Croydon Harrier Romell Glave is the European 100 metres champion – and the second sprinter from the club to win that title in 12 years.
Leading the way: Romell Glave dominated the European 100m final last night
Just before 10pm last night, in a tense Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, Glave burst from his starting blocks to seize the initiative and power down the straight, leaving some of his biggest rivals trailing.
His finger pointing up to the night sky as he crossed the finish line, Glave was a clear winner, clocking 10.09sec into a slight headwind.
With team mate Jeremiah Azu taking silver behind him in 10.16, Glave was able to declare “complete domination” of the event.
Germany’s Owen Ansah won the bronze medal in 10.19, as hobbling home behind the medallists a beaten man was Italy’s former Olympic champion Lamont Jacobs. The winner in Rome two years ago, when Glave won a bronze medal, Jacobs was never in the reckoning this time.
Glave is the second Croydon Harrier to win the European 100m title, following James Dasalou in 2014. Martyn Rooney, the 400-metre runner, was the last Croydon Harrier to win an individual European gold, when he retained his title in 2016.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Glave, still slightly breathless after his gold-winning efforts, said.
Total domination: Glave, right, with 100m silver medal-winner Jeremiah Azu
“The work I’ve put in to reach this point was a lot. Me and my coach have been working on the first 30 metes. It paid off and it’s amazing to upgrade my bronze from 2024.
“The aim was to get a 1-2-3 finish for British athletics. We got 1 -2 instead which is still absolutely amazing.”
Glave, 26, said he felt no pressure appearing in front of a home crowd. “I was ready for this occasion,” he said.
Birmingham 2026 is the first time in almost a century of European athletics championships that the event has been hosted in Britain.
Glave’s is Britain’s second gold medal of the championships, coming 24 hours after Amy Hunt had won the women’s sprint title. He has further chances of winning hardware later this week, with the men’s 4x100m relay, in which the British quartet ought to have an outstanding chance, and possibly in the new 4x100m mixed relay.
Jamaican-born Glave moved to Britain in 2015 and settled in South Norwood – handy for the Croydon Arena, the home track of Croydon Harriers. Within a year, he announced his immense sprinting talent to the world when he won under-17 200m gold at the English Schools, and in 2017 was officially the world’s fastest 17-year-old, running 10.21sec.
Glave’s transition to senior sprinting has been plagued by a series of injuries, including a fractured back suffered during the pandemic.
Clubmates: Croydon Harriers Romell Glave and Stevie Lawrence-Wrist in Birmingham
Of the other Croydon Harriers in the British team in Birmingham, Lawrence Okoye, the national record-holder in the discus who won the bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, was ruled out through injury, while Stevie Lawrence-Wrist, making her championship debut, finished 10th in her heat of the women’s 3,000m steeplechase (9min 48.66sec), so did not progress to the final.
Donna Fraser, the world, European and Commonwealth Games medal-winner and now a regular guest of the Croydon Insider podcast, told iC: Romell ran awesome.
“I am so proud of our Croydon Harrier: there is positivity that comes out of our borough!”
Croydon Harriers issued a statement this morning, saying “We are so proud of Stevie Lawrence-Wrist and Romell Glave for all their efforts with the team this week – a debut for Stevie and a gold medal for Romell in the 100m.”
Commiserating with Okoye over his injury, they added: “Thanks to all three for being so inspirational.”
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