Auf Wiedersehen Munich! Hosts Germany’s best championships this century

Bol emulates Blankers-Koen with third gold medal of the championships in Munich

Vuleta: "It wasn’t even an option to come here and fail to win"

Kaul’s second day charge clinches dramatic decathlon gold in Munich

Home favourite Luckenkemper wins a 100m thriller by a whisker in Munich

55,000 spectators flock to watch European Championships Munich 2022 launch in style

<h2>European Athletics Championships&nbsp;</h2>
<p>As the jewel in the crown of events organised by European Athletics, the biennial European Athletics Championships are the showcase of the very best that the continental branch of the sport has to offer.</p>
<p>Hosts Italy had their best ever European Athletics Championships in Roma 2024, topping the medal table with eleven gold medals and 24 medals in total. This was the best ever European Athletics Championships by a host nation, surpassing the 20 medals won by Germany when Berlin staged the 2018 European Athletics Championships.</p>
<p>Among the many highlights from the host nation, Leonardo Fabbri and Gianmarco Tamberi broke the championship records in the shot put and high jump respectively while Nadia Battocletti sprinted to victory in both the 5000m and 10,000m. Lamont Marcell Jacobs retained his European 100m title and contributed to Italy's electric victory in the 4x100m while Yemaneberhan Crippa won half marathon gold and led Italy to the team title.</p>
<p>From an international standpoint, Croatia's Sandra Elkasevic won a historic seventh successive European discus title to become the first athlete in championship history to win seven gold medals. Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen also became the first male athlete, at 23, to win six gold medals at the European Athletics Championships courtesy of his third 1500/5000m double.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In total, an incredible 15 championship records were set in Roma 2024. The full results from the championships can be found <a href="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/fe31f746-d9d1-4555-8899-d095f5843ff0/Results%20Book%20-%20European%20Athletics%20Championships%202024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p>
<p>The 2026 European Athletics Championships will be held in Birmingham, Great Britain.&nbsp;</p>

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Results Book Roma 2024

Roma 2024 - Athlete Biographies (Day 6)

Roma 2024 - Athlete Biographies (Day 5)

Roma 2024 - Athlete Biographies (Day 4)

Roma 2024 - Athlete Biographies (Day 3)

Roma 2024 - Athlete Biographies (Day 2)

Roma 2024 - Athlete Biographies (Day 1)

Daily Programme - 12 June (Day 6)

Daily Programme - 11 June (Day 5)

Daily Programme - 10 June (Day 4)

Daily Programme - 9 June (Day 3)

Daily Programme - 8 June (Day 2)

Daily Programme - 7 June (Day 1)

Roma 2024 Statistics Handbook (as of 5 June)

Roma 2024 Media Guide

Final Entries (by season's best)

Final Entries (by country order)

Confirmed Relay Teams

Media Logistics Information 

European Athletics Championships

Road To Rome

The European Athletics Championships is a biennial event and the continent's premier athletics competition.

Athletes qualified for sprint semifinals

Medal Ceremony Timetable (as of 3 June)

Timetable (as of 4 June)

Team Manual

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Qualifying System and Entry Standards

