With Gesa Krause already holding the top European steeple time of the season with her time of 9:22.33 set at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene (28 May), she entered the Amsterdam competition as the prohibitive favorite to win the title, and she did not disappoint. After comfortably winning her heat in 9:43.81 (7 July), Krause captured her first European championship in dominating fashion, leading the final (9 July) from start-to-end and finishing in a new personal best of 9:18.85, well ahead of silver medalist Luiza Gega (9:28.52). Krause’s time just missed the German national mark of 9:18.54 (Antje Moldner-Schmitz, 2009), while solidifying her 12th place on the European all-time list for the event.
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Philip Milanov likewise arrived in Amsterdam with high expectations, following his silver medal at last year’s IAAF World Championships in Beijing. However, going into the competition, he was ranked 5th among Europeans in ’16, led by Beijing world champion Piotr Malachowski. After the qualifying rounds on 7 July in which Milanov advanced to the final (7th place with best throw of 64.53m), he got off to a promising start in the final (9 July) with the first-round-leading throw of 64.07m. After Malachowski and Gerd Kanter‘s second-round throws pushed Milanov down to 3rd, he reclaimed 2nd place with his third-round toss of 65.71m, a position he would not relinquish, thus earning the silver medal behind champion Malachowski (67.06m), with Kanter claiming the bronze medal (65.27m).
Other Personae-managed athletes advancing to competition finals in Amsterdam included Anne Zagre in the 100m Hurdles (5th in 12.97), Louise Carton in the 5000m (7th in 15:42.79), Homiyu Tesfaye in the 1500m (10th in 3:47.93), and Fabin Florant in the Triple Jump (10th in 16.23m).