At the sixth time of asking, Kirsty Gilmour can finally call herself a European champion.
Gilmour had lost five previous finals but on Sunday in Huelva, Spain, she exacted revenge on the player who broke her heart last year – Denmark’s Line Kjaersfeldt – to gift Scotland their first ever European Championships gold medal.
“I think all the other championships have led to today,” Gilmour told Badminton Europe after the 21-17 21-15 victory. “I’ve been thinking a lot recently about careers and the stories they tell, and whether I’d always be the one who got the silver medal. If that was my story, then that was my story.
“This is a much, much better story, one I will tell my grandkids about.”
Her triumph was made even more remarkable by limited preparation. Gilmour had not competed since withdrawing from the German Open last month with a calf injury. The moment also came full circle as she received the trophy from Carolina Marin, who beat her in her first final in 2016 and three more times thereafter.
Gilmour posing with Marin after accepting her trophy.
Meanwhile, Ben Lane and Sean Vendy ended England’s 28-year wait for men’s doubles gold with a 21-15 21-16 win over Toma Junior Popov and Christo Popov.
Vendy said: “We came into this tournament with one goal in mind – the gold medal. We played at a good level all week and are happy to be on the top step of the podium.”
Earlier in the day, Christo defeated top seed and two-time champion Anders Antonsen 21-12 21-19 to claim his first European title in men’s singles, ensuring France retained the crown following Alex Lanier’s triumph last year.
It marks Christo’s second European gold, having won the men’s doubles alongside his brother in 2025.
The women’s and mixed doubles finals were decided on Saturday.
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