1966 European Athletics Championships — 1966 edition of the European Athletics Championships
The 8th European Athletics Championships introduced mandatory gender verification for female competitors, causing several world record holders to miss the event.
Key Facts
- Edition
- 8th European Athletics Championships
- Dates
- 30 August – 4 September 1966
- Venue
- Nép Stadium, Budapest
- First mandatory gender verification
- Applied to all female competitors for first time
- Notable absentees
- Iolanda Balaș, Tamara Press, Tatyana Shchelkanova
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A new IAAF ruling made gender verification mandatory for female events. This policy was applied for the first time at the 1966 championships, requiring all women competitors to undergo a sex check before they could participate.
The 8th European Athletics Championships were held from 30 August to 4 September 1966 at the Nép Stadium in Budapest, Hungary. The event was reported on contemporaneously by the Glasgow Herald and proceeded under the newly enforced gender verification requirement.
Several leading women athletes, including world record holders Iolanda Balaș of Romania and Soviet athletes Tamara Press and Tatyana Shchelkanova, were absent from the championships. Their non-participation significantly affected the competitive field in the high jump, shot put, and long jump events.
Result
at Nép Stadium, Budapest, Hungary