Greek sprinters Polyniki Emmanouilidou and Rafaela Spanoudaki qualified for the women's 200m semi-finals at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on Wednesday. Both athletes delivered season-best performances on day three of the competition to secure their places in the top 12.
Emmanouilidou posted the third-fastest time overall in the heats, crossing the line in 23.15 seconds despite running into a headwind of -0.9 metres per second. Spanoudaki booked her spot by clocking 23.37 seconds into a -0.6 metres per second headwind, with a cutoff time of 23.39 seconds required to reach the next round.
Both runners are scheduled to return to the track in Birmingham for the semi-final races at 22:20 local time on Wednesday evening.
Season Best Performances in 200m Heats
Emmanouilidou finished second in her heat series to lock in her semi-final berth. The Greek sprinter had traveled to the championships holding a season best of 23.22 seconds, set at the Papaflessia international meeting in Kalamata, Greece.
Her performance came after a difficult preparation period marred by physical setbacks. Emmanouilidou, who finished eighth in Europe over 200 metres in 2024, has been hampered by injuries throughout the year and suffered a persistent viral illness ten days before the tournament began.
Spanoudaki finished third in her heat after running a strong turn and holding her speed through the finish line. Her time of 23.37 seconds shaved one hundredth of a second off her previous season record, placing her 11th overall across the heat series.
The result marks Spanoudaki's first appearance in the 200 metres at the European Championships, as well as her career debut in the semi-finals of the event.
Tsoukala and Anagnostopoulou Miss Out
A third Greek sprinter, Dimitra Tsoukala, missed out on advancing after placing seventh in the second heat series. Tsoukala recorded a time of 23.77 seconds into a -0.4 metres per second headwind, finishing 21st overall.
Tsoukala had also overcome injury struggles this season to earn her qualification for the European Championships. Although her individual 200 metres campaign has ended, she remains in Birmingham to compete in the upcoming 4x100 metres relay qualification heats.
In the field events, 35-year-old discus thrower Kristy Anagnostopoulou was unable to advance to the final. Coached by Thomas Kyriazis, Anagnostopoulou registered her best mark of 55.13 metres on her opening throw, placing 10th in Group A and 21st overall.
Her second attempt hit the protective cage netting and traveled just 15.51 metres, while her third effort was measured at 54.78 metres.
Anagnostopoulou was seeking her fourth European final appearance in her sixth career showing at the competition. She previously placed ninth in 2016, 10th in 2018, and 12th in 2022.
The European Athletics Championships is a major biennial track and field event organized by European Athletics, bringing together elite European athletes in stadium and road competitions.
