# 2006 European Athletics Championships

The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Championships in Athletics, and Stockholm, Sweden's capital, hosted 1958 European Athletics Championships.

## Men's results
### Track

1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2012
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 m details | Francis Obikwelu Portugal | 9.99 CR | Andrey Yepishin Russia | 10.10 NR | Matic Osovnikar Slovenia | 10.14 NR |
| 200 m details | Francis Obikwelu Portugal | 20.01 NR | Johan Wissman Sweden | 20.38 NR | Marlon Devonish Great Britain | 20.54 |
| 400 m details | Marc Raquil France | 45.02 | Vladislav Frolov Russia | 45.09 PB | Leslie Djhone France | 45.40 |
| 800 m details | Bram Som Netherlands | 1:46.56 | David Fiegen Luxembourg | 1:46.59 | Sam Ellis Great Britain | 1:46.64 |
| 1500 m details | Mehdi Baala France | 3:39.02 | Ivan Heshko Ukraine | 3:39.50 | Juan Carlos Higuero Spain | 3:39.62 |
| 5000 m details | Jesús España Spain | 13:44.70 | Mo Farah Great Britain | 13:44.79 | Juan Carlos Higuero Spain | 13:46.48 |
| 10,000 m details | Jan Fitschen Germany | 28:10.94 PB | José Manuel Martínez Spain | 28:12.06 SB | Juan Carlos de la Ossa Spain | 28:13.73 |
| Marathon details | Stefano Baldini Italy | 2:11:32 | Viktor Röthlin Switzerland | 2:11:50 | Julio Rey Spain | 2:12:37 |
| 110 metres hurdles details | Staņislavs Olijars Latvia | 13.24 | Thomas Blaschek Germany | 13.46 | Andy Turner Great Britain | 13.56 |
| 400 metres hurdles details | Periklis Iakovakis Greece | 48.46 | Marek Plawgo Poland | 48.71 SB | Rhys Williams Great Britain | 49.12 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase details | Jukka Keskisalo Finland | 8:24.89 | José Luis Blanco Spain | 8:26.22 | Bouabdellah Tahri France | 8:27.15 |
| 20 kilometres walk details | Paquillo Fernández Spain | 1:19:09 | Valeriy Borchin Russia | 1:20:00 | João Vieira Portugal | 1:20:09 NR |
| 50 kilometres walk details | Yohann Diniz France | 3:41:39 PB | Jesús Ángel García Spain | 3:42:48 SB | Yuriy Andronov Russia | 3:43:26 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay details | Great Britain Dwain Chambers Darren Campbell Marlon Devonish Mark Lewis-Francis | 38.91 | Poland Przemysław Rogowski Łukasz Chyła Marcin Jędrusiński Dariusz Kuć | 39.05 | France Oudéré Kankarafou Ronald Pognon Fabrice Calligny David Alerte | 39.07 |
| 4 × 400 metres relay details | France Leslie Djhone Idrissa M'Barke Naman Keïta Marc Raquil | 3:01.10 | Great Britain Robert Tobin Rhys Williams Graham Hedman Tim Benjamin | 3:01.63 | Poland Daniel Dąbrowski Piotr Kędzia Piotr Rysiukiewicz Rafał Wieruszewski | 3:01.73 |
| WR world record | AR area record | CR championship record | GR games record | NR national record | OR Olympic record | PB personal best | SB season best | WL world leading (in a given season) |||||| |

