by croatiaweek
August 12, 2025
in
Croatia’s athletics star Jana Koščak has added another medal to her growing collection, winning gold in the heptathlon at the European U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, and equalling her own Croatian record with 6,293 points.
Already the reigning World U20 and former European U18 champion, the 19-year-old from Varaždin secured her “golden hat-trick” after a nail-biting battle with Hungary’s Sarolta Kriszt.
The duel came down to the final event – the 800 metres – where Koščak produced a career-best 2:14.18 to seal victory by just 42 points.
Koščak began strongly, matching her personal best of 1.92 m in the high jump and setting a lifetime best of 14.00 m in the shot put. After day one she led by 209 points, but Kriszt closed the gap with a swift 200 m.
Day two saw further drama, with the Hungarian leaping a personal best in the long jump to narrow Koščak’s lead to 87 points.
🥇 European U18 champion
🥇 World U20 champion
🥇 European U20 champion
Jana Koscak 🇭🇷 is crowned European U20 heptathlon champion!
And she equals her Croatian record with 6️⃣2️⃣9️⃣3️⃣ points!#Tampere2025 pic.twitter.com/U9qCnm57PN
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) August 10, 2025
A solid javelin performance from Koščak extended her advantage to 95 points ahead of the decisive 800 m. Although Kriszt, with a far superior personal best, surged ahead early, Koščak’s fierce finish kept the deficit small enough to claim gold – and the top spot in the 2025 world U20 rankings.
This marks Croatia’s 11th gold and 27th overall medal at European junior championships.
For Koščak, it is the perfect ending to her junior career, overcoming past injury setbacks and avenging her misfortune at the 2023 European Juniors in Jerusalem.