We are under way in the longest track event of these championships.

It's a fairly slow pace, understandably given the heatwave conditions in Birmingham. There are water stations lining the track at Alexander Stadium, should athletes wish to avail of them.

We're already rattling through the first attempts in the shot put and Adrianna Sulek-Schubert - the overall leader at the moment - has set the standard with a 14.65m throw.

Ireland's Kate O'Connor, who is in second place, has got plenty of work to do after an opening throw of 13.46m.

And a 12.79m effort won't do much to help Katarina Johnson-Thompson's hopes of climbing up the standards.

Two attempts left, though!

We will shortly be underway with our first track event of the evening - with the first of six golds on the line.

Italy’s Nadia Battocletti will attempt to become the first woman to complete the European 5000m and 10,000m double at consecutive championships.

Dutch athlete Maureen Koster has run a European-leading 30:50.31 this season but was also a medal contender in the 5000m and had to settle for sixth.

Great Britain’s reigning European bronze medallist Megan Keith added Commonwealth bronze over 5000m in her most recent outing, having come ninth over 10,000m in Glasgow.

She’s capable of adding to her medal collection here and will be joined by team-mates Izzy Fry and Poppy Tank.

Keely Hodgkinson's bid for European gold continued yesterday as she stormed into the final of the women's 800m.

Olympic champion Hodgkinson crossed the line first in one minute 57.38 seconds, holding off the fast-improving Femke Broeders-Bol - a two-time world 400m hurdles champion who chose to switch events this season - to advance.

"The excitement makes me excited. I can't wait to step out there. It brings out the best in me," Hodgkinson added.

Hodgkinson will be joined in the final by fellow Briton Jemma Reekie.

Sebastian Coe
President of World Athletics on BBC Two

It's the toughest event on the track. It's complicated and tough. You can only absorb about 20% of the oxygen you need to do what the girls are doing out there tonight.

I think it will be one for the ages and the race of the championships.

Image source, Getty Images

In tonight's showpiece event, fans will be treated to a blockbuster final featuring three of the biggest names in world athletics right now - including Keely Hodgkinson.

Hodgkinson has won the past two European titles and will be hoping to defend her crown following a successful season that has seen her break the long-standing indoor 800m world record, win her first world title and improve her British record outdoors.

No-one has broken Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova's 800m time of 1:53.28 seconds that was set back in 1983. There have been claims that Kratochvilova's performance in Munich was assisted by the systematic doping regime that existed in her country at the time - something she has strenuously denied.

It is Audrey Werro, however, who has come closest to breaking that record. She has run three of the nine fastest women's 800m times in history during a superb unbeaten outdoor season.

After improving to 1:53.80 seconds in June - the third fastest in history - Werro's personal best is more than half a second faster than Hodgkinson's 1:54.33.

But there will be a new contender for Hodgkinson and Werro to be wary of in the form of Femke Broeders-Bol.

Still largely an unknown in the 800m after deciding to switch disciplines from 400m hurdles, the Dutch athlete impressed at the Paris Diamond League event in June with a time of 1:55.60.

"Femke looked as though she had another gear there but didn't use it - she didn't need to expend any more energy," Radcliffe said after Broeders-Bol finished close behind Hodgkinson in the semi-finals.

"We know Keely has the endurance, but does Femke have that endurance to bounce back for three rounds?"

Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill
Three-time world heptathlon champion on BBC One

It's now a lot to do with how KJT is approaching these events and what she's thinking because the heptathlon is more of a mental event than physical at times, and Kat's definitely experienced that over the years.

She is at the stage of her career where it's just about managing her body, managing expectations, enjoying what you do and trying to produce performances and she's doing that here.

Image source, Getty Images

Ireland's Kate O'Connor is sitting strong in second place after the first two events of the heptathlon.

Just a couple of weeks after winning Commonwealth Games gold, she is just a point off Poland's Adrianna Sulek-Schubert who leads with way with 2135 after the morning session.

O'Connor recorded a personal best in the 100m hurdles, finishing fourth in heat two with a time of 13:30 to come in 11th overall.

In the high jump, O'Connor again produced a personal best of 1.86m which was matched by Sulek-Schubert.

Two events down, five to go in the heptathlon. And we've got two of those coming up this evening.

The shot put - typically one of Katarina Johnston-Thompson's weakest events - is about to get up and running at 19.35 BST. That will be followed by the 200m at 20:55 BST.

