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Vote for your Athlete of the Year and Rising Star

Lidingöloppet gets the European 2022-23 cross country season underway

Alina Shukh: "What I’m taking back from the Young Leaders Forum is the energy"

European Running Business Conference connects the running industry

Women's European Athlete of the Year nominees announced

Men's European Athlete of the Year nominees announced

Women's Rising Star nominees for 2022 Golden Tracks announced

Men's Rising Star nominees for 2022 Golden Tracks announced

Alina Shukh is best known for her exploits as a heptathlete, her career highlights so far include her gold medals at the 2016 European Athletics U18 Championships and the 2017 European Athletics U20 Championships. Her lifetime best of 6396 points dates back to 2020.
Injury prevented her from qualifying for Tokyo Olympics Games&nbsp; last year and, for the same reason, Shukh wasn&rsquo;t able to compete at the European Athletics Championships in Munich last month.
However, Alina was present in the Bavarian capital as the Ukrainian Athletic Federation asked her to be one of their representatives at the Young Leaders Forum which took place in conjunction with the European Athletics Championships, the first in-person edition of the Forum since 2018 owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
While she is still very motivated to return to competition, Alina also has big goals away from the track. 
Alina wants to create a club system for athletics in Ukraine, emulating those in many&nbsp; western European countries, and has just created her own company that gives financial advice to athletes.
European Athletics spoke to Alina at the Young Leaders Forum about her interests and aspirations off the track.
What is your involvement in athletics now?
I&rsquo;m still an athlete. I don&rsquo;t have a formal position in athletics. I wanted to be a member of the Ukrainian Athletics Commission four years ago but I was too young to be part of it at that time. We have elections for this position again in the near future and I hope I&rsquo;ll get a role.
However, wn our federation, we can work on some projects even if you don&rsquo;t have a role in the federation.
How did you become a Young Leader?
My federation proposed my name because I can speak English and I&rsquo;m active in Ukraine off the track. I was supposed to compete in Munich but I had an operation (earlier this summer) so they asked me to join the Forum.
 It&rsquo;s very difficult in our federation because only a few people speak English and for me was a very good experience because I wanted to know how the club system works in Europe. It was an ideal place for me to learn, and at the right moment.
What was the best experience you had at the Young Leaders Forum?
It was the second day of the Forum when we discussed the system in different countries and then we had to present our findings to other groups. I had the opportunity to discuss with people coming from different countries and I wanted to know a lot of things about their club systems, and they answered all my questions. 
I now have their contacts so I know that I can ask them when I need more information. I think that this part of the Forum was the best for me but, of course, I enjoyed every moment.
Have you ever had any experience as a volunteer?
I usually help during some competitions; I&rsquo;m good at English so I usually help the organisers and try to help them find solutions to various issues. 
Now I&rsquo;m working on another project; I&rsquo;m helping athletes to get scholarships to study and train in the USA. It is not easy to keep training in Ukraine and be funded so I want to help these athletes to go to the USA to have the chance to train.
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/Chq5U59oY5w"]
What are you taking back home from the Forum?
First of all: the energy. The energy to work, and then the knowledge of other sports systems. I read a lot of articles and books but it's not the same as talking with people. 
I still have in mind a phrase that I heard and remembered. We were talking about the fact that in most of Europe most of the coaches are volunteers and when I asked why, someone answered:, "My club gave me a lot, I want to give it something back." It is comments like this which keep me working every day and gives me the strength to keep looking for solutions.
Do you think that this kind of project is important?
I think that the Young Leaders Forum is incredible. I always wanted to have connections between different people and you don&rsquo;t have this connection in Ukraine. 
It was the first time I heard about the Forum. It&rsquo;s really important to have contacts and speak with other people. We can develop faster if we look at what other people have done right. We also had a lot of really good speakers and you can have the opportunity to talk with them. You feel like you can change a lot of things when you talk with them.
Where do you see yourself in athletics in 10 years?
Currently, I&rsquo;m creating a company called SMART: Sport, Money, ART. It&rsquo;s about financial education for athletes and branding education. I want it to be a huge company in my country that can provide financial advice and support to the clubs of my country. In 10 years&rsquo; time, I see myself working with European clubs.
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/Cf2_wotIORb"]

