Polish runner Pia Skrzyszowska won the silver medal in the 100 meter hurdles at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham after a photo finish. Dutch athlete Nadine Visser captured gold with a time of 12.67 seconds, beating Skrzyszowska by one thousandth of a second. Laeticia Bapte of France took bronze with a time of 12.73 seconds.
Skrzyszowska started strongly and ran among the leaders over the opening hurdles before Visser accelerated. The two competitors ran head to head to the finish line, leaving athletes waiting in high tension for the photo finish results.
Semi-Final Performance
Skrzyszowska reached the final with the fastest semi-final time of 12.60 seconds. Running from lane five next to Bapte and Italy's Celeste Polzonetti, the Polish hurdler made no mistakes. Her main rivals posted slower times, with Visser running 12.69 seconds and Switzerland's Ditaji Kambundji recording 12.94 seconds.
Bapte and Sacha Alessandrini advanced to the final as lucky losers. Polzonetti recorded the eighth-fastest semi-final time of 12.93 seconds, but Kambundji secured qualification instead.
Post-Race Reactions
Speaking to TVP Sport after the race, Skrzyszowska said the thousandth of a second tasted a bit bitter. She described Visser as a good friend and said she held no grudge against her, although she had wanted to take the gold medal. She added that there was a strong headwind at the start line.
Skrzyszowska said the finish time did not matter as long as she won a medal, stating she was prepared physically and mentally. She noted that her performance was driven by the World Indoor Championships in Poland. Skrzyszowska added that she remains on European Championship podiums and aims to win gold again when the event takes place in Poland in two years.
Additional Team Results
Earlier at the championships, Ewa Swoboda earned a silver medal for Poland by running 11.02 seconds, finishing second to Amy Hunt of Great Britain. Swoboda entered the event in Birmingham with the third-fastest European time of the year at 10.98 seconds and had advanced smoothly to the final.
The 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham run until August 16.
