Once again, racewalking, a discipline often undervalued and even scorned by World Athletics, saves the face of Spanish athletics on a historic day, with four medals at once, a gold double in the half marathon, and silver and bronze in the marathon. A day to remember. Spain now rises with six medals in the continental championship.
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The Catalan Paul McGrath, 24, and the Granadian María Pérez, 30, gave Spain the first two golds at the Birmingham Europeans. With barely seven minutes difference, the racewalker from Gavà and the absolute queen of racewalking became the first European champions of the new half marathon distance (21 km). The Andalusian, moreover, with the grand prize, as she set a new world record.
The Spanish racewalking celebration continued an hour and a half after the gold double in the marathon category (42 km) with Miguel Ángel López taking silver and Raquel González bronze.
Half marathon (21 km)
McGrath turns Rome 2024 silver into gold two years later, and María Pérez extends her extraordinary record with her second continental gold and a world record
The racewalker from Gavà, who was already continental runner-up in the 20 km in Rome 2024, as well as world bronze in Tokyo 2025, won with 1h23m23s on the tiny Birmingham circuit by 13 seconds over Italian Francesco Fortunato and 26 over Andrea Cosi.
Seven minutes after McGrath crossed the finish line, the athlete from Granada won with a superb time of 1h30m06s, a new world record, with a 58s lead over Italian Alexandrina Mihai and 1m01s over Ukrainian Lyudmila Olyanovska. She thus extended her magnificent record with her second continental gold medal, after the one won in Munich in 2018.
The Andalusian is the current Olympic champion in the mixed relay in Paris 2024 and Olympic silver medalist in the 20 km, as well as four-time world champion (two 20 km and two 35 km, in 2023 and 2025).
These first two golds are Spain’s third and fourth medals at the 2026 European Championships after Marta García’s silver and Mohamed Attaoui’s bronze. Two more medals would follow.
“It’s a dream come true to be European champion, I’m very happy; I couldn’t fail”
Paul McGrath
After crossing the finish line, still catching his breath after an hour and a half of racing, Paul McGrath congratulated his two teammates, Álvaro López, who was 7th (1h25m25s), and Diego García, 8th (1h25m41s). “I want to congratulate my teammates. We got a great result, three finalists in the top 10. It’s a pride to share a team. It’s very hard to get here, because qualifying is tough,” said the Catalan.
“It’s a dream come true to be European champion, I’m very happy, I couldn’t fail. We passed the first kilometer very slowly, I didn’t want to go that slow, I decided to do 4-5 km at a steady pace, push it a bit, then it started to calm down; that’s what I had planned before the race and that’s how it was. I was able to hold on, which is the most important,” explained McGrath, who faced very tough opposition from Fortunato, the world leader of the year, who took the initial lead at kilometer 5.
“I knew he had very fast last kilometers, I was more or less controlling it, I had references from coaches and friends who were around the circuit, and they were telling me 15, 20, 12… But I was able to maintain it,” explained the radiant Catalan, who regained the lead at kilometer 10 and never gave it up.
“Once again racewalking saves the Spanish team; we deserve the respect we have always fought for”
María Pérez
For her part, María Pérez was overjoyed. The Granadian, queen of world racewalking, confessed to being “very happy.” “I didn’t expect the time or anything. The circuit was tough, Jacinto Garzón (her RFEA coach) had already warned us, you could feel the hill after a few laps… but the temperature conditions were ideal for a half marathon,” she recounted.
“I thank all Spaniards and Miguel Ángel López [athlete who was running the marathon], people might think I was walking with him, but I was able to keep up with the men’s pace. It wasn’t an easy circuit, there were many of us on narrow streets, but we managed it in the best way,” she told RTVE’s microphone.
The Andalusian also remembered her Spanish teammates, the Galicians Aldara Meilán (9th, with 1:34:53) and Antía Chamosa (12th, 1:35:57), and her friend the Italian Antonella Palmisano, who was fifth and led the race with her until km 7, when María took over the first position.
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“I would have liked Antonella to join me on the podium to better savor the crown, she helped me a lot; the crown (a tiara she wore) was given to me by Antonella, who was European champion, and her mother made it with her hands,” said the Granadian.
“Once again racewalking saves the Spanish team; we deserve the respect we have always fought for,” claimed the veteran racewalker.
Marathon (42 km)
Miguel Ángel López overtook Hungarian Venyercsan in the last kilometer to win silver, and Raquel González held on to bronze
The Spanish racewalking celebration continued an hour and a half later in the marathon category (42 km), which also started at 8:30 am on the same tiny circuit of Birmingham streets.
The Murcian Miguel Ángel López, who led from kilometer 26 to 34, held third place against the push of Massimo Stano and Hungarian Venyercsan. In the last kilometer, the Spaniard cut the 5-second deficit to the Hungarian and took silver. He tried to catch the Italian, who was 9 seconds ahead, but his legs couldn’t do more. He finished 8 seconds behind Stano. A silver that also tasted like glory for the Murcian, who was debuting in the marathon.
Miguel Ángel López, Spanish record holder in the 35 km racewalk, fourth Spanish athlete with the most absolute international appearances (35), extends his splendid record which already included the 2015 world title, 2013 world silver, and European golds in 2014 (20 km) and 2022 (35 km).
“Racewalking is everything. It was a day to make history again. We did it. I saw many people pass by and this generation will also be unique, they compete very well, have a lot of boldness and ambition,” said the Murcian.
The Spanish men’s participation closed with Dani Chamosa’s seventh place in his first European (3:02:32), José Manuel Pérez’s ninth (3:03:50) in his debut in individual absolute competition, and Manuel Bermúdez’s 17th (3:10:38).
For her part, the veteran Catalan athlete Raquel González (36) secured a meritorious third place in the marathon, bronze, adding to the silver medal won in Munich 2022. The racewalker from Mataró, successor to María Vasco, was in third position for almost the entire race but could not catch the flying Italian Sofia Fiorini, who lapped the Catalan at km 40, nor the Polish Katarzyna Zdzieblo, silver.
Fiorini, who walked the last kilometer waving, finished 4m39s ahead of the Polish athlete and 5m38s ahead of the Catalan, who set her personal best, 3h20m49s.
For Raquel González, it was her seventh international medal in her fifth European Championship. “It’s a bronze medal in a marathon, so I’m happy,” said the Catalan.
The Madrilenian Lucía Redondo (22) was seventh, 13m17s behind with 3h28m28s, and the Catalan athlete Laura Monje was eleventh (3h42m01s). “They are all beasts, fighters, very proud of the racewalking team we have,” said the racewalker from Lliçà d’Amunt.
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