Have your say and vote now for your women's European Athlete of the Year across social media!
The men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s European Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars will be announced at the Golden Tracks award ceremony which takes place in Tallinn, Estonia on 22 October and will be streamed live on the European Athletics YouTube channel.
A long-list of 10 athletes has been compiled by an expert panel based largely on performances achieved at the European Athletics Championships in Munich, World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade and the Diamond League finals in Zurich.
The social media vote accounts for one-quarter of the overall vote with the Member Federations vote, media vote and expert panel vote each accounting for one-quarter of the vote. You can cast your vote by retweeting the image of the athlete you wish to vote for on Twitter, by liking the image on Instagram or by liking or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp;
Voting closes across all channels on Friday 30 September and a shortlist of three athletes will be announced in each category in the week starting 3 October.&nbsp;
In alphabetical order, the 10 nominees are:
Femke Bol (NED)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570785142624649216" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CikktczDgPt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1142752573027333&amp;set=pcb.1142755169693740" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Keely Hodgkinson (GBR)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570785191635087365" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cikky75DoUo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142752789693978&amp;set=pcb.1142755169693740" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Mujinga Kambundji (SUI)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570785246588833792" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cikk2XDDfUi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142752873027303&amp;set=pcb.1142755169693740" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570785289135853570" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cikk6aCj6wk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142752783027312&amp;set=pcb.1142755169693740" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Malaika Mihambo (GER)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570785330768510978" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cikk93eDU-J/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142752696360654&amp;set=pcb.1142755169693740" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Laura Muir (GBR)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570785381888716800" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CiklBkoD7b4/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142752659693991&amp;set=pcb.1142755169693740" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Antigoni Ntrismpioti (GRE)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570785411521458176" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CiklGrpjoFa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142752693027321&amp;set=pcb.1142755169693740" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Sandra Perkovic (CRO)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570785460917800966" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CiklLm8j338/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142752763027314&amp;set=pcb.1142755169693740" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Nafissatou Thiam (BEL)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570785512398659584" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CiklRvbDgoz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142752579693999&amp;set=pcb.1142755169693740" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Ivana Vuleta (SRB)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570785547676979201" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CiklXihjS2-/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142752583027332&amp;set=pcb.1142755169693740" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

Have your say and vote now for your men's European Athlete of the Year across social media!
The men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s European Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars will be announced at the Golden Tracks award ceremony which takes place in Tallinn, Estonia on 22 October and will be streamed live on the European Athletics YouTube channel.
A long-list of 10 athletes has been compiled by an expert panel based largely on performances achieved at the European Athletics Championships in Munich, World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade and the Diamond League finals in Zurich.
The social media vote accounts for one-quarter of the overall vote with the Member Federations vote, media vote and expert panel vote each accounting for one-quarter of the vote. You can cast your vote by retweeting the image of the athlete you wish to vote for on Twitter, by liking the image on Instagram or by liking or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp;
Voting closes across all channels on Friday 30 September and a shortlist of three athletes will be announced in each category in the week starting 3 October.&nbsp;
In alphabetical order, the 10 nominees are:
Kristjan Ceh (SLO)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570722626812911616" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CikITh7MicX/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1142620216373902&amp;set=pcb.1142630829706174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Armand Duplantis (SWE)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570722688746016768" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CikIXyUsD-B/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142620189707238&amp;set=pcb.1142630829706174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570722789656760321" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CikIgioM1RO/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142620329707224&amp;set=pcb.1142630829706174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Lamont Marcell Jacobs (ITA)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570722846833537025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CikIj-gs1wF/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142620443040546&amp;set=pcb.1142630829706174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Kevin Mayer (FRA)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570723020532256770" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CikIodgMzG6/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142620696373854&amp;set=pcb.1142630829706174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Wojciech Nowicki (POL)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570722960012607490" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CikIuH1sL2K/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142620196373904&amp;set=pcb.1142630829706174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Pedro Pichardo (POR)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570723203521323008" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CikIyehsJ-W/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142620336373890&amp;set=pcb.1142630829706174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Gianmarco Tamberi (ITA)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570723246865281024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CikI6InsNp7/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142620703040520&amp;set=pcb.1142630829706174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570722892236853250" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CikI9_uMBwZ/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142620419707215&amp;set=pcb.1142630829706174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
Jake Wightman (GBR)
<ul>
<li><a title="" href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1570723291433938945" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CikJBr_sInj/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1142620293040561&amp;set=pcb.1142630829706174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/9e50f9a3-c9fd-46d5-b256-6fa12f762f03?width=5000&amp;height=2813" alt="Banner M Year" />

