Jakub Szymański won the bronze medal in the 110m hurdles for Poland at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham after running 13.26 seconds.
Lining up in lane three, the 24-year-old Polish sprinter made a clean start and equaled his semi-final time. Szymański finished behind gold medalist Jason Joseph of Switzerland, who clocked 13.12 seconds, and silver medalist Just Kwaou-Mathey of France, who finished in 13.16 seconds.
Szymański had entered the medal race with high hopes after recording the fastest time among all 24 semi-finalists at 13.26 seconds. Great Britain's Samuel Bennett was the second-fastest qualifier based on the semi-finals alone, while Kwaou-Mathey and Joseph had posted the fastest times over the entire season with 13.20 seconds and 13.24 seconds respectively.
The eight-man final also featured Enzo Diessl of Austria, Thomas Wilkes and Theo Pedre of France, and Milan Trajković of Cyprus. In contrast to Szymański's success, fellow Polish hurdler Damian Czykier missed out on a spot in the final after placing fifth in his semi-final heat.
European Athletics Championships in Birmingham
The European Athletics Championships is a major continental track and field tournament organized by European Athletics. Birmingham, located in the West Midlands region of England, hosts elite international sports competitions. The 110m hurdles is a men's outdoor sprint discipline where runners clear ten high barriers over a straight track, demanding explosive speed and technique.
Jakub Szymański career medal record
The bronze in Birmingham adds another achievement to Szymański's international record. In 2023, he earned silver in the 60m hurdles at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, before taking the gold medal at the same event in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, two years later.
Earlier this year, Szymański became world indoor champion over 60m hurdles in Toruń, Poland. Prior to his podium finish in Birmingham, his last major championship medal in the outdoor 110m hurdles came at the 2021 World Junior Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, where he also took bronze.
