion at both Under-18 and Under-20 level but as stepped up to the senior stage in style this year.
She finished fourth at the 2026 Commonwealth Games and has lowered her personal best on three separate occasions this season.
Henrich enjoyed a stellar showing at the World Relays in May as she made her senior British debut and will also be part of the relay squad alongside individual duties in Birmingham.
Ben East (Javelin)
British champion Ben East is targeting European glory at Birmingham 2026 after a standout season.
East is enjoying his best year so far, with a new personal best of 81.12m enough for eighth at the Commonwealth Games.
That was excellent preparation for Birmingham, where he will hope to regularly throw past 80m in order to mix it with the medals.
Sportsbeat 2026