The curtain is raised on the World Athletics Cross Country Tour in Europe this weekend with the famous Liding&ouml;loppet race, near the Swedish capital Stockholm, taking place on Saturday (24).
The main race will be over the traditional distance of 30km &ndash; significantly longer than the usual World Athletics Cross Country Tour distances of between 9-12km for men and 6-10km for women &ndash; but nevertheless still has a cachet and prestige that is hard to beat, with the event having been inaugurated in 1965.
With participant numbers returning to pre-pandemic levels, the organisers expect about 25,000 runners across their nine races across the weekend with just under half of them contesting the main event on Saturday.
A new name will be on the men&rsquo;s roll of honour as no previous winner of the TCS Liding&ouml;loppet will be on the start line and so the mantle of being the slight pre-race favourite falls on the shoulders of Samuel Tsegay.
Tsegay, having been cleared to run for Sweden in June after having previously competed for his native Eritrea, made his international debut in the famous gold and blue apparel at the European Athletics Championships but unfortunately failed to finish in the marathon.
However, he will be determined to bounce back and take a place on the podium after finishing just off it 12 months ago when he came home fourth in last year&rsquo;s Liding&ouml;loppet race.
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/Cizn5aZIHHs"]
His strongest challenge is expected to come from the experienced Dane Abdi Hakin Ulad &ndash; a European U23 10,000m bronze medallist back in 2013 &ndash; who, like Tsegay, had a disappointing marathon in Munich when he could only trail in 27th.
In the women&rsquo;s race, last year&rsquo;s winner, the Denmark-based Kenyan Sylvia Medugu &ndash; who also won in 2018 and 2019 &ndash; could do battle with Sweden's 2019 SPAR European Cross Country Championships bronze medallist Samrawit Mengsteab who was third in 2021. Sadly, the 2021 runner up Linnea Senstrom withdrew on the eve of the race due to injury.&nbsp;&nbsp; The event website (in Swedish and English) with results can be found <a href="https://www.lidingoloppet.se/en-GB/site/tcs-lidingoloppet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
This winter, there will be five more World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver and Bronze meetings &ndash; which come under European Athletics auspices &ndash; across the length and breadth of Europe and in as many different countries.
Four of these meetings come ahead of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Piemonte-La Mandria Park on Sunday 11 December. A full calendar is available <a href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/a410147c-3e35-4f5d-b112-54b8904235f4/2023%20World%20Athletics%20Cross%20Country%20Tour%20Silver%20&amp;%20Bronze%20calendar%20in%20Europe.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
&nbsp;

