Team Estonia delegation chief Aivo Normak assessed the team's overall performance rating as "good," though no medals were won this time.

The strongest result came from decathlete Karel Tilga, with his 5th place and 8,286 points. Fellow decathlete Rasmus Roosleht was just two places behind with 8,199. Marleen Mülla tied for seventh in the women's pole vault.

Normak however singled out high jumper Karmen Bruus, who finished 13th with a jump of 1.88 in Saturday evening's final, as the biggest positive surprise – the athlete topped the mark she set in the final in the earlier heats. "She made the high jump final and cleared 1.90 meters or more again after a long time. Karmen's performance in qualifying was, in my opinion, one of the highlights for our team," Normak told ERR.

He also had praise for the sprinters on the team, who overcame difficult wind conditions in the 100m heats to reach the 200m semifinals. "They did what they needed to do and achieved their baseline goals," Normak noted.

Many of the Estonian competitors also exceeded their ranking positions. "Someone who came in ranked 30th finished 24th, and so on. Seen in that light, there is quite a lot that is positive," Normak went on.

Another point Normak made was that around half the team were competing in the senior European Championships for the first time, which he said was a challenging adjustment. "The whole atmosphere of a senior championship, the procedures before the competition, the long waiting times in the field events — that is a challenge for the athletes," Normak said. "If they were not quite able to deliver this time, the positive thing is that they gained valuable experience so they can do better next time."

Conditions in Birmingham were far from ideal, in the recent heatwave to have hit England, as well as the changeable winds mentioned; Normak said in some cases, for instance the pole vault, it would have been preferable if things were set up so that the approach was made in the opposite direction to the one used.

Sprinter Henri Sai finished 23rd in the 200m semifinals despite a groin injury, while the decathlon saw defending champion Johannes Erm withdraw on day two due to heel pain. Risto Lillemets finished 12th.

Despite the overall mixed results, Normak said the experience gained by the younger athletes bodes well for the future. "There are always particular factors at a championship. The conditions here were perhaps not the most ideal, but the positive thing is that they gained valuable experience."

The European Athletics Championships in Birmingham ran from August 10-16 inclusive, with Estonia fielding 20 athletes across track and field events.

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