### Field

1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2012
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| High jump details | Andrey Silnov Russia | 2.36 CR WL | Tomáš Janků Czech Republic | 2.34 PB | Stefan Holm Sweden | 2.34 SB |
| Long jump details | Andrew Howe Italy | 8.20 | Greg Rutherford Great Britain | 8.13 | Olexiy Lukashevych Ukraine | 8.12 |
| Pole vault details | Aleksandr Averbukh Israel | 5.70 | Tim Lobinger Germany Romain Mesnil France | 5.65 | | |
| Triple jump details | Christian Olsson Sweden | 17.67 EL | Nathan Douglas Great Britain | 17.21 | Marian Oprea Romania | 17.18 |
| Shot put details | Ralf Bartels Germany | 21.13 | Joachim Olsen Denmark | 21.09 | Rutger Smith Netherlands | 20.90 |
| Discus throw details | Virgilijus Alekna Lithuania | 68.67 | Gerd Kanter Estonia | 68.03 | Aleksander Tammert Estonia | 66.14 |
| Javelin throw details | Andreas Thorkildsen Norway | 88.78 | Tero Pitkämäki Finland | 86.44 | Jan Železný Czech Republic | 85.92 |
| Hammer throw details | Olli-Pekka Karjalainen Finland | 80.84 SB | Vadim Devyatovskiy Belarus | 80.76 | Markus Esser Germany | 79.19 |
| Decathlon details | Roman Šebrle Czech Republic | 8526 SB | Attila Zsivoczky Hungary | 8356 | Aleksey Drozdov Russia | 8350 PB |
| WR world record | AR area record | CR championship record | GR games record | NR national record | OR Olympic record | PB personal best | SB season best | WL world leading (in a given season) |||||| |

## Women's results
### Track

1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2012
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres details | Kim Gevaert Belgium | 11.06 | Yekaterina Grigoryeva Russia | 11.22 (SB) | Irina Khabarova Russia | 11.22 |
| 200 metres details | Kim Gevaert Belgium | 22.68 | Yuliya Gushchina Russia | 22.93 | Natalya Rusakova Russia | 23.09 |
| 400 metres details | Vanya Stambolova Bulgaria | 49.85 | Tatyana Veshkurova Russia | 50.15 | Olga Zaytseva Russia | 50.28 |
| 800 metres details | Olga Kotlyarova Russia | 1:57.38 | Svetlana Klyuka Russia | 1:57.48 | Rebecca Lyne Great Britain | 1:58.45 |
| 1500 metres details | Tatyana Tomashova Russia | 3:56.91 (CR) | Yuliya Chizhenko Russia | 3:57.61 | Daniela Yordanova Bulgaria | 3:59.37 (SB) |
| 5000 metres details | Marta Domínguez Spain | 14:56.18 (CR) | Liliya Shobukhova Russia | 14:56.57 (SB) | Elvan Abeylegesse Turkey | 14:59.29 (SB) |
| 10,000 metres details | Inga Abitova Russia | 30:31.42 | Susanne Wigene Norway | 30:32.36 | Lidiya Grigoryeva Russia | 30:32.72 |
| Marathon details | Ulrike Maisch Germany | 2:30:01 (PB) | Olivera Jevtić Serbia | 2:30:27 | Irina Permitina Russia | 2:30:53 |
| 100 metres hurdles details | Susanna Kallur Sweden | 12.59 | Derval O'Rourke Ireland Kirsten Bolm Germany | 12.72 (NR Ireland) | | |
| 400 metres hurdles details | Yevgeniya Isakova Russia | 53.93 (PB) | Fani Chalkia Greece | 54.02 | Tetyana Tereshchuk-Antipova Ukraine | 54.55 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase details | Alesia Turava Belarus | 9:26.05 (SB) | Tatyana Petrova Russia | 9:28.05 | Wioletta Janowska Poland | 9:31.62 |
| 20 kilometres walk details | Ryta Turava Belarus | 1:27:08 | Olga Kaniskina Russia | 1:28:35 | Elisa Rigaudo Italy | 1:28:37 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay details | Russia Yuliya Gushchina Natalya Rusakova Irina Khabarova Yekaterina Grigoryeva | 42.71 | Great Britain Anyika Onuora Emma Ania Emily Freeman Joice Maduaka | 43.51 | Belarus Yulia Nestsiarenka Natallia Safronnikava Alena Neumiarzhitskaya Aksana Drahun | 43.61 |
| 4 × 400 metres relay details | Russia Svetlana Pospelova Natalya Ivanova Olga Zaytseva Tatyana Veshkurova | 3:25.12 | Belarus Yulyana Zhalniaruk Sviatlana Usovich Anna Kozak Ilona Usovich | 3:27.69 | Poland Monika Bejnar Grażyna Prokopek Ewelina Sętowska Anna Jesień | 3:27.77 |
| WR world record | AR area record | CR championship record | GR games record | NR national record | OR Olympic record | PB personal best | SB season best | WL world leading (in a given season) |||||| |

