Athletes struggle at European Athletics Championships in Birmingham

At the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, several athletes faced disappointing results. Slovenian record holder Filip Jakob Demšar failed to advance in the 110m hurdles, finishing 20th in the qualifications with a time of 14.41 seconds. Demšar attributed his performance to a recurring injury, noting that inflammation in his back caused pain that spread toward his hip muscle, making it difficult to compete at full capacity.

Albanian athletes also struggled during the opening days of the competition. Franko Burraj, the Albanian 400m record holder, finished last in his qualifying heat with a time of 46.96 seconds. Additionally, Markelo Mema failed to qualify in the hammer throw, placing 14th and missing the cutoff for the top 12 athletes moving to the next phase.