Day 5: Swiss round-up Spear thrower Hügli with the closest Swiss record in the final

Switzerland's Leonie Hügli set a new national record in the women’s discus throw during the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on Friday, securing her place in the final with a throw of 62.33 meters. The performance marked another milestone in the career of the 21-year-old from Bern, who had previously established a Swiss record just weeks earlier at the Top Athletes meet in Lucerne. Her latest effort surpassed her previous mark by 15 centimeters and ensured she qualified among the top 12 athletes, meeting the required distance of 61 meters. The qualification round saw Hügli deliver a steady progression throughout her three attempts, starting with 58.90 meters and improving to 59.52 meters before hitting the decisive 62.33 meters. She described the conditions as challenging due to wind, yet expressed satisfaction with the outcome. “I felt today could go well, and I’m super happy it worked out,” she told SRF in an interview after the competition. Among her competitors, Germany’s Julia Ulbricht came closest with a throw of 60.86 meters, while Croatia’s Sara Kolak and Turkey’s Esra Türkmen also crossed the 60-meter threshold. Switzerland’s second athlete, Sabrina Boss, finished with 55.22 meters, placing her 17th overall and missing out on the final. In men’s athletics, Switzerland’s 4x400-meter relay team narrowly secured their spot in the final. Comprising Dany Brand, Ricky Petrucciani, Haydn Brotschi, and Lionel Spitz, the quartet clocked 3 minutes and 1.31 seconds, edging out Poland by two hundredths of a second. Their time fell just shy of the Swiss record set at the World Relay Championships in Botswana last May, which stood at 3 minutes and 01.18 seconds. The men’s team will compete in the final on Sunday evening at 20:55 local time. Meanwhile, the women’s 4x400-meter relay team failed to qualify for the final despite a strong showing. Mélanie Roland, Lena Wernli, Annina Fahr, and Yasmin Giger, who stepped in for injured teammate Iris Caligiuri, completed their race in 3 minutes and 30.12 seconds. This placed them 12th out of 16 nations, over three seconds behind the qualifying time. Justin Fournier, representing Switzerland in the men’s pole vault, reached his personal best height of 5.45 meters during the qualification round but was unable to clear the next height of 5.60 meters. His three failed attempts ended his participation in the competition. At just 21 years old, this was Fournier’s first appearance at the elite level of the European Championships. Switzerland’s presence in the finals continues to grow, with multiple athletes advancing past the qualification rounds. The country’s focus shifts now to Sunday’s events, where both the men’s 4x400-meter relay and Hügli’s discus final will take center stage. With the weather forecast predicting stable conditions, the final stages of the championships promise to be highly competitive.