Dutch athlete Nadine Visser clinched European gold in the 100-meter hurdles at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on August 11, 2026. Visser crossed the finish line in 12.67 seconds, defeating Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska by a razor-thin margin of just one-thousandth of a second after a lengthy photo-finish review.
What was expected to be a fast, clear-cut sprint turned into an agonizing wait under the stadium lights. In the final of the 100-meter hurdles at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, Nadine Visser and Pia Skrzyszowska flew across the finish line virtually as one.
The Photofinish That Split a Thousandth
As the clock flashed identical times on the arena’s main screen, all eyes pivoted away from the track and onto the stadium display. The athletes were forced to endure minutes of agonizing silence before the official verdict arrived. When the ruling was finally announced, it delivered an unforgettable European title to the Dutch contingent.
Visser’s winning time of 1267.668 defeated Skrzyszowska, who was timed at 1267.669. That microscopic gap—precisely one-thousandth of a second—meant Visser took the gold medal, while Skrzyszowska was left to accept the silver after a race where literal inches separated the two sprint specialists.
How the Podium Shook Out Behind the Photo Finish
While the gold and silver medalists shared an identical time on the clock, the rest of the European final featured fierce international competition. France’s Laeticia Bapté secured the bronze medal with a time of 12.73 seconds, holding off a competitive field that pushed deep into the 12-second bracket.
Behind Bapté, Ditaji Kambundji claimed fourth place in 12.75 seconds, followed by Hungary’s Luca Kozak in 12.84 seconds. Sacha Alessandrini of France finished sixth in 12.92 seconds, and Great Britain’s Marcia Sey rounded out the top eight runners with a time of 13.01 seconds, according to the official event results.
Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck Marks Milestone in Birmingham
Belgium also had a direct stake in the dramatic final.
Ndjip-Nyemeck converted that maiden qualification into a seventh-place finish, crossing the line in 12.97 seconds.
Final Results of the 100 Meter Hurdles Final
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nadine Visser | Netherlands | 12″67.668 |
| 2 | Pia Skrzyszowska | Poland | 12″67.669 |
| 3 | Laeticia Bapté | France | 12″73 |
| 4 | Ditaji Kambundji | Zwi | 12″75 |
| 5 | Luca Kozak | Hungary | 12″84 |
| 6 | Sacha Alessandrini | France | 12″92 |
| 7 | Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck | Belgium | 12″97 |
| 8 | Marcia Sey | Great Britain | 13″01 |
