Linda Botkova, 16-year-old Czech hurdler, wins 400m hurdles at European U18 Championships in Rieti; Breaks European U18 and U20 records.

Meet Linda Botkova, the 16-year-old European record-breaker chasing World Athletics U20 Championships glory

The Czech teenager smashed a 31-year-old European U20 400m hurdles record in July. In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com, Botkova talks records, relays, and more.

Linda Botkova needed 55.19 seconds to rewrite three decades of European hurdling history. Three weeks on, she is lining up in a different event entirely.

The 16-year-old produced the standout performance of the European Athletics U18 Championships in Rieti on 19 July, taking the girls’ 400m hurdles title in a time that took almost two seconds off her pre-championships personal best.

It broke the European U18 best of 56.01, held by Radostina Shtereva since 1983, and erased the European U20 record of 55.46, set by Ionela Tirlea in 1995.

Only one U18 athlete in history has ever run faster: four-time Olympic gold medallist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone , whose 54.15 from 2016 still leads the world U18 all-time list.

“I still can’t believe it,” Botkova told Olympics.com. “In three days, every single race was my personal best and a championship record, so it couldn’t have gone better. Hearing myself being called the new European champion sounds incredible.”

World Athletics U20 Championships 2026: Full schedule and all results

World Athletics U20 Championships 2026: Quincy Wilson, Tate Taylor, Shanoya Douglas lead stars in action, how to watch live

Two golds in little over an hour on the final day in Rieti

That 400m hurdles final fell on the last of the four days in Rieti – and it wasn’t the end of Botkova’s afternoon.

Little more than an hour later, she was back on the track for the women’s 1000m sprint medley relay, helping Czechia to gold in 2:05.65 for a world U18 lead, a championship record and a national U18 best.

“It really means a lot for me, and with the girls it’s just so fun,” she said of the double.

Botkova in action at the European Athletics U18 Championships.

Why she is running the short hurdles in Oregon

Botkova is at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Oregon this week, competing in the 100m hurdles, with the opening round and semi-finals scheduled for Friday (7 August).

“My coach and I decided to run this event because he doesn’t want me to overtrain,” she explains.

“Too many 400m races would be too much, so I’ll just do the 100m. It’s also important for me to enjoy the race, because that’s when I run even faster.”

The workload argument has already been tested. On day one at Hayward Field, Botkova anchored Czechia from sixth to second in the mixed 4x400m relay , running the fastest final leg in the race for a national U20 record of 3:18.16 and a silver medal on her global debut.

Botkova will now turn her attention to the 100m hurdles heats, but her switch to the shorter distance is only temporary.

“It’s all in such a short period of time, so I’ll just focus on the short hurdles,” she adds. “In the future, I’ll probably go back to the 400m hurdles.”

Getty Images for European Athletics

By Will Imbo Benedetta Acri

Athletics | U20 World Championships | Oregon | United States of America