Title fights in Rome
What you need to know about the European Athletics Championships
Javelin thrower Julian Weber hopes for a European Championship medal in Rome. Photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
For some, the European Athletics Championships are a stopover on the way to the Olympics, for others they are the highlight of the season. What else is important before the start of the European Championships.
Two months before the Olympic Games, the first Highlight of the season in athletics.
In the place where the national football team became world champions in 1990, the great German team has much better chances of winning medals at the European Championships than at the previous World Championships in Budapest.
When and where will the European Championship take place?
Around 50 years after the last European Championship in Rome, the continental championships will be held in the Olympic Stadium from June 7 to 12 – between the Champions League final and the start of the European Football Championship. The second World Championships were held at the same venue in 1987, and the Olympic athletics competitions in 1960. The first European Championships took place 90 years ago in Turin.
What significance does the European Championship have in the Olympic year?
For the German Athletics Association, sports director Jörg Bügner called the competitions at the start of the season a top event and announced a large German team. The DLV is now sending around 110 athletes. The association wants to run in two parts: For the top athletes, Bügner sees the European Championships as an ideal way to assess their position in view of the Olympic Games in August. “For those who are not coming to the Games, this will be the highlight of the year,” he said.
Long jump Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo is looking forward to “one of the highest ranking championships” and the competition. “It is a way of assessing my position and a dress rehearsal for Paris, but also a highlight of the season that I am very motivated to approach,” said the 30-year-old.
Who carries Germany’s hopes?
Naturally, Mihambo is one of the German contenders for medals. The two-time world champion has fully recovered from the muscle fiber tear that prevented her from taking part in the World Championships last year. Unlike at the medal-less World Championships in Budapest, the DLV team is likely to make it onto the podium: Sprinter Gina Lückenkemper, decathlete Niklas Kaul and javelin thrower Julian Weber were among those who triumphed at the European Championships two years ago in Munich, and they can be expected to do well this time too.
With 16 medals – seven gold, seven silver and two bronze – the DLV was even number one at home. Decathlete Leo Neugebauer is missing in Rome; he will be competing in the college championships in the USA just before the European Championships begin. 5000-meter European champion Konstanze Klosterhalfen is also not competing due to an infection. High jumper Tobias Potye, who came second at the European Championships at home two years ago, also had to cancel.
What is there to win?
The European Athletics Federation will award 50,000 euros for each of the top ten performances, a total of half a million euros. The men’s and women’s disciplines were divided into five groups: sprints including hurdles, middle and long distances on the track, throwing disciplines, jumping, and competitions on the road, in the all-around competition and in the relays. A points system is used to make the performances comparable. The association calls it a milestone because it is the first time that athletes have benefited financially from a European Championship.
Who broadcasts the competitions?
The public broadcasters ARD and ZDF will alternate between reporting live on linear television over the six days of competition, with ARD starting on Friday and ZDF broadcasting the final event. The competitions can also be viewed via live stream.