After Saturday&rsquo;s sunshine, rain and cloud arrived in the Spanish coastal city of Castell&oacute;n on Sunday (18) &ndash; but the concept of Dynamic New Athletics continued to shine brightly as the inaugural European DNA U20 Clubs competition concluded.&nbsp;
The innovative variant of the sport created by European Athletics - which here involved two-and-a-half hour matches involving six teams at a time and one event at a time &ndash; ended in victory for Turkey&rsquo;s Enka Sports Club ahead of Britain&rsquo;s Blackheath &amp; Bromley and AK Skoda from the Czech Republic.&nbsp;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1571486467729260545"]
Earlier at this &lsquo;Clash of the Clubs&rsquo; fixture in the Complejo Deportivo Gaet&agrave; Huguet Avenida de Ribesalbes there was a popular result in the &lsquo;B&rsquo; final, where host club Playas de Castell&oacute;n beat Team Lazio to the top place.&nbsp;
As the competition reached its culmination in The Hunt &ndash; the staggered-start medley relay comprising a women&rsquo;s 600m, a men&rsquo;s 400m, a women&rsquo;s 200m and a men&rsquo;s 800m &ndash; Enka had amassed 114 points, with AK Skoda on 96 and Blackheath &amp; Bromley on 80.&nbsp;&nbsp;
With the relative scores of the teams converted into starting-time differentials &ndash; every three points translated to an advantage earning a second &ndash; the points calculations dropped away like a spent rocket section. It was all about who crossed the line first.&nbsp;
Enka had earned the right to set off 5.9 before AK Skoda, and 11.2 before Blackheath &amp; Bromley.
The latter team moved through to second place thanks to their outstanding talent Samuel Reardon, who finished only a few weary steps behind Enka&rsquo;s Bahri Drogu, with AK Skoda, who had earned their place in the &lsquo;A&rsquo; final on appeal after initially being disqualified for a false start in the previous day&rsquo;s opening qualifier, taking third place.&nbsp;
Blackheath &amp; Bromley, winners of the previous day&rsquo;s first qualifying match, had been the only team to run a female athlete on the opening leg of the opening mixed 4x400m relay.&nbsp;
But while Michael Uzozie motored on leg two to put them back in contention, handing over a close fourth, they could not improve on that placing as AK Skoda earned the first 12-point win ahead of Enka.&nbsp;
Victory for the British team&rsquo;s Jodie Self in a closely contested 100m hurdles, the second event to finish, saw them draw level at the top, but thereafter the Turkish team moved inexorably into a lead they would not relinquish.&nbsp;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1571448184420945922"]
Enka&rsquo;s Mustafa Kuru claimed 12 points in the men&rsquo;s shot put after surpassing the final effort of 16.54m from AK Skoda&rsquo;s Tomas Prochazka with a throw of 16.63m.&nbsp;&nbsp;
After Ayetullah Demir&rsquo;s win in the 110m hurdles, the fourth event, Enka led with 44 points from AK Skoda on 40 and Blackheath &amp; Bromley on 32.&nbsp;
The Czech team remained in contention with their Turkish rivals as victory in the women&rsquo;s long jump by Katerina Cermakova &ndash; whose 5.65m off a wet runway beat the subsequent effort by Danish athlete Betty Jensen of Sparta by one centimetre &ndash; saw them close the gap to six points after six events.&nbsp;
There followed a significant blow for Blackheath &amp; Bromley as Luke Dronfield, who had earlier set a personal best in finishing third in his second event of the 110m hurdles, was disqualified for a false start in the 400m hurdles&nbsp;
Victory for Emirhan Ciftci in 53.39 saw Enka improve their lead as they reached 76 points, with AK Skoda on 64 and Blackheath remaining on 48 points.&nbsp;
Blackheath were banking on 12 points in the women&rsquo;s 100m from their European U18 200m champion Faith Akinbileje, who had reduced her personal best from 11.77 to 11.53 in winning the day before, thus bettering the club&rsquo;s U17 record of 11.54 set by two-time European 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith.&nbsp;
Despite the damp conditions underfoot as well as a significant headwind, Akinbileje did not disappoint, winning in 11.82 from Enka&rsquo;s Simay Ozciftci on 12.22 and AK Skoda&rsquo;s Viktorie Janska on 12.27.
&nbsp;Those conditions were creating particular difficulties for the field event athletes, but the men&rsquo;s high jump offered further examples of ingenuity as protagonists in the qualifying head-to-heads revealed their nominated heights just before their competition.&nbsp;
Victory went, as expected, to Turkey&rsquo;s Atilla Tasdelen, a 2.14m jumper, who cleared 1.97m in the jump-off for first place.&nbsp;
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/Cipd5gnIEuK"]
Blackheath&rsquo;s sprinting power was soon felt again as their world U20 finalist Jeriel Quainoo won the 200m with ease, coasting home in 21.43s and keeping the leading pair within range.&nbsp;
Lazio came out of the blocks fast in the &lsquo;B&rsquo; final, winning the opening mixed 4x400 relay in dramatic fashion after a tactical gamble by Ireland&rsquo;s Ratoath AC on the third leg, where they ran their second male runner against five female athletes, changed the dynamics of the race.&nbsp;
Despite having to retrieve the baton after it was dropped during the final handover, Ratoath&rsquo;s Niamh Murphy still had a lead of around 40 metres in the last leg and eventually finished third as Team Lazio&rsquo;s Gabrielangelo Brodone and then home runner Jose Pons passed her in the finishing straight.&nbsp;
The Italians built steadily on that start with victories in the 100 and 110m hurdles and second place in the men&rsquo;s shot put, after which they led with 46 points, four more than Playas de Castellon.&nbsp;
But the home team maintained its own momentum, with Luis Fernandez running 55.31 in the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, two hundredths behind Swiss winner Oliver Freudiger, after which Playas led by four points with four events to go before The Hunt.&nbsp;
The high jump guessing game was played perfectly by Ratoath&rsquo;s Emmanuel Osas, in consultation with his team coach on the infield. Osas nominated 1.71m, meaning he had only to jump a centimetre higher than his opponent, Clermont Auvergne&rsquo;s Clausel Mosnier, to earn three qualifying points - known as spikes in this concept - en route to the final placing jump-offs.&nbsp;
He did so, punching the air as he rose from the landing bed as his teammates cheered heartily in the stand. And soon Osas was doing the same thing again, to redoubled applause, after earning third place in clearing a personal best of 1.80m after Team Lazio&rsquo;s Matteo Lami had failed at that height.&nbsp;
Victory in the women&rsquo;s javelin meant Lazio went into the concluding event of The Hunt with 110 points, six points ahead of the hosts, which converted to a time advantage of two seconds.&nbsp;
But by the time the baton was handed on after the opening women&rsquo;s 600m race the home team had a 30 metre lead which was built upon in the men&rsquo;s 400m and women&rsquo;s 200m, leaving Adrian Gomez with a 50 metre lead to defend in the concluding men&rsquo;s 800m, which he did capably to secure a popular, rainswept victory.
Full results <a title="" href="https://rfeamanager.es/Results/Schedule?chid=DNAF1&amp;lang=ENG&amp;session=18%2F09%20Ma%C3%B1ana#DNAF1_LI_LI_5_1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Dominant Enka are crowned DNA U20 champions in Castellon