The long jump, javelin and 800m will then take place on Saturday to decide the medals.

Full schedule (finals in bold):

19:35 Heptathlon shot put- Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson continues her bid for a medal

19:45: Women's 10,000m final - GB's Megan Keith, Izzy Fry and Poppy Tank

20:00: Men's high jump final - GB's Joel Clarke-Khan and Kimani Jack topped their respective qualifying groups

20:30: Women's discus final

20:40: Men's 400m hurdles final - Norway's Karsten Warholm is aiming for his fourth European title

20:55 Heptathlon 200m

21:25: Men's 200m final - GB's Zharnel Hughes will look to win his second European title at this distance

21:45: Women's 800m final - Keely Hodgkinson bids to retain her title as she lines up alongside Audrey Werro, Femke Broeders-Bol and Jemma Reekie

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Here's a reminder of how the medal table looks after four days of the championships.

Great Britain's team tops the standings with four golds and three silvers.

Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake
British sprinter on BBC Radio 5 Live

It unfolded exactly how I thought it would. I knew Dina would run a blistering bend and then say 'Amy, come and catch me.'

That's what Amy has done. She showed her strength and composure to come through the last 70m.

Dina ran a great 130m, but the strength of Amy and the confidence that she had exuberate at this championships came through.

Reminiscent of the London Diamond League. The battle of the Brits, as well.

Dina went 22.28 and Amy went 22.30. Dina went 22.29 there and Amy went 22.19, so Amy found a tenth and it was enough to get the victory.

• Amy Hunt completed a 100m-200m double, winning the longer distance from Ireland's Rhasidat Adeleke and compatriot Dina Asher-Smith, while another team-mate, Success Eduan, finished sixth.
• Ben Pattison finished sixth in the men's 800m, while team-mate and fellow medal hope Max Burgin withdrew shortly before the race, which was won by Ireland's Mark English.
• Elise Thorner finished fifth in the women's 3,000m steeplechase, which was won by Germany's Gesa Felicitas Krause.
• Zharnel Hughes progressed to Friday's men's 200m final, but teenage team-mate Ebuka Nwokeji did not move forward.

BBC One

Image source, Getty Images

Great Britain cruised to the women's 4x400m relay final this morning, winning their heat with a time of 3:22.25, and the team spoke to BBC One after the race.

Emily Newnham: "It was nice to get out and not have a hurdle right in the way. Felt like I could just run freely. It was super fun, I was kinda scared at leg one because I've not really done it before but it's just like a 400."

Lina Nielsen: "Emily gave us a good start, smashed it and I saw the exchange was right on the line so I said run it like a four [hundred]. She smashed it and I knew I had to maintain that lead."

Charlotte Henrich on running with such a big lead by the third leg: "It's great - I was just finishing and I was like wait I feel so fine. I don't know if it was the easiest to run but it was good."

Nicole Yeargin: "The fans were so loud you never know if someone's coming up on you or not but I just saw the gap these ladies did and I knew I had to give my best and hold it so we looked dominating."

As well as KJT, there was plenty of other British interest this morning at Alexander Stadium.

There will be a trio of British interest in the men's 1500m final as Jake Wightman, Jake Heyward and Arlo Ludewick all through to tomorrow's medal race. Wightman is the former world champion but has been suffering with a calf issue that affected his Commonwealth Games.

Great Britain also progressed to the finals of both the men's and women's 4x400m relays. Individual 400m champion Matthew Hudson-Smith surprisingly competed in the heats, helping his team mates into Sunday's final.

In the men's pole vault, Sweden's Mondo Duplantis was the star attraction as ever in the heats as he eased his way into the final - where he will be joined by two-time British champion Owen Heard, who qualified joint-12th to continue his good form following his Commonwealth Games bronze.

It was bad news for Britain in the women's javelin however, where Freya Jones was unable to finish in the top 12 so misses out on the final.

Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill
Three-time world heptathlon champion on BBC One

Image source, Getty Images

It's hard to know what to expect from her.

She's obviously not done much this season, she's thrown the shot put and she's openly said she's had a bit of an injury niggle that's stopped her going to the Commonwealth Games and also doing Ratingen, which is one a lot of heptathlon athletes like to do.

She's not really opened her season yet so it's hard to gauge what form she's in.