Although 2024 will be mainly remembered for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, GB & NI were out in force competing this year at multiple championships.

 We take a brief trip down memory lane to remind ourselves of the highlights of the European Athletics Championships where GB & NI finished third on the medal table, having claimed an impressive four gold, four silver and five bronze medals in Rome.

Two months out from a sensational Olympic 800m glory, Keely Hodgkinson (Trevor Painter; Leigh) was the star performer of the British squad in the Italian capital – retaining her continental two-lap crown from Munich two years prior with a dominant 1:58.65 display despite feeling under the weather.

Another golden run arrived from Dina Asher-Smith (Edrick Floreal; Blackheath & Bromley), who once again prevailed as the queen of Europe with an impressive 100m victory.

The 2018 100m and 200m winner of these championships, Asher-Smith clocked a swift 10.99 (0.7) before helping the women’s 4x100m relay team to glory.

The quartet – completed by Desiree Henry (Steve Fudge; Enfield and Haringey), Amy Hunt (Marco Airale; Charnwood) and Daryll Nieta (Marco Airale; Cambridge Harriers) – led from the start to record a European-leading 41.91. The silverware represented Asher-Smith’s sixth European gold medal to date.

Elsewhere, the women’s half marathon team struck gold courtesy of a superb bronze medal-winning run from Call Haugher-Thackery (Hallamshire) with 1:08.58, supported by Abbie Donnelly (Rob Lewis; Lincoln Wellington) in sixth with 1:09.57 and a 1:10.06 personal best for Clara Evans (Chris Jones; Pontypridd) in ninth.

Claiming her first senior career major international medal, Georgia Bell (Trevor Painter; Belgrave) stormed to women’s 1500m silver in 4:05.33, just weeks before her breakthrough Olympic bronze medal over the metric mile.

And one of the shocks from a British perspective arrived from Charlie Dobson (Leon Baptiste; Colchester), who ran the 400m of his life to claim silver in 44.38 behind Belgium’s Alexander Doom (44.14) – a personal best time which shot him into the European top ten list.

George Mills (Thomas Dreibigaker; Brighton Phoenix), meanwhile, fought a hard battle with Olympic champion, Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway to clinch his first major senior international medal in the men’s 500m with 13:21.28, whilst Daryll Nieta upgraded her 200m bronze from two years ago to silver with 22.50 in a tight battle with Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji (22.49).

A repeat bronze medal performance following Munich 2022 was enjoyed by Lizzie Bird (Pat McCurry; Shaftesbury Barnet), who was only contesting only her third 3000m steeplechase of the season, and world indoor champion Molly Caudery (Scott Simpson; Thames Valley) had to settle for bronze in the women’s pole vault with a 4.73m clearance.

A surprise yet deserved bronze medal came from Romell Glave (Michael Afilaka; Croydon) in the men’s 100m following a fine 10.06 run for his first senior international medal, whilst Megan Keith (Ross Cairns; Inverness) took women’s 10,000m bronze.

In a gutsy display having taken the lead between the 7,500m to 9,000m mark, Keith’s 31:04.77 run marked her debut senior international piece of silverware.

The trio of Cindy Sember (Chris Johnson; Woodford Green Essex Ladies), Scott Lincoln (Paul Wilson; City of York) and Jacob Fincham-Dukes (Matt Barton; Leeds) came agonisingly close to a medal with fourth-place finishes.

A 12.56 season’s best for Sember missed the women’s 100m hurdles bronze by just 0.14 seconds, whilst Lincoln – tenth in these championships two years ago – missed out by a mere 6-cm despite a strong 20.51m effort in the men’s shot put.

Fincham-Dukes meanwhile, was in medal contention for the first two rounds following a solid 8.12m leap in the men’s long jump but in the end, could only marginally improve on his fifth position from Munich, missing the medals this time against a world class field by 19cm.