The inaugural European Dynamic New Athletics (DNA) U20 Clubs competition got off to a compelling start in Castell&oacute;n, Spain today, to the obvious appreciation of an enthusiastic crowd basking in September sunshine on Saturday (17).&nbsp;
After two qualifying matches, six teams earned their place in tomorrow&rsquo;s &lsquo;A&rsquo; Final &ndash; including Turkey&rsquo;s Enka Sports Club, who dominated the second competition, and Blackheath &amp; Bromley, British winners of Match 1 &ndash; with six others moving into the B final.&nbsp;
While DNA is all about drama there was an unexpected twist at the end the opening match in what has been billed as the &lsquo;Clash of the Clubs&rsquo; at the Complejo Deportivo Gaet&agrave; Huguet.&nbsp;
After Czech team AK &Scaron;koda had reached the concluding event &ndash; the mixed gender medley relay known as The Hunt &ndash; trailing Blackheath &amp; Bromley by just two points, which gave the British team a slim 0.7sec advantage in the start, their runner in the opening women&rsquo;s 600m, Katerina Matouskova, appeared to have ended their chances by false-starting.&nbsp;
As the starting gun fired she reacted instinctively rather than waiting for the red light alongside her to turn green.&nbsp;
For an awful couple of seconds Matouskova slowed to a halt, head in hands, before setting off in apparently forlorn pursuit of the British runner who was already 15 metres ahead of her.&nbsp;
One by one the other runners were released by their changing lights, delayed in proportion to the number of points their teams had accrued up to that point, although a national U20 team representing Andorra also erred in leaving the blocks.&nbsp;
The Czech and British teams exchanged the lead in the course of the subsequent men&rsquo;s 400m, women&rsquo;s 200m and men&rsquo;s 800m before Blackheath &amp; Bromley&rsquo;s Samuel Reardon - who has already competed for Great Britain at senior level at the World Athletics Indoor Championships - secured overall victory in assured fashion in the latter discipline.&nbsp;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1571098126307495940"]
When the scores came up there was dismay for the young Czech athletes as they were disqualified along with Andorra, with host club Playas De Castellon moving up to claim the third place in tomorrow&rsquo;s &lsquo;A&rsquo; final behind the British team and Norway&rsquo;s Oslo og Akershus.&nbsp;
But AK &Scaron;koda were restored to second place on appeal on the grounds that the starting gun which set the timing in motion should not have been heard, and that Matouskova had gained no unfair advantage &ndash; indeed, her reaction to the error meant she probably lost a couple of seconds.&nbsp;
A huge relief for both club and athlete &ndash; and an example of commonsense judging.&nbsp;
At the conclusion of the winner-takes-all last event, Blackheath &amp; Bromley were eventual Match 1 winners, followed by AK &Scaron;koda and Oslo og Akershus, with B final places going to Playas de Castellon, TVL Langgasse Bern and Andorra.&nbsp;
Enka Sports Club dominated The Hunt just as they had the foregoing competition to finish as Match 2 winners by a huge margin, with second-placed Sparta Atletik from Denmark joining them in the &lsquo;A&rsquo; final.&nbsp;
But after the eventual disappointment suffered by the hosts in Match 1, Spain&rsquo;s second representatives CD Surco Lucena roused the home crowd as they overtook Team Lazio to take the third &lsquo;A&rsquo; final place.&nbsp;
The Italians are now set for the &lsquo;B&rsquo; final along with Ireland&rsquo;s Ratoath AC France&rsquo;s Clermont Auvergne Athletisme.
Akinbileje the star of the show for Blackheath &amp; Bromley
Great Britain&rsquo;s European U18 200m champion Faith Akinbileje produced one of the results of the day in the Match 1 women&rsquo;s 100m, reducing the personal best of 11.77 by winning in 11.53, whooping and skipping in delight as she clocked the clock and setting her team-mates into jubilation overdrive trackside.&nbsp;
That bettered the club&rsquo;s U17 record of 11.54 set by two-time European 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith whose coach John Blackie has unearthed another new find in Akinbileje.&nbsp;
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1571085395277889537"]
