The Great Britain and Northern Ireland athletics team came away from the 2024 European Athletics Championships with a decent haul of medals, but more importantly, more useful preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris. After picking up 13 medals and finishing 3rd in the final medals table behind hosts Italy (24 medals) and France (16 medals), there were some promising displays that will give Team GB hope for further medal success in Paris and markets available at Cloudbet certainly back up that claim.
Hodgkinson going for gold in Paris
Despite being under the weather, Keely Hodgkinson managed to defend the 800m title that she won in Munich two years ago and will be looking to take the challenge to world champion Mary Moraa of Kenya and America’s current Olympic champion, Athing Mu in August. Hodgkinson crossed the line in 1.58.65, which is a sterling effort considering the 22-year-old was ill just the day before the event.
After dominating the past editions of the European Athletics Championships, Hodgkinson will want to go one better than the stunning silver medal she picked up at Tokyo 2020. Over half a mile, Hodgkinson is one of the best in the world and at her youthful age, has bags of ability still to unlock. Both Mu and Hodgkinson were 19 years old when they finished one and two in Tokyo, Hodgkinson will be hoping the tables are turned this year.
Women’s 4x100m team “feeling good” ahead of Paris
Hodgkinson’s success was followed by another golden performance from the women’s 4x100m relay team. That quartet of Dina Asher-Smith, Desiree Henry, Amy Hunt and Daryll Neita saw off competition from France and Netherlands to banish the demons of 2022 when Team GB failed to make the first baton change in Munich.
GB will once again look to take the fight to Jamaica and United States, but they know they have a huge task to conquer the two Goliaths of 4x100m sprinting. However, correcting the wrongs from Munich in Rome will give the team a huge boost ahead of their final preparations for Paris. Neita said after the triumph, “I really have a good feeling going into Paris.”
Further promise for Paris
Elsewhere, there was another gold for Dina Asher-Smith in the 100m, while the half marathon team of Abbie Donnelly, Clara Evans, Calli Hauger-Thackery, and Lauren McNeill also took the top step of the podium. There was a raft of silver and bronze medals with standout performances from George Mills (silver, 5000m), Charlie Dobson (silver, 400m) and Megan Keith (bronze, 10,000m). Besides a couple of hiccups, most notably from the men’s 4x100m relay team, promising performances have provided a solid springboard for Team GB going into the next edition of the Olympic Games.
