Five things we learned from the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome

The 2024 European Athletics Championships provided six days of enthralling competition and impressive feats, providing plenty of intriguing storylines as Paris 2024 looms later this summer.

Italy was dominant, winning seven of the 37 events and tallying 426.5 points. Poland finished second with 402.5 points while Germany rounded out the top three with 387.5 points.

The Italians also won the most medals with 24, followed by France with 16 and Great Britain with 13.

Here’s what we learned from the festivities in Rome.

• All results from the European Athletics Championship

As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.

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Karsten Warholm sets championship record in the men’s 400m hurdles

At 28 years old, Norwegian sprinter Karsten Warholm already has a lengthy list of accolades including Tokyo 2020 gold medalist, three-time world champion and world record holder in the men’s 400m hurdles.

He added to this list Tuesday 11 June, taking home the European title in the 400m hurdles and setting a championship record of 46.98. Warholm created separation early and was able to maintain his edge throughout as he dashed his way to a third consecutive European title.

“Whenever I walk on the track, I want to accomplish my goals,” Warholm said following the race. “But today, [Alessandro] Sibilio also had a very good race. I have seen that Italians have a great season thanks to these championships so I knew that I had to fight very hard.”

Keely Hodgkinson captures gold in the women’s 800m despite being ill

Despite battling an illness, the 22-year-old British runner Keely Hodgkinson was able to capture the European Championship gold in the women’s 800m, a feat she last accomplished two years ago in Munich. Her time of 1:58.65 edged out Slovakia's Gabriela Gajanova for second and France's Anais Bourgoin for third.

"I picked up an illness a little bit yesterday. Sometimes you've just got to find a way to win,” she told the BBC. "I wanted to go out and get a good time today but I'm happy with the win. I think I would've been disappointed if I didn't try."

Hodgkinson is a two-time world championship silver medallist, a two-time European champion and captured silver in the 800m at Tokyo 2020 in her first Olympic appearance. She will be hoping to add to her resume at the Games and her performance in Rome was a promising step.

Armand Duplantis sets men’s pole vault European record

American-born, Swedish pole vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis won his third European title and set a championship record after clearing 6.10m on Wednesday 12 June.

The Tokyo 2020 gold medallist has already set the world record in the pole vault eight times, most recently clearing 6.24m this year at the season-opening Diamond League meet in Xiamen, People's Republic of China. He attempted to break his own record at the European championships but failed to clear 6.25m three times.

His first try was his best attempt at the record but his chest grazed the bar on his descent.

“I did not really think I was attempting the world record today,” Duplantis said. “It was not part of the plan. After the 6.10m, there was just too much energy there. I looked at my parents and we both had the same idea, we were like, ‘It is just fun, so why not?’ I cannot complain.”

Dina Asher-Smith sets British medal record at European Championships

After capturing a bronze medal at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith is looking to return to the podium in Paris. Her women’s 100m European title in Rome on 10 June was a strong step towards that goal, winning the gold with a time of 10.99 seconds to retain her first major title since the 2019 World Championships.

"I’m in a great place. That’s not normally my style of race but I’m happy I was able to run another sub-11 performance in a different way,” she said. "We’ve worked really hard on my top-end speed, on my form and ­relaxation. I didn’t panic in my running.”

Two days later, the 28-year-old helped Great Britain win gold in the women’s 4x100m relay as she became the most-accomplished British athlete in championship history by surpassing Roger Black and Mo Farah with her sixth European gold medal.

“It feels pretty special,” Asher-Smith said. “I definitely really wanted this one and it was one of the big, big reasons why I came here. I was annoyed at Munich because I knew it [a sixth medal] was on the cards if I performed well there but I wanted to come to Rome and take that record.”

Marcell Jacobs captures two gold medals

While two-time Olympic gold medallist Lamont Marcell Jacobs did not come close to matching his men’s 100m European record of 9.80 on 8 June in Rome, he was still able to take home the gold with a time of 10.02.

“The times are not what’s important in these competitions, it’s the result that counts. The goal is to be in my best form in two months when it counts even more and I know that I still have a lot of work to do,” Jacobs said.

“Considering how I felt in the semifinal, we had calculated that I could have ran between 9.92 and 9.95,” he added. “So when I saw the display I wasn’t very happy. But at the same time, as I said, medals count more than times. Medals remain forever.”

Four days later, on 12 June, the 29-year-old was essential in Italy capturing gold in the men’s 4x100m with a time of 37.82. The Netherlands’ 38.46 was enough for silver, narrowly edging out Germany’s time of 38.52.