Emil Agyekum took silver over 400 metres hurdles at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on 14 August 2026. The 27-year-old from Berlin ran 47.87 seconds.
That ends a German drought of four decades. The last European medal over the distance went to Harald Schmid, who won the title in Stuttgart in 1986. For Agyekum it is a first medal at a major international championship.
Only Karsten Warholm was faster at the Alexander Stadium. The Norwegian won in 46.63 seconds and claimed his fourth consecutive European title in the event. The world record holder controlled the race from the start, Sportschau reports. Agyekum never had a realistic chance of gold. Bronze went to Ismail Nezir of Turkey in 48.26 seconds.
"I went into the race very relaxed today," Agyekum said in an interview with Sportschau. "This is the reward for the hard work of recent years. But I think this was only the beginning."
A German record in July
The result did not come out of nowhere. At a meeting in London in July 2026, Agyekum ran 47.45 seconds and broke Schmid's German record, according to rbb24. Three hundredths of a second separated him from the old mark. Before the final he promised an attack: "We are not here to run along behind Warholm."
The second German finalist left empty-handed. Owe Fischer-Breiholz finished fifth in 48.56 seconds. The under-23 European champion missed bronze by three tenths. "I have never felt disappointment like this," he told Sportschau. Both runners train in the same group.
It was the German team's tenth medal of these championships, Sportschau reports. No other country had collected more podium places by that point. In the women's discus, Shanice Craft won silver and Kristin Pudenz of Potsdam placed fifth with 63.27 metres. The title went to Jorinde van Klinken of the Netherlands.
Agyekum next targets the Ultimate Championships in Budapest from 11 to 13 September 2026. For the coming season he names the world championships in Beijing as his goal. Whether he can close on Warholm there is an open question. The Norwegian holds the world record at 45.94 seconds, and the gap in the Birmingham final was more than a second.