Swiss 800m runner came within 0.42 seconds of the world record this season, while high jump great is the first Italian to win the award.

Switzerland’s Audrey Werro and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi were named 2026 European Athletes of the Year at the Golden Tracks awards ceremony in Lausanne on Saturday evening (October 24).

Werro was named women’s European Athlete of the Year ahead of Britain’s quadruple European champion Amy Hunt and Italy’s Nadia Battocletti, the European 5000m and 10,000m champion. She is the first Swiss winner of the women’s award and only the second Swiss athlete to win either of the senior awards, after fellow 800m specialist André Bucher won the men’s trophy in 2001.

Werro, 24, put together arguably the greatest season by a woman 800m runner in history. She ran the third, fourth and fifth fastest times ever and became only the third woman to break 1:54, eventually improving to 1:53.70 to come within 0.42 seconds of Jarmila Kratochvílová’s long-standing world record.

Having previously won European U20 and U23 titles, Werro claimed her first senior European title in Birmingham ahead of the reigning champion Keely Hodgkinson and Femke Broeders-Bol. She then beat both again to become the inaugural World Ultimate champion in Budapest.

Werro succeeded Broeders-Bol as women’s European Athlete of the Year and is the first athlete since the Dutchwoman in 2022 to be crowned Rising Star and European Athlete of the Year in successive years.

Tamberi makes Italian history

Tamberi won the men’s award ahead of fellow European champions Armand Duplantis of Sweden and Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou. He is the first Italian to be named either men’s or women’s European Athlete of the Year since the awards were introduced in 1993.

He won a record fourth European high jump title in Birmingham, then produced a vintage performance at the World Ultimate Championships in Budapest, where he cleared a world-leading 2.37m to take the title. It was the equal third-highest jump of his career and just two centimetres short of his national record, set in 2016.

Angelova and Rada named Rising Stars

Bulgaria’s Viktoria Angelova and Czechia’s Michal Rada won the women’s and men’s Rising Star trophies, which were introduced in 2007 to recognise Europe’s outstanding young athletes.

In her first season in the triple jump, Angelova won both the European U18 and world U20 titles and finished the year with a PB of 13.98m, the longest jump by a U20 athlete in 2026. The 17-year-old was shortlisted alongside fellow European U18 champions Linda Botková of Czechia and Slovenia’s Živa Remic, and is the first Bulgarian to win any of the four main Golden Tracks awards.

In his final season as a junior, Rada broke the European U20 record to win 400m hurdles gold at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene. His 48.59 beat Vladimir Budko’s mark of 48.74, which had stood since 1983. It was his third major age-group title in as many years, following European U18 and U20 titles in 2024 and 2025.

Rada was nominated alongside world U20 long jump champion Daniele Inzoli of Italy and Britain’s European U18 high jump champion Samuel James. He is only the second Czech winner of the men’s Rising Star award, after Pavel Maslák, the three-time world and European indoor 400m champion, in 2012.

Coaches, federation officials and media recognised

The first European Athletics Coaching Awards, which celebrate the contribution of coaches, were presented to Swiss coaches Sylvia Aeby and Thomas Hager. The first European Athletics Member Federation Awards, which honour individuals who have given many years of service to their federations away from the field of play, went to Christiane Vauthier and Peter Heinzer.

Two new media awards were also presented in association with AIPS Europe. Michael Steele received the Best Photographer Award and Anais Brosseau won the Best Article Award.

2026 Golden Tracks award winners

Women’s European Athlete of the Year: Audrey Werro (SUI)

Men’s European Athlete of the Year: Gianmarco Tamberi (ITA)

Women’s Rising Star: Viktoria Angelova (BUL)

Men’s Rising Star: Michal Rada (CZE)