Second place in a personal best of 12.03 went to Viktorie J&aacute;nsk&aacute; of AK &Scaron;koda shortly before she won the 100m hurdles in 14.02, an event in which she reached the final at this year&rsquo;s European Youth Olympic Festival and also made the semifinals at the European Athletics U18 Championships in Jerusalem.&nbsp;
Another of the top performances came from AK &Scaron;koda athlete Kateřina Cermakova in the long jump. The 16-year-old, who set a personal best of 5.91m earlier this year, extended that to 6.07m in her second head-to-head before winning the event with 6.06m.&nbsp;
The first match had begun with one of the uniquely compelling DNA spectacles &ndash; a 4x400m mixed relay in which free rein was given to coaches to decide how best to deploy the two male and two female runners &ndash; a decision that could be altered up until the last minute.&nbsp;
As the runners took to their blocks two teams had chosen to start with female runners &ndash; Blackheath &amp; Bromley, who fielded Cameron Kelly-Gordon, and the host club, who started with Rocio Rodriguez.&nbsp;
And the gamble paid off ultimately for the British quartet, whose last leg runner Pablo Seema Rocha took the lead 20 metres from the line to claim a 12-point maximum in 3:34.00 to overhaul Camilla Kristiansen from Oslo og Akershus who was handed a 40 metre lead which proved to be an insufficient buffer.
The men&rsquo;s high jump produced a compelling series of head-to-heads in which each pair had to simultaneously reveal the height they had secretly nominated by displaying it on their tablets.
The jeopardy involved here lies in the fact that if a jumper successfully clears a lesser height, a more capable opponent is still committed to clearing at the height they nominated &ndash; and if they have misjudged that a failure means defeat.
Oslo&rsquo;s Sondre Jahren appeared the dominant jumper, but he lost out in the final when he failed to clear 1.95m after Slivan Ryser, of TVH Langgasse Bern, had nominated and cleared 1.91m.
Turkey's Enka dominates proceedings in the evening session
In Match 2, Enka Sports Club earned victory in the opening 4x400 mixed relay - and kept on winning.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Cansu Nimet Sayin was first home in the 100m hurdles in 13.89 and Mustafa Kuru won the men&rsquo;s shot put before Team Lazio&rsquo;s Damiano Dentato broke the winning run with a time of 14.16 in the 110m hurdles, one place ahead of Enka&rsquo;s Ayetullah Demir.&nbsp;
Normal service was resumed in a tactical women&rsquo;s 800 metres, won by Turkey&rsquo;s European U18 silver medallist Ayca Fidanoglu although her task was admittedly made easier with European U18 3000m champion Sofia Thogersen only competing in the relay events for Sparta.&nbsp;
Team Lazio won the women&rsquo;s long jump ahead of Enka thanks to Greta Donato&rsquo;s personal best of 5.85m, but victory by Emirhan Ciftci in the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles and by Simay Ozciftci in the women&rsquo;s 100m put the Turkish team back in customary mode.
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1571189454823460864"]
Going into The Hunt they led on 122 points from Sparta Atletik on 96 and Team Lazio on 80, meaning that &ndash; with every three points of their advantage corresponding to a second &ndash; they could set off 8.6sec ahead of their closest rival.&nbsp;
That proved more than enough and sets up a potentially thrilling head-to-head with Blackheath &amp; Bromley, the winners earlier in the day in the first match.
The &lsquo;B&rsquo; final takes place at 9.00am local time tomorrow morning and the &lsquo;A&rsquo; commences at 12.00pm. Both matches will be streamed live on the <a title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/EuropeanAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Athletics YouTube channel</a>.
<ul>
<li>Match 1 <a title="" href="https://rfeamanager.es/Results/Schedule?chid=DNASF1&amp;lang=ENG&amp;session=17%2F09%20Ma%C3%B1ana#DNASF1_QQQ_QQQ_5_1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">results</a></li>
<li>Match 2 <a title="" href="https://rfeamanager.es/Results/Schedule?chid=DNASF2&amp;lang=ENG" target="_blank" rel="noopener">results</a></li>
</ul>
For more information on Dynamic New Athletics, please visit <a title="" href="https://dna.run/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dna.run</a>.

