Samuel James, 16-year-old British high jumper, opens World U20 campaign in Eugene, Oregon; 2.25m European U18 title, world U18 lead 2026

Athletics: Meet Samuel James, the 16-year-old European high jump champion chasing Eugene and Dakar 2026 glory

James opens his World U20 campaign in Eugene on Thursday (6 August), a month on from the 2.25m clearance that made him European U18 champion. He tells Olympics.com about the jump and his goals for the future.

Samuel James is only a few weeks into life as one of the world’s most talked-about young high jumpers, and he’s already looking past it.

The 16-year-old Briton won the European Athletics U18 title in Rieti, Italy, in July with a clearance of 2.25m – a championship record, a world U18 lead for 2026, and a personal best improved by 16 centimetres in a single afternoon. The height also equalled the 36-year-old British U18 best held by Steve Smith , who would go on to win Olympic high jump bronze at Atlanta 1996 .

“I went into this champs, I wanted a big PB, I wanted the championship record, but 2.25 was never in any of my thoughts,” James told Olympics.com.

He puts the jump down to patient technical work rather than a sudden leap. “Over the last few competitions back in England, I’ve spent a lot of time focusing on different aspects of my technique, so that when it actually got to the stage I could put it all together.”

James started athletics at seven and tried everything before a coach steered him towards the high jump. “I wasn’t that good at first, and I was quite small,” he said. “So now that I’ve grown up a bit, my technique’s carried me.”

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James clears 2.25m to win European U18 gold.

His 2.25m puts him joint third this year on the world U20 list, and he takes on qualifying at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Thursday (6 August), with the final set for Saturday (8 August).

“To go there would be an honour, first of all,” he said. “But to try and medal or even win, that’s the ultimate goal.”

Beyond that sits the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 , the first Olympic event staged in Africa. “Going to Africa would be amazing – I’ve never been,” he said. “The heat here (Italy) would have given me a little bit of practice for over there.”

“Within the next few years there’s so many great championships and opportunities for me to push my PB and hopefully get a few more records.”

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Getty Images for European Athletics

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