Romel Gabriel Sets 100m Record, Beats Jacobs in Savona

British sprinter Romel Gabriel achieved an impressive time of 9.88 seconds in the 100 meters at the international track and field meet in Savona, Italy. The event was part of the Continental Tour with a bronze label and took place on Wednesday, May 22, 2026.

As the bronze medalist in the 100 meters at the 2024 European Championships, Gabriel was the fastest in the heats with a time of 10.00 seconds, aided by a tailwind of +2.6 meters per second. In the final, he triumphed with a time of 9.88 seconds (+2.7 m/s), outpacing competitors like reigning European champion Marcel Jacobs.

Colombian sprinter Ronald Longa came in second with a time of 9.98 seconds. Jacobs, who was returning from an injury-filled 2025 season, finished third with a time of 10.01 seconds as he prepares for the 2026 European Championships in Birmingham, where he aims for a third consecutive title.

Other Notable Performances

Charlie Dobson, who will attempt to turn his 400m silver medal into gold in Birmingham, recorded a promising time of 20.26 seconds to win the 200 meters. This was his first outdoor race in this discipline in three years.

The strong performances of British athletes were further bolstered by Alister Chalmers, who won the 400 meters hurdles with a time of 48.64 seconds, despite slowing down after the last hurdle, in his season debut.

Sharlene Modslie, who recently helped Ireland qualify for the 2027 World Championships in the 4x400m relay, also performed well in the individual 400 meters. In her first outdoor race of the season, she set a personal best of 50.52 seconds, improving both the meet record of 50.71 and the current Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino's 2021 mark.

Additional Highlights

World indoor champion Zainab Dosso opened her outdoor season with a win in the 100 meters with a time of 11.07 seconds, beating British sprinter Imani-Lara Lansiquot (11.12 seconds). European champion Leonardo Fabri secured victory in the javelin throw with a distance of 21.88 meters.

Spanish European champion from 2022, Asier Martínez, won the 110 meters hurdles with a wind-assisted time of 13.34 seconds (+2.2 m/s). Hungarian Luca Kozak outperformed Finnish runner Saara Keskitalo in the 100 meters hurdles with times of 12.86 and 12.88 seconds, respectively.

Seventeen-year-old Alesia Sukho, who will compete at the European Championships for under-18 and under-20 athletes in her hometown of Rieti, equaled her personal best and the Italian national record for under-18 and under-20 women with a time of 13.14 seconds, finishing sixth.

Other notable performances included the victory of Portuguese Jose Carlos Pinto in the 1500 meters with a meet record of 3:33.36, outpacing his Canadian training partner Kyron Lamb (3:33.95), and the success of Ukrainian Viktoriya Tkachuk in the 400 meters hurdles with a time of 55.72 seconds.