1938 European Athletics Championships — 1938 edition of the European Athletics Championships
The 2nd European Athletics Championships was the first to include women's events and the only edition held across two separate cities.
Key Facts
- Total events contested
- 32 (23 men's, 9 women's)
- Germany's medal haul
- 12 gold, 32 total medals
- Men's venue
- Stade Olympique de Colombes, Paris
- Women's venue
- Praterstadion, Vienna
- World record set
- Claudia Testoni, 80m hurdles, 11.6 seconds
- First women's edition
- Women's events introduced for the first time
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the inaugural 1934 European Athletics Championships, European athletics sought to expand the competition by incorporating women's events for the first time, reflecting growing international recognition of women's athletics. The 1938 edition was scheduled across two host cities partly due to logistical and political circumstances, including Germany's annexation of Austria earlier that year.
The 2nd European Athletics Championships took place in September 1938, with men's events held in Paris on 3–5 September and women's events in Vienna on 17–18 September. Germany dominated the medal table with 12 gold medals, while notable performances included world records and European records set by athletes such as Claudia Testoni, Donald Finlay, and Stanisława Walasiewicz.
Germany's overwhelming medal haul reinforced its sporting prestige in the lead-up to World War II. The championships introduced women's competition to the European Athletics stage, a precedent that shaped future editions. The women's high jump result was later voided after it emerged that the initial winner, Dora Ratjen, was male, highlighting early challenges in gender verification in athletics.
Result
at Stade Olympique de Colombes, Paris; Praterstadion, Vienna