Blackheath & Bromley and Enka set up a mouthwatering DNA U20 clash in Castellon

The third edition of the European Running Business Conference &ndash; organised by European Athletics in conjunction with its co-hosting partners <a href="https://www.worldssportsgroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World's Sports Group</a> and <a href="https://marathongruppen.se/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marathongruppen</a>&nbsp;&ndash; took place in Stockholm, Sweden, from 15-17 September and brought together 300 participants.
No less than 45 speakers, all opinion formers and leaders in athletics organisations or within the running industry, were among the guests invited to share their expertise and experiences,
&ldquo;We, European Athletics, created the European Running Business Conference for you to connect and network. You are the running movement,&rdquo; commented European Athletics CEO Christian Milz. &ldquo;Through running we can achieve a better self and a better society.&rdquo;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/e398f86c-2651-45c0-b249-5a430a93ca51?width=5009&amp;height=3339" alt="Img 7317" />
&ldquo;Starting from 2025, we will have the European Running Championships in spring. This will be a very good investment for the cities organising the championships that will have tangible and intangible benefits&rdquo; added Milz.
During the first day in Swedish capital, participants could choose between four different topics: trail, ultra and marathon running; timing and registrations; race technology and a case study of Swedish mass participation events in the morning with the themes extended in the afternoon.
Among the high-profile speakers were the World Athletics Director of Competitions and Events Jakob Larsen, the general manager at Spartan Trail Mariano Alvarez, World's Sports Group CEO Charlotte Melchert and Swedish Mass Participation &amp; Sport Event Association President Staffan Movin.
The second day saw high level presentations from industry leaders including Prague International Marathon Managing Director Carlo Capalbo, Valencia Marathon Race Director and Association of International Marathons President Paco Borao and Golazo Group CEO Bob Verbeeck, the latter a former European indoor 3000m champion.
&lsquo;How disruption can be something positive?&rsquo; was a pertinent topic in the post-pandemic world and addressed by the CEO of running industry research and education advocates Mass Participation World Chris Robb.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/a5810894-b11b-4fcc-812d-c68ea7b3c08c?width=5009&amp;height=3339" alt="Img 7322" />
&ldquo;During the last years, runners started to run slower because they enjoy the experience and don&rsquo;t care about the time. After the pandemic, we have now to rebuild the trust of the participants to join a mass participation event. We need to collaborate for a rebirth,&rdquo; commented Robb.
The prestige of the European Running Business Conference was further emphasised by the presence of the former mayor of Prague Adriana Krn&aacute;čov&aacute; who discussed, &lsquo;capital and destination cities as our hosts&rsquo;.
Mastercard Data &amp; Services Vice President Beatrice Olsson Fahlberg explained the need to understand the spending of runners and associated tourists during events.
Charities and fundraising were discussed by Clara Miret and Marc Freudweiler from GivenGain before Sveriges Television (Swedish TV) Head of Sport &Aring;sa Edlund J&ouml;nsson talked about Generation Z (people born from 1997-2012) and related media trends.
&ldquo;Gen Z never lived without internet or smartphone. They want highlights, spectacular stuff, must-sees. Links are useful because they don&rsquo;t want to look for things, they just want to click on the link and have instantly what they need,&rdquo; commented J&ouml;nsson.
European Athletics Head of Development Marko Vasic looked at repricing strategies and the need for events and organisations being, &ldquo;more financially solid in the coming years&rdquo;.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/72c9962f-222c-44d5-a206-1f1738f1c203?width=5127&amp;height=3418" alt="Img 7361" />
The role of the marketplaces, every runner is a champion, and what works and what doesn&rsquo;t were the topics address Charlotte Melchert and Virgil Andrew of the World&rsquo;s Sports Group and also Claudio Zappetti, the Sales Director of AI company Pica
World Athletics Road Running Manager Alessio Punzi gave updates about the global governing body&rsquo;s strategies and initiatives in this area of the sport which was supplemented by presentations from Abbott World Marathon Majors Head of Partnerships Scott Cassin and the SuperHalfs Managing Director Sa&scaron;o Belovski.
The final day on Saturday focused on content as the driver in a transforming world and participants could choose between race organisation, TV and digital content, diversity and links within the running industry and building links with the local community as topics to focus upon.
The European Running Business Conference formally finished at lunchtime on Saturday, but many participants ran the Ramboll Stockholm Half Marathon later that day and got first-hand experience of an event organised by Event Partner Marathongruppen.
In the wake of the challenges of the last two years, both during and in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, European Athletics Head of Development Marko Vasic extolled the virtues of bringing the running industry together again in the Swedish capital.
&ldquo;We are confident that our running industry will be a leader once more and show the path to a more social and healthier world built through active sports participation and personal excellence,&rdquo; commented Vasic.
&ldquo;We are back to running and togetherness and our sport and our industry will provide excellence to millions across Europe,&rdquo; he added. The full programme for the 3rd European Running Business Conference can be found <a href="https://erbc2022.european-athletics.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here </a>as well as full details, including biographies, of all the speakers.

