What was Sara Kolak's result in the European Championship final?

Sara Kolak won with a best throw of 62.43 meters from the first round.

Who were her closest competitors?

Germany's Julia Ulbricht took silver (61.53 m), and Serbia's Adriana Vilagoš took bronze (60.93 m).

How many medals does Croatia have at the European Championships in Birmingham?

This is Croatia's second medal, following Marino Bloudek's silver in the 800 meters.

When was Sara Kolak's last medal at a major championship?

Exactly 10 years ago, when she became Olympic champion in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Football

Sara Kolak explodes in Birmingham to claim European gold

N.G. · Prije 7h | 3 min

Ten years after Olympic gold in Rio, the Croatian javelin thrower has convincingly won her first European title.

Summary

Sara Kolak won gold in the javelin throw at the European Championships in Birmingham.
Her best throw was 62.43 meters from the first round.
This is her first European gold and her first medal at a major championship in 10 years.
It is Croatia's second medal at this competition.

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Croatian athlete Sara Kolak won the gold medal in the javelin throw at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. In the final held on August 16, 2026, at Alexander Stadium, Kolak triumphed over Germany's Julia Ulbricht and Serbia's Adriana Vilagoš, bringing Croatia its second medal of the competition.

First throw enough for gold

Kolak opened the final in spectacular fashion, throwing the javelin 62.43 meters, which was one of only two throws over 60 meters in the first round. The other belonged to Ulbricht, who threw 61.53 meters. After her first throw, according to reports from the scene, the Croatian turned her back to the javelin and let it fly, then turned to the stands and her coach with a loud roar of approval.

In the second round, Kolak threw 59.17 meters, while Vilagoš became the third athlete to surpass 60 meters (60.93). At the halfway point of the final, the standings were: 1. Kolak, 2. Ulbricht, 3. Vilagoš. None of them improved on their best marks.

Commanding dominance to the end

In the third round, Kolak threw 58.67 meters, and in the fourth, 57.84. In the fifth round, she became the first and only thrower with two throws over 60 meters, recording 60.49 meters. This confirmed her dominant victory and secured her first European gold of her career.

According to Sportklub, Kolak won this gold at the age of 32, while Dnevno.hr reports she is 31. Sources disagree on her exact age at the time of winning the medal.

Return to the podium after ten years

For Kolak, this is her first medal at a major championship in exactly 10 years, since the greatest achievement of her career when she became Olympic champion in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. In addition to Olympic gold, she also won gold at the European Winter Throwing Cup in 2017.

This is Croatia's second medal at this European Championship, following Marin Bloudek's silver in the 800 meters. Photos from the final were taken by Tom Dubravec for CROPIX and Peter Cziborra for REUTERS.

Kolak arrived in Birmingham after a smooth passage through the qualification rounds, and in the final she threw at the level of her best result this year. In Ostrava in June, she threw just 18 centimeters farther, which proved out of reach for the rest of the competition. This is her second medal from European Championships, after bronze in Amsterdam in 2016, and she also has two fourth-place finishes at major competitions, from the 2017 World Championships in London and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Silver went to Germany's Julia Ulbricht (25) with a throw of 61.53 meters, while bronze was claimed by Serbia's Adriana Vilagoš (22) with 60.93 meters.