Zdziebło takes silver in marathon race walk at European Championships as Fiorini sets world record

Zdziebło takes silver in marathon race walk

Katarzyna Zdziebło won the silver medal in the marathon race walk at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, finishing second behind Italy's Sofia Fiorini. Fiorini crossed the line in 3:15:11, a world record for the distance, while Zdziebło recorded 3:19:50, a new Polish record and the second-fastest time in the short history of marathon race walking. Spain's Raquel Gonzalez took bronze.

The race unfolded as a three-way contest in its early stages, with Zdziebło, Fiorini, and a second Italian, Eleonora Anna Giorgi, pulling clear of the field. After 25 km, Zdziebło and Fiorini led Gonzalez by one minute and 17 seconds. The decisive move came around the 30 km mark, when Fiorini accelerated and began opening a gap. Zdziebło chose not to chase, maintaining her own rhythm as the Italian gradually extended her lead.

Race dynamics and late crisis

By the 35th kilometre, the gap had grown to a full minute. Gonzalez briefly closed on Zdziebło, but the Pole raised her pace and re-established the gap to the Spaniard. Around 10 km from the finish, the positions stabilised, with Fiorini pulling further ahead on every lap. At the 40 km mark, Zdziebło hit a serious crisis, slowing noticeably and falling more than three minutes behind the leader, with Gonzalez closing once more. She endured the difficulty and held on to second place.

New era for race walking

World Athletics restructured race walking distances from 2026, replacing the 20 km and 35 km events used at last year's World Championships in Tokyo with half marathon (21.0975 km) and marathon (42.195 km) distances. The Birmingham championship is the first European Championship held under the new format.

For the 29-year-old from Mielec, the medal is her second European silver, adding to the 20 km silver she won at the 2022 championships in Munich. That same year, she also took double world silver in the 20 km and 35 km walks at the World Championships in Eugene.

Fourth medal for Poland in Birmingham

Zdziebło's silver is Poland's fourth medal of the championships. Ewa Swoboda and Pia Skrzyszowska each won silver earlier, and Jakub Szymański took bronze. Skrzyszowska's silver came in the 100m hurdles.

Men's marathon and other results

Italy completed a marathon double, with Massimo Stano winning the men's race in 2:56:49, eight seconds ahead of Spain's Miguel Angel Lopez. France's Aurelien Quinon finished third in 2:59:29. Hungary's Bence Venyercsan was heading for bronze but was stopped by judges for a further infringement several dozen metres before the finish line. He completed the distance but was classified sixth.

In the men's shorter race walk distance, Poland's Maher Ben Hlima finished ninth in 1:26:14, nearly three minutes behind winner Paula McGrath of Spain.