Competition Regulations

Roma 2024 | Day six highlights

Roma 2024 | Day five highlights

Roma 2024 | Day four highlights

Roma 2024 | Day three highlights

Roma 2024 | Day two highlights

Roma 2024 | Day one highlights

"Athletics is my mission." Yaroslava Mahuchikh | Ignite

My Moment | Mondo soars over 6.05m

"To become the best is what you strive for." Femke Bol | Ignite

"I'm more motivated than ever." Katarina Johnson-Thompson | Ignite

My Moment | Femke Bol on Munich 2022

'Illuminate' | Official song of Roma 2024 

My fire | Nick Griggs

My Fire | Mattia Furlani

Munich 2022 | Women's 4x400m race replay

Munich 2022 | Day seven highlights

Munich 2022 | Women's 3000m steeplechase race replay

Munich 2022 | Day six highlights

Munich 2022 | Men's 5000m race replay

Munich 2022 | Day five highlights

Munich 2022 | Women's 10,000m race replay

Munich 2022 | Day four highlights

Munich 2022 | Day three highlights

Munich 2022 | Day two highlights

Munich 2022 | Arthur Abele's emotional farewell

Munich 2022 | Day one highlights

<p><strong>The mixed 4x400m relay will make its debut at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships on Friday (7) night &ndash; and a Dutch team including Femke Bol are the probable favourites to become the inaugural champions.</strong></p>
<p>Bol, the reigning European 400m and 400m hurdles champion, will only be defending the latter title individually but with characteristic team spirit, she will also contest the 4x400m and the mixed 4x400m in the Stadio Olimpico.</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1717680144/GettyImages-2156332637.jpg"></p>
<p>And if her commitment to those two events matches the drama it evoked at last year&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships in Budapest then spectators and television viewers will be royally entertained.</p>
<p>Bol was only a couple of steps away from securing gold in the mixed 4x400m when - under intense pressure from Alexis Holmes of the United States - she fell face down and lost the baton.</p>
<p>After recovering to win the 400m hurdles title, she played it again in the concluding women&rsquo;s 4x400m, bringing the Netherlands home in first place after an astonishing final surge over the final 30 metres taking her past the last-leg runners for Great Britain and - a couple of steps away from the line - the United States.</p>
<p>The Dutch potential was underlined at last month&rsquo;s World Relays in Nassau, where their quartet of Isayah Boers, Lieke Klaver, Isaya Klein Ikkink and Bol finished second in 3:11.45 behind the United States.</p>
<p>Ireland&rsquo;s medal prospects were also made plain as their team of Cillin Greene, Rhasidat Adeleke, Thomas Barr and Sharlene Mawdsley finished third in a national record of 3:11.53.</p>
<p>However these two countries will face a strong challenge from a British quartet that won world silver last year and arrives in Rome as top-ranked nation after running 3:11.06 and 3:11.19 last year.&nbsp;The line-up also includes reigning Olympic champions Poland and world bronze medallists as well as the hosts, Italy.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Bol will also be involved in the women&rsquo;s 4x400m relay, where the Dutch team will defend its title as top-ranked nation following their 2023 times of 3:20.72 and 3:23.75.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Other medal contenders will be Belgium, Poland &ndash; who took second place behind the United States in Nassau thanks to Marika Popowicz-Drapala, Iga Baumgart-Witan, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic and Natalia Kaczmarek &ndash; and Ireland.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In the men's 4x400m, reigning champions Great Britain will be in with a shot of retaining their title although their team has been weakened somewhat by the late withdrawal of two-time champion Matthew Hudson-Smith who has recently lowered his European record to 44.07.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1717680362/GettyImages-1416040744.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">The biggest challenge to the Brits should come from Belgium, the reigning world and European indoor 4x400m championships. Their relay pool includes world indoor champion Alexander Doom, Jonathan Sacoor and Dylan Borlee.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In the men's 4x100m, the home crowd will be hoping Italy can reproduce the magic which took them to the Olympic title in Tokyo 2020 while Germany, who tasted home success at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, will face strong opposition from Great Britain who will be looking to atone from their dropped baton in the final two years ago.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Mike Rowbottom for European Athletics</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

