Yonathan Kapitolnik came within one height of a first senior European medal on Friday, clearing 2.23m to finish tied for fifth in the men's high jump final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
The Israeli opened cleanly with 2.18m, then needed a second attempt to get over 2.23m after a first-try miss. From there the bar climbed to 2.27m — the height that would ultimately decide bronze — and Kapitolnik failed all three attempts, ending his interest in the podium.
Gold went to Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi, who cleared 2.32m, with Ukraine's Oleh Doroshchuk taking silver at 2.30m. Matteo Sioli completed an Italian one-two in the medals with bronze at 2.27m.
Kapitolnik shared fifth place at 2.23m with Poland's Mateusz Kołodziejski and Britain's Kimani Jack and Joel Clarke-Khan, according to the official results published by European Athletics.
"The competition was good for me," Kapitolnik said, quoted by ONE. "I had a difficult and long season full of injuries... I felt I did my best. The weather wasn't simple... I'm a bit disappointed I didn't make the 2.27."
The 23-year-old arrived in Birmingham off the back of a stop-start year after a 2023 season disrupted by injury. He signalled his return to top form with an indoor personal best of 2.31m in Tel Aviv in February 2025, just shy of his outdoor mark of 2.30m from 2022.
Kapitolnik remains one of Israeli athletics' brightest prospects, having won world and European U20 titles in 2021 and a World University Games gold in 2025, alongside six straight Israeli national titles. A top-five finish in a major senior final, even without a medal, keeps him firmly inside Europe's elite bracket heading into the rest of the season.
