Bence Halász wins European hammer title with 84.25m throw

Bence Halász secured his first European hammer throw title in Birmingham with a throw of 84.25m. The Hungarian athlete set a new national record with the mark, which also stands as the world-leading distance for 2026. This performance moves Halász to tenth place on the all-time world rankings.

The victory marks a significant breakthrough for the 29-year-old, who previously collected silver medals at the 2022 Munich and 2024 Rome European Championships, alongside a bronze in 2018. His career achievements also include an Olympic silver from Paris 2024 and three bronze medals from the World Championships in 2019, 2023, and 2025.

Halász broke the long-standing Hungarian record of 84.19m, which was held by Adrián Annus since August 2003. The new personal best of 84.25m exceeds Halász's previous lifetime best of 83.18m by more than a metre. It also significantly improves upon his season best of 81.87m.

Germany's Merlin Hummel took the silver medal with a distance of 81.30m. Mykhaylo Kokhan of Ukraine finished in third place, recording a throw of 79.49m. Other top finishers included Volodymyr Myslyvchuk of the Czech Republic in fourth and Paweł Fajdek of Poland in fifth.

Britain's Jake Norris finished in 11th place with a best throw of 74.61m. Norris noted that while the distance was not what he intended, he was satisfied with his performance and the support from the crowd. He acknowledged the difficulty of reaching the final in a discipline often dominated by German and Eastern European athletes.

Halász will look to build on this momentum ahead of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Hungary next month. He is expected to compete against Canada's Ethan Katzberg during that event.