Preview | Bol takes centre stage as mixed 4x400m makes Roma 2024 debut

<p dir="ltr"><strong>Femke Bol from the Netherlands, who won the European 400m hurdles and 400m titles in Munich two years ago, will be defending only the first in Rome &ndash; although she will hardly be idle, given that she is down for women&rsquo;s and mixed 4x400m relays.</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">At 24, the current world 400m hurdles champion is moving smoothly through her Olympic season, maintaining an unbeaten run which extended on Sunday (2) to her first race over the barriers this season.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UWHtohV45iU?si=FWgcVwjU92yyDEr3" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p dir="ltr">After getting off to a relatively slow start she overhauled the field to win in Stockholm in 53.07, her fastest ever season&rsquo;s debut.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The 400m hurdles is the main focus this season for the athlete who last year bettered the longest standing world record on the track as she ran 400m indoors in 49.26, and has reduced that to 49.24, and then 49.17 this year.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Like her male counterpart - fellow world and European 400m hurdles champion Norway&rsquo;s Karsten Warholm - Bol runs in Rome with rivals elsewhere in mind.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In her case there is always the implicit comparison with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the American who beat her to the 2022 world title in a world record of 50.68, and who opened her 2024 season on May 31 with 52.70.</p>
<p dir="ltr">An impressively successful defence of her title will keep Bol moving on an upward trajectory this season.</p>
<p dir="ltr">There is the distinct possibility of a Dutch one-two as her teammate and training partner Cathelijn Peeters has run a big personal best of 54.31 this season, putting her second on the European list behind her most illustrious compatriot.</p>
<p dir="ltr">France&rsquo;s Louise Maraval has done the same, clocking 54.44 while Great&rsquo;s Britain&rsquo;s Lina Nielsen has also run her fastest time already this season with 54.73.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Also watch out for veteran Ukrainian Hanna Ryzhykova to make another push for the podium some twelve years after she won her first European medal with silver in Helsinki 2012.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Fierce battle expected for 100m gold</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Poland&rsquo;s Ewa Swoboda and Zaynab Dosso of Italy, silver and bronze medallists respectively at this year&rsquo;s World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, will carry realistic hopes of another podium appearance in the 100m.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The ebullient Pole has run 11.05 this season but has a best of 10.94 and a long history of achievement in championships while Dosso has taken a big chunk off the Italian record with 11.02 this season.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1717609022/GettyImages-2053927587.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Defending champion Gina Luckenkemper, who delighted the Munich crowd with her dramatic victory in 2022, has a best of 10.96 and has run 11.05 this year. She will not give up her title easily.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Switzerland&rsquo;s 31-year-old Mujinga Kambundji, who came back from just missing out on the 100m title in Munich 2022 with victory in the 200m, is returning to form after injury. Her season&rsquo;s best of 11.22 is comparatively modest to her lifetime best of 10.89 but she is a redoubtable championship performer.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Another fierce championship performer is Great Britain&rsquo;s Dina Asher-Smith who won a sprint treble at the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Asher-Smith was left frustrated in Munich 2022 when she had to relinquish all three titles but the Brit - who parted ways with her long-time coach John Blackie to train with Edrick Floreal in Austin, Texas - is hungry and motivated to regain her 100m crown.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Speaking to European Athletics earlier this year, she said: &ldquo;I am really excited for these Europeans, I have big goals for myself, very big aspirations of what I want to run, especially when I run the 100m and how I want to run and how I want to win it.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tvsEWVES-FY?si=R8AhAqu01cPwgcs5" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p dir="ltr">While Asher-Smith will not run the 200m, her teammate Daryll Neita will &ndash; and with a personal best of 22.16 and a season&rsquo;s best of 22.50 she is the strongest contender on paper.