Vainio, 28, won in a time of 2:22:26, taking nearly three minutes off the previous championship record held by French woman Christelle Daunay from 2014.
The Finn, who is the fastest European this year with a time of 2:20:39 in February’s Seville marathon, paced the race with near-perfect splits. She went through halfway in 70:40 on an undulating, 5km lapped course around the city centre. Her three-minute lead at 13.1 miles had extended to nearly five by the finish, with Hungary’s Lili Anna Vindics-Toth holding out for silver (2:27:21).
Great Britain’s Abbie Donnelly was twelve seconds behind her to complete the podium, picking up a bronze on home soil for the nation’s first-ever medal in this event. Donnelly led GB to the team title — fastest three athletes for each nation — as Natasha Wilson came fifth (2:27:54) and Rose Harvey, who had been part of the lead pack up until halfway, finished 14th (2:30:34).
It’s a first senior international gold for Vainio, who was a steeplechaser earlier in her career, and placed fifth in the marathon at the World Championship’s last year.
“I felt so strong all the way,” Vainio said in the mixed zone. “I knew I was going to run fast and just waited to see if someone was coming with me, but I just ran alone.” She is now targeting the 2028 Olympics after spending two years preparing for this race. “I need to keep believing that I can stay strong and do it (medal) again. To win a European gold for Finland means a lot.”
Petros came out on top in a competitive men’s race that saw nine athletes break the old championship record of 2:09:51, which Belgium’s Koen Naert had held since 2018.
By Liam Tharme
Aug. 16, 2026