European Athletics and the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA) are inviting members of the athletics community in Europe to learn about the development of Dynamic New Athletics and discuss the best ways for the format to be rolled out in the coming years by taking part in an online conference on 13 and 14 October.
Entitled Team Athletics: The Sport&rsquo;s New Offer and free of charge to all those who register in advance, the conference is aimed at athletes, coaches, club and school leaders and anyone else interested in understanding the potential of DNA to bring added energy to all levels of the sport.
European Athletics Vice President Libor Varhanik, who leads the DNA steering group, explained that the conference will be a unique opportunity to contribute views on how DNA and classical athletics can work in parallel to increase participation levels and appeal to younger, device-oriented audiences in the 21st century.
&ldquo;We appreciate the support of many partners, like the European Olympic Committees, the European Commission, local organising committees and, of course, the RFEA, for our efforts over nearly five years to design and test various aspects of this innovative concept, which we are convinced can bring new value to all levels of the performance pyramid,&rdquo; said Varhanik.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;Now is the time for those who really make our sport happen on a day-to-day basis to have their say and tell us what they want to see," he added.
RFEA president and European Athletics Council member Raul Chapado said his federation was proud to co-host conference as it reflects the major role it has played by creating a version of DNA for schools, a DNA smartphone app and co-hosting this week&rsquo;s European DNA U20 Clubs event in Castell&oacute;n as parts of the European Union-funded Jungle Athletics project.
&ldquo;From elite performers down to club level and school children, Spanish athletes and coaches really enjoy and get a lot out of DNA, so we think it is important to share the concept with the rest of Europe,&rdquo; he commented.
The conference programme will comprise the following two sessions:
<ul>
<li>Thursday 13 October (14:00-16:00 CET) &ndash; The Jungle Athletics Project &amp; National DNA Programmes</li>
<li>Friday 14 October (14:00-16:00 CET) &ndash; The DNA Project: Roadmap for the future</li>
</ul>
In addition to members of the DNA project team, the line-up of speakers and panellists will include athletes, coaches, event organisers, app designers, broadcasters and social media influencers.
You can book your place by registering at the following link and ticking all the boxes to receive relevant information about the conference and other European Athletics activities:
<a href="https://rfeaevents.es/team-athletics/register">https://rfeaevents.es/team-athletics/register</a>
A detailed programme, including speakers, will soon be available via the European Athletics website <a href="http://www.european-athletics.org">www.european-athletics.com</a>&nbsp;and <a href="http://www.dna.run">www.dna.run</a>.

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