### Field

1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2012
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| High jump details | Tia Hellebaut Belgium | 2.03 (CR/NR) | Venelina Veneva Bulgaria | 2.03 (CR) | Kajsa Bergqvist Sweden | 2.01 |
| Pole vault details | Yelena Isinbayeva Russia | 4.80 (CR) | Monika Pyrek Poland | 4.65 | Tatyana Polnova Russia | 4.65 (SB) |
| Long jump details | Lyudmila Kolchanova Russia | 6.93 | Naide Gomes Portugal | 6.84 | Oksana Udmurtova Russia | 6.69 |
| Triple jump details | Tatyana Lebedeva Russia | 15.15 | Hrysopiyi Devetzi Greece | 15.05 | Anna Pyatykh Russia | 15.02 |
| Shot put details | Natallia Kharaneka Belarus | 19.43 | Petra Lammert Germany | 19.17 | Olga Ryabinkina Russia | 19.02 |
| Discus throw details | Darya Pishchalnikova Russia | 65.55 (PB) | Franka Dietzsch Germany | 64.35 | Nicoleta Grasu Romania | 63.58 |
| Hammer throw details | Tatyana Lysenko Russia | 76.67 (CR) | Gulfiya Khanafeyeva Russia | 74.50 | Kamila Skolimowska Poland | 72.58 |
| Javelin throw details | Steffi Nerius Germany | 65.82 (SB) | Barbora Špotáková Czech Republic | 65.64 | Mercedes Chilla Spain | 61.98 (SB) |
| Heptathlon details | Carolina Klüft Sweden | 6740 (CR) | Karin Ruckstuhl Netherlands | 6423 (NR) | Lilli Schwarzkopf Germany | 6420 (PB) |
| WR world record | AR area record | CR championship record | GR games record | NR national record | OR Olympic record | PB personal best | SB season best | WL world leading (in a given season) |||||| |

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Russia | 12 | 12 | 11 | 35 |
| 2 | Germany | 4 | 5 | 2 | 11 |
| 3 | France | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | Spain | 3 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| 5 | Belarus | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | Sweden | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | Belgium | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | Portugal | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | Finland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | Italy | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | Great Britain | 1 | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| 12 | Czech Republic | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 13 | Greece | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 14 | Bulgaria | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 14 | Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 16 | Norway | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | Israel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Latvia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Lithuania | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | Poland | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 21 | Ukraine | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 22 | Estonia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 23 | Denmark | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | Hungary | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | Ireland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | Luxembourg | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | Serbia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | Switzerland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 | Romania | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 30 | Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | Turkey | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (31 entries) | Totals (31 entries) | 47 | 49 | 45 | 141 |

## Participants

| Albania Andorra Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia & Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia | Germany Gibraltar Great Britain and Northern Ireland Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg F.Y.R Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco | Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine |

## Trivia

* The official song of the contest is Heroes by Helena Paparizou - winner Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with song „My number one" in Kyiv, Ukraine. Song „Heroes" used in opening ceremony (performed by Helena Paparizou and in an instrumental form during an artistic and pyrotechnic show) and tv intro that event make by public broadcaster SVT. The intro of the event, prepared by the Swedish public broadcaster, presented ice cubes with the logo of the organizing broadcaster, the names of the participating countries and a map of Europe with a focus on the locations of the city of Gothenburg. The dice appeared on the background of athletic competitors and the background itself was gray. The following part presents the organizing city, its inhabitants and the arena of the European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg. At the end of the intro, the event logo was formed. The musical setting of the intro was a melody from the official anthem of the event, recorded as an instrumental.
* The BBC have chosen to use Carola Häggkvist's 2006 Eurovision Song Contest entry Invincible in instrumental form as the title music for their coverage. They have also used various pop songs including Lena Philipsson's "Lena Anthem" and Lev livet by Magnus Carlsson also in instrumental form.
* Merlene Ottey, at the age of 46 and representing Slovenia, is fifth in the 100 m semifinals, failing to qualify for the finals.
* Olivera Jevtić won Serbia's first athletics medal as an independent country, a silver in women's marathon.