The 3rd European Athletics Championships were held from 22 August to 25 August 1946 in the Bislett Stadion in Oslo, Norway. For the first time it was a combined event for men and women, and for the first time a city in Scandinavia hosted the championships. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald.

Mikko Hietanen (1911–1999) was a Finnish long-distance runner, European Champion and world record holder, who competed for his native country at the Summer Olympics in London 1948 and in Helsinki 1952.