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But while Kambundji, the defending champion, has only run 22.87 so far this year, the Swiss record-holder at 22.05 has a competitive record that has seen her win world 200m bronze &ndash; behind Asher-Smith in 2019 &ndash; as well as world and European indoor 60m titles in the past two years.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Watch out too for Norway&rsquo;s Henriette Jaeger and Boglarka Takacs of Hungary who stand second and third respectively in the list of entrants after recording national records of 22.58 and 22.71 this season.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Three-way battles for 400m and 100m hurdles gold?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The decision made by Femke Bol not to defend her 400m title in Rome clears the way to the top of the podium for runners who have been striving &ndash; and improving &ndash; in her wake.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The rising force in the event is Ireland&rsquo;s Rhasidat Adeleke, the 21-year-old former European U20 100/200m champion who has since stepped up to the 400m and has demolished the Irish record which now stands at 49.20. This time makes her the fastest in the field.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1714478216/Website/GettyImages-1415168749_b7sf73.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Bol&rsquo;s Dutch training partner Lieke Klaver has also made huge strides in the past two years, breaking 50 seconds for the first time in 2023 when she ran 49.81 in Silesia and adding world indoor silver in Glasgow earlier this year as she clocked 50.16 to move into the world indoor all-time top-10.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Meanwhile the 2024 European list is topped by Natalia Kaczmarek, who finished second behind Bol in Munich.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The fast-finishing Pole, who stepped up to world silver last year behind Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, is the fastest of those competing in Rome with a season&rsquo;s best of 49.80, set in Oslo last Thursday, and has a personal best of 49.48.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The most likely interloper is former combined eventer Henriette Jaeger who has entered the 200m, 400m and the 4x400m at these championships. The European U23 400m silver medallist arrives fresh from setting a Norwegian record of 50.81 in Oslo.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZoMi_0w-rXo?si=PwIda5594PpHmb_d" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p dir="ltr">While Mujinga Kambundji will be engaged in defending her 200m title, younger sister Ditaji will be seeking an upgrade on the bronze medals she won at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships and last year&rsquo;s European Athletics Indoor Championships in Istanbul in the 100m hurdles.</p>
<p dir="ltr">She tops the list of those competing in Rome having run 12.49 to win the Diamond League in Doha on 10 May and her chances of gold look healthy.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But she has serious opposition in the form of France&rsquo;s 23-year-old Cyrena Samba-Mayela, who won over 60 hurdles at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in a national record of 7.78 and is enjoying her best season to date with her home Olympics in Paris 2024 looming.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Earlier this year Samba-Mayela lowered her record to 7.74 as she took silver at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow behind the world record time of 7.65 set by Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1717609643/Quote1_Cyrena.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">She has since equalled the French outdoor record to 12.55 in finishing third in Xiamen before claiming the mark outright a few weeks later at Clermont in clocking 12.52, a time she replicated at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Meanwhile Poland&rsquo;s Pia Skrzyszowska looks ready to mount a strong defence of the title she won two years ago in Munich.</p>
<p dir="ltr">She was third at this year&rsquo;s Doha Diamond League in 12.53, 0.02 slower than the personal best she set in Chorzow two years ago.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Others to watch out for include Great Britain&rsquo;s Cindy Sember, who has run 12.50; Sarah Lavin from Ireland, who has a personal best of 12.62; Nadine Visser of the Netherlands, the European indoor champion in 2019 and 2021 who has a best of 12.51; Laeticia Bapte of France, who has run 12.69; and Finland&rsquo;s reigning European indoor champion Reetta Hurske, who has a best of 12.70.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Mike Rowbottom for European Athletics</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

