The 6th day of competition at the 27th European Men’s and Women’s Championships, in Birmingham, Great Britain, coincides with a very important feast day of the Greek Orthodox Church, namely the earthly farewell to the Most Holy Theotokos. On the Feast of the Assumption, two of our athletes will be competing for honors at the “Alexander” Stadium, with Filippa Fotopoulou competing in the morning long jump preliminaries and Elena Kulitsenko in the evening high jump final.

Filippa Fotopoulou will be competing for the fourth time at the European Women’s Championships, but this will be her third time in the long jump, as in 2016 in Amsterdam she was a member of the 4x100m relay team that broke the Cypriot record (43.87). Our champion recently decided to work with Kyriakos Antoniou, the coach of her twin sister Olivia, upon returning to Cyprus from Guadalajara, Spain, where she had been training with the Cuban coach Luis Felipe Meliz Linares. Philippa is the only Greek athlete to have reached every final in her European Championship appearances to date, as in her two previous long jump competitions, she advanced to the top 12.

In Birmingham, she’ll be aiming for her third consecutive final; if she succeeds, she’ll tie Apostolos Parellis, who reached three European Championship finals in the discus throw. “I feel great. I’m in pretty good shape and I’m ready to fight for my spot in the final again. The setback at the Commonwealth Games, where I made mistakes that aren’t up to my usual standard, taught me a lesson, and on Saturday I want to start strong in the qualifying round and go far,” said Filippa Fotopoulou, among other things, whose best performance this year is 6.78m.

* Two qualifying groups will compete simultaneously at 10:25 a.m. (12:25 p.m. in Cyprus), with Filippa placed in Group A and set to compete 11th.

* The qualifying standard for direct advancement to the final has been set at 6.80 m or a place among the top 12, which means that for our champion to advance directly to the final, she’ll need to set a new Cypriot record. And why not…

Kulitshenko Aims for the Top Spot…

In her first appearance at a European Championship, Elena Kulitshenko managed to secure her spot in the high jump final. The athlete from Faz Kan, who is coached in Birmingham by Marco Fassinotti’s associate, had an amazing qualifying round, clearing all four heights she attempted on her first try, including the 1.91-meter mark required for the final. Now, on Saturday evening (August 15, 2026, 8:07 p.m., 10:07 p.m. in Cyprus), our young champion will aim to deliver her best performance of the year and jump as high as possible. Fifteen athletes have qualified for the final, and Kulitshenko is scheduled to be the 12th to compete. “After the challenges at the Commonwealth Games, with all the rain, I feel great going into this competition and am ready to give my best performance. My coach and I have been working on specific aspects of my approach and explosiveness, and I hope everything goes well and that I can make Cyprus proud—I’d like to thank them very much for their support,” Elena Kulitshenko told us, among other things.

* Note that the high jump heights will be: 1.83 m, 1.88 m, 1.92 m, 1.95 m, 1.97 m, 1.99 m, 2.01 m, and, if necessary, in increments of two points…

DAY 6 – SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2026

11:50 13:50 WOMEN’S LONG JUMP – 2 Qualifying Groups simultaneously

              (Filippa Fotopoulou – Group A – qualifying standard 6.80 m)

8:07 p.m. 10:07 p.m. Women’s High Jump – Final

              (Elena Kulitsenko)

PHILIPPA FOTOPOULOU

Date of birth: 12/20/1996

Place of birth: Limassol

Place of residence: Limassol

Athletic Club: Pancyprian Athletic Club of Nicosia (GSP)

Coach: Kyriakos Antoniou

Event: Long Jump

Personal best: 6.79 m (May 25, 2022, Kallithea)

This Year’s Best: 6.78 m (May 22, 2026, Kifissia)

European ranking (as of 07/26/26): No. 17 (1,191 points)

Comparison of this year’s performance with other competitors: 12th out of 30

INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

11th European Championships 2024, Rome (final)

12th European Championships 2022, Munich (final)

2nd Balkan Championships 2016, Pitești

2nd place, 2023 Balkan Championship, Kraljevo

2nd place, 2025 Balkan Championship, Volos

3rd ^place, 2021 Balkan Championship, Smederevo

3rd Balkan Championship 2022, Craiova

3rd Balkan Championship 2024, Izmir

3rd Balkan Championship 2026, Volos

1st Balkan Indoor Championship 2026, Belgrade

2nd Balkan Indoor Championship 2021, Istanbul

2nd Balkan Indoor ^{Championships} 2025, Belgrade

^8th Commonwealth Games 2022, Birmingham

^7th Mediterranean Games 2022, Oran

2nd World Gymnasiade 2013, Brasília

3rd Mediterranean Games 2022, Oran (4x100m)

^1st Small States Athletics Championships 2026, Monaco

Previous European Championships

2016 Amsterdam: National 4x100m relay: 43.87 (9th out of 16) (Cyprus record)

2022 Munich: FINAL 6.26 m (12th out of 24) (qualifying round: 6.54 m)

2024 Rome: FINAL 6.58 m (11th out of 28) (qualifying round: 6.63 m)

WHEN IS THE EVENT?

Qualifying: 08/15/26, 11:50 a.m. (1:50 p.m. Cyprus time)

FINAL: 08/16/26, 8:05 p.m. (10:05 p.m. Cyprus time)

ELENA KOULITSENKO

Date of birth: July 28, 2002

Place of birth: Odintsovo, Russia

Place of residence: Turin, Italy

Gymnastics Club: Limassol Olympia (GSO)

Coach: Fuzz Caan

Event: High Jump

Personal best: 1.97 m (June 8, 2024, Oregon) – Cypriot women’s and U23 record

This year’s results: 1.91 m (02/10/26, Trinec) – indoor, 1.91 m (08/13/26, Birmingham)

European ranking (as of 07/26/26): No. 13 (1,184 points)

Comparison of this year’s performance with other competitors: 10/30

INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

^7th 2024 Olympic Games, Paris

^9th World Championships 2025, Tokyo

7th World Indoor Championships 2025, Nanjing

2023 World Championship Final, 13th Budapest

^5th Commonwealth Games 2026, Glasgow

1^st NCAA Outdoor Finals 2024, Eugene

1^st NCAA Outdoor Championships 2025, Eugene

1^st NCAA Indoor Finals 2025, Virginia Beach

1^st European U23 Championships 2023, Espoo

2nd World University Games 2023, Chengdu

3^rd World University Games 2025, Bochum

3^rd 2023 NCAA Finals (Outdoor), Austin

3rd NCAA Finals 2023 (Indoor), Albuquerque

3^rd NCAA Finals 2024 (Indoor), Boston

2nd European Youth Olympic Festival 2017, Győr

Previous European Championships

This will be their first appearance

WHEN THE MATCH IS PLAYED

FINAL: 08/15/26, 8:07 p.m. (10:07 p.m. Cyprus time)