Christophe Lemaitre is a French sprinter who specialises in the 100 and 200 metres. In 2010, Lemaitre became the first white athlete to break the 10-second barrier in an officially timed 100 m event. Lemaitre has run a sub-10 second 100m on seven occasions: three times in 2010 and four times in 2011. He won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2012 London Olympic Games and in the 200 metres at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.

The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from 27 July to 1 August 2010. Barcelona was the first Spanish city to host the European Championships.