European Championships: Estonia's Brüüs reaches high jump final, Sai advances in 200m

At the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, Estonian athlete Karmen Brüüs recorded her season's best mark in the high jump qualification and secured a spot in the final. Sprinter Henry Sai also advanced, reaching the semifinal of the 200 metres.

The 21-year-old Brüüs, competing at a major senior international championship for the first time in almost four years, cleared 1.75, 1.80, 1.84 and 1.88 metres on her first attempts. Clearing 1.88m already marked her best result of the season.

At the qualifying height of 1.91m, Brüüs grazed the bar and knocked it down on her first attempt, but cleared it successfully on her second try, improving her season's best for a second time that day.

Brüüs's personal record stands at 1.96m, set in 2022. That year she won the world championship at under-20 level and finished seventh at the senior world championships, setting an Estonian national record. Fifteen athletes who met the qualifying standard advanced to the final. The women's high jump final is scheduled for Saturday at 22:07 Estonian time.

Sai close to personal best

Henry Sai advanced to the 200m semifinal with the seventh-fastest qualifying time. In his heat, he ran the distance in 20.74 seconds, just 0.04 seconds off his personal best.

Across three heats, the 13 fastest athletes by time advanced directly to the semifinal, while another 11 runners qualified via the European ranking list. Estonia's national record over 200 metres is 20.43 seconds, set by Marek Niit in 2011. Sai said that with a favourable wind he believes he could break that record, and that he intends to show everything he's capable of in the evening race.

The men's 200m semifinals will take place on Thursday evening, starting at 22:05 Estonian time. Sai will run in the second of three semifinals, with the top two finishers from each semifinal plus the next two fastest overall advancing to the final.