European Athletics 2018: Team GB dreaming of another British 1-2-3, writes Seb Coe

Great Britain's Zharnel Hughes celebrates finishing second in the Men's 100m during day one of the Muller Anniversary Games at The Queen Elizabeth Stadium, London
John Walton/PA Wire
Seb Coe6 August 2018

If there was one moment in track and field history I would go back in time to witness it would be Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

Thankfully, I was there for the Olympiastadion’s other iconic moment, when Usain Bolt broke the two world records at the 2009 World Championships, and it’s good to go back to a stadium and city with such a rich athletics history.

With my domestic hat on, I still remember vividly leading home a British one-two-three in the 800metres at the 1986 European Championships some 320 miles away in Stuttgart. In fact, it was a championships in which we picked up medals left, right and centre.

That middle-distance podium clean sweep is not something I can envisage being repeated 32 years on but, with the way that Zharnel Hughes and Reece Prescod have been running, and what we know CJ Ujah is capable of, there could be another iconic British one-two-three before the week is out.

Britain is going there with its biggest- ever team and I’ve heard remarks from some that they’re far from household names. But we’ve had championships before when it was claimed we’d be scrabbling around for medals, only for things to get kick-started. I’m excited to see some established names competing along with some new faces.

For the first time, the European Athletics Championships are running alongside the wider multi-sport European Championships in Glasgow. I think the jury is out on that one. I’m all for integration between sports, we already have that with the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

Longer term, I think European Athletics will make a judgment about whether that’s the way going forward. The big question is does it boost numbers as a collective? Only time will tell and it will be interesting to find out.

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