Cyprus produced one of its strongest-ever showings at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, with four athletes reaching finals and two securing top-eight finishes against Europe’s best.
The seven-day championships, held at Alexander Stadium from 10 to 16 August, marked the first time the event had been staged in the UK. More than 1,600 athletes from 48 nations took part, while organisers recorded a cumulative attendance of 218,135 spectators across the week.
Cyprus had originally named a 12-athlete squad for Birmingham, its second-largest ever for a European Championships, although 11 ultimately competed. Eight of those 11 were making their senior European Championships debut, while seven were under the age of 24.
Cyprus’s standout performances
No Cypriot athlete reached the podium, but four made it through to their respective finals, with Filippa Fotopoulou and Milan Trajkovic both finishing eighth.
- Filippa Fotopoulou – long jump: Fotopoulou finished eighth with a jump of 6.67 metres on her opening attempt, the best European Championships placing of her career. It was also her third consecutive European final, following 12th place in Munich in 2022 and 11th in Rome in 2024. According to the GSP, she became the first Cypriot woman to reach three consecutive European Championships finals.
- Milan Trajkovic – 110m hurdles: The experienced hurdler also finished eighth, clocking 13.87 seconds in the final. Trajkovic had run 13.50 in the opening round before improving to 13.40 in the semi-final to secure his place among the final eight. Birmingham was his sixth European Championships appearance, a decade after his career-best fifth place in Amsterdam in 2016.
- Elena Kulichenko – high jump: Making her senior European Championships debut, Kulichenko finished 10th after clearing 1.88 metres in the final. She had been even stronger in qualifying, clearing 1.91 metres — equalling her season’s best — to secure automatic qualification.
- Iosif Kesidis – hammer throw: Kesidis also reached a European final on his senior championships debut. He threw 75.48 metres in qualifying before recording 72.27 metres in the final to finish 12th.
A promising overall showing
The remaining Cypriot athletes did not progress beyond their opening rounds or qualifying competitions, but the size and age profile of the team offered signs of greater depth in Cypriot athletics.
KOEAS described Birmingham as Cyprus’s best overall performance at a European Championships. Cyprus had also produced four finalists in Amsterdam in 2016, but three of those came in the same event, the men’s high jump. In Birmingham, Cypriot athletes reached finals in four separate events: the men’s 110m hurdles and hammer throw, and the women’s high jump and long jump.
For a team that returned without a medal, that is probably the strongest conlusion from Birmingham. Cyprus didn’t just send athletes to make up the numbers; four reached European finals, three finished inside the top 10, and a largely young squad gained experience at the highest level of continental athletics.
