The Most Breathtaking Women's 4x400m Final in Championship History

The anchor leg was already in full flight when the home straight changed everything. Anastasia Bryzhina surged clear with arms pumping, and behind her a race that had looked like a contest suddenly became a rout — one nation's disbelief turning instantly into pure, uncontained joy. Avramchuk, Koba, Marchak, and Bryzhina had carried Ukraine through every stage of this women's 4x400m final, with Great Britain, Germany, Poland, France, Italy, Slovakia, and Finland all chasing in one of the most competitive relay fields assembled. Hannah Williams had gone out hard on the second leg for GBR — audaciously hard — and the consequences played out brutally in the closing metres. Meanwhile the Italians, finishing further back, were celebrating a national under-20 record of their own.