Wightman, Heyward, and Ludewick progress to 1500m final on Day 5 of Birmingham 2026

Novuna Great Britain & Northern Ireland captain Jake Wightman was amongst the successful athletes in action on Friday morning at the Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships.

Wightman (Edinburgh AC, Steve Hartigan) won his heat to ease into the men’s 1500m final, where he will be one of three Brits in action.

“I’ve only just arrived but it’s nice seeing everyone go so well,” he said.

“I’ve not played any part in that yet but it’s nice to be leading a team picking up golds everywhere. Hopefully I can try and do my bit as well.”

Jake Heyward (Cardiff Athletics) won the first heat in 3:35.49 to qualify fastest, with major championship debutant Arlo Ludewick Herne Hill Harriers, Norman Poole) joining him with sixth in the same race, finishing in 3:36.27.

There was also relay success for both Novuna GB & NI 4x400m relay squads, who earned automatic qualification for the men’s and women’s finals.

The women’s quartet of women’s 400m hurdles silver medallist Emily Newnham (Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, Nick Dakin), Lina Nielsen (Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, Jack Green), Charlotte Henrich (Invicta East Kent, Nigel Stickings), and Nicole Yeargin (Pitreavie, Gregory Scholars) were in total control of their heat to qualify fastest in 3:22.25 – almost three seconds quicker than the rest of the field.

Newnham gave the squad a great start before Nielsen took complete control to establish a healthy advantage that Henrich and Yeargin took home.

“It was super fun,” Newnham said.

“We had such a good team vibe today, we were super relaxed, we came out to get automatic qualification and we did just that.”

They followed the men’s quartet of Sam Lunt (James Wright), Ben Jefferies (Bristol and West AC), Malique Smith-Band (Florida University), and individual 400m champion Matthew Hudson-Smith (Birchfield Harriers, Gary Evans).

They finished in 3:01.24 to finish second in their heat – after France were later disqualified – and earn automatic qualification.

Jefferies said: “The race was good.  We’ve got we got some newer faces here, Malique is a new face but if anything, that’s just a testament to the depth in our squad. 

“We’d would have liked a slightly stronger finish in terms of time but it’s a big Q, and I think we expended a lot less energy than some of the other teams that were right there with us. 

“We’re feeling fresh, feeling good, and ready to reload and go again on Sunday.”

Both men’s and women’s finals will take place on Sunday.

Owen Heard (Harrow AC, Kate Rooney) booked his place in the men’s pole vault final with a best effort of 5.45m.

Heard cleared 5.45m at the first attempt but was unable to get past 5.60m. However, it was enough for a place in the top 12 and Sunday’s final.

Friday morning also saw the start of the heptathlon, with Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Liverpool Harriers & AC, Aston Moore) and Jade O’Dowda (Newham & Essex Beagles AC, John Lane) in action.

O’Dowda opened in style with a personal best of 13.21s in the 100m hurdles, with Johnson-Thompson clocking 14.00s.

Johnson-Thompson impressed in the high jump with a clutch third attempt to clear 1.83m.
O’Dowda cleared 1.71m at the first attempt but could not improve on that height.

Johnson-Thompson sits 10th after the first two events with 1994 points, while O’Dowda is close behind in 12th with 1960.

In the women’s javelin, Freya Jones (Harrow AC, David Callaway) produced a best effort of 53.93m saw her finish 23rd and she did not progress to the final.