In a career that has spanned more than two decades, Britain’s Jo Pavey has won silver and bronze medals – but until tonight, never a gold.

Barely out of the junior ranks, David Storl was a fresh-faced 20-year-old when he competed at his first European Athletics Championships in Barcelona. He finished fourth.

Jo Pavey produced the performance of her life to win gold in a thrilling 10,000m final on the opening night of the European Athletics Championships in Zurich.

European Athletics is pleased to announce that the Netherlands’s Dafne Schippers and Pascal Martinot-Lagarde of France have been voted by the fans and media as European Athletes of the Month for July.

David Storl will defend his shot put title later today after qualifying for the final with consumate ease in the Letzigrund Stadium this morning where the much-heralded super-thick track yielded super-fast times for sprint rivals Myriam Soumaré ...

Mo Farah is one of the sport’s biggest stars. In Zurich, he would like to take gold in the 5000m and the 10000m – just like he did at the European championships in 2010, the Olympic Games in 2012, and the world championships in 2013.

Big men and the little women will provide the highlights of the first day of the 2014 European Athletics Championships when the first Zurich medals are due to be awarded in the men’s shot put and women’s 10,000m.

Renaud Lavillenie is relaxed, fully fit and looking forward to challenging for a third consecutive European pole vault title.

Dafne Schippers has transformed herself this season from a highly promising heptathlete to a major contender for European gold at both 100m and 200m.

It is 60 years since Switzerland staged its one and only European Athletics Championships in Berne and now, starting on Tuesday, Zurich will bridge that gap as it aims to go beyond just the dramatic action set for the Letzigrund Stadium.