Preview | Bol narrowing her individual focus on defending 400m hurdles title

<p dir="ltr"><strong>Home expectation will be amply piled upon the broad shoulders of Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs &ndash; but can the 29-year-old US-born Italian sprinter deliver at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships from 7-12 June?</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Jacobs, who set a European record of 9.80 in winning the title for Italy at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, has not run below 10 seconds since winning gold at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in 9.95 and split with his longtime coach Paolo Camossi at the end of 2023, moving to train with Rana Reider&rsquo;s group in Jacksonville, Florida.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CsoLEa1T_n4?si=niv-9Ce3dtyjKNjh" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p dir="ltr">But the reigning champion is rounding into form at just the right time, shaving his season&rsquo;s best to 10.03 in his last race before Roma 2024 in cool conditions at the Bislett Games in Oslo. In warmer conditions and in front of a buoyant home crowd, does a sub-10 second performance beckon in Rome?</p>
<p dir="ltr">And Jacobs' prospects of emerging victorious in the 100m final on Saturday have been bolstered in recent days by the unfortunate withdrawals of Great Britain's Zharnel Hughes and Jeremiah Azu, the 100m silver and bronze medallists respectively in Munich.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Their young teammate Romell Glave, who has run 10.05 this season and will be making his debut for Great Britain in a major event in Rome, and former European U23 champion Henrik Larsson, who has lowered the Swedish record to 10.08, will also be in medal contention along with France&rsquo;s Meba-Mickael Zeze - a 9.99 performer at his very best.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Meanwhile Zeze&rsquo;s younger brother Ryan stands second on the 2024 European list for 200m having set a personal best of 20.18 in Austin, Texas on 30 March. The fastest in the field is his French compatriot Pablo Mateo, who set a personal best of 20.03 at the same meet.</p>
<p dir="ltr">T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s 34-year-old Ramil Guliyev, the 2018 European champion, is by far the most decorated sprinter in the field but the veteran - who made the 200m final at the World Athletics Championships as far back as 2009 when Usain Bolt set the world record - has only run 20.77 this year and will need to improve markedly to make the podium again.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">The Stadio Olimpico would glow if home sprinter Filippo Tortu, who brought home the baton for 4x100m gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games, could get anywhere near his personal best of 20.10, but his 2024 best is 20.72. Can be produce some of his relay magic in the individual event in Rome?</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Warholm rounding in on his third 400m hurdles title</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Barring an accident, Norway&rsquo;s Karsten Warholm - Olympic and world champion, world record-holder with 45.94 - looks set to win his third consecutive continental title in the 400m hurdles</p>
<p dir="ltr">For this phenomenally dedicated 28-year-old from Ulsteinvik these championships come at a critical time in his season as his two strongest challengers for the Olympic title in Paris, Alison dos Santos of Brazil and Rai Benjamin of the United States have posted faster times so far this season.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Benjamin clocked 46.64 in Los Angeles on May 18; and last Tuesday (28) the Brazilian upstaged Warholm on his home track in Oslo, clocking 46.63 as the home athlete managed 46.70.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It&rsquo;s all getting very tense &ndash; and the annexation of another European gold, ideally in fine style, would be a very important factor in maintaining this amiable Norwegian&rsquo;s equilibrium.</p>
<p dir="ltr">He will hope these championships can give him the kind of lift he got from Berlin 2018 - which came after a series of brutal defeats by Qatar&rsquo;s Abderrahman Samba - and from Munich 2022, where he got back into winning mode at the end of an injury-hit season, winning in a championship record of 47.12 to break Harald Schmid&rsquo;s long-standing mark of 47.48 from 1982.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And should Warholm win gold, he will match the accomplishments of the former West German who won the title in 1987, 1982 and 1986.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sf_-70eAndI?si=k6ywkFpUuLdDbTib" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p dir="ltr">Home runner Alessandro Sibilio, with a personal best of 47.93 and a season&rsquo;s best of 48.25, looks the most likely candidate to challenge for the silver medal although Estonia&rsquo;s 32-year-old Rasmus Magi, European silver medallist in 2014 and with a best of 47.82 is also an enduring rival who has clocked 48.58 this season.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Both Sibilio and Magi were part of that legendary Olympic final in Tokyo where Warholm blasted to gold in 45.94.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Rising talents Doom and Dobson to clash in the 400m</h2>
<p>The late withdrawal of Great Britain&rsquo;s two-time champion Matthew Hudson-Smith &ndash; who lowered the European record to 44.07 in Oslo on Thursday - has left a gap in the 400m but the struggle to fill the void is likely to involve Belgium&rsquo;s Alexander Doom and Great Britain&rsquo;s Charles Dobson. This could be one of the most compelling contests of the championships.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Both men are on an upward journey this year. Doom, 27, has found his mojo this year, winning the world indoor title in Glasgow ahead of Warholm in a national indoor record of 45.25 and ran another lifetime best of 44.44 for victory in Ostrava last month - just 0.01 shy of the Belgian record set by Jonathan Borlee in 2012. He is surely set for a big improvement on the elimination in the semi finals from Munich 2022.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">That took him one place ahead of Dobson in the 2024 European list after the 24-year-old Brit&rsquo;s breakthrough clocking of 44.46 in Savona on May 15. Having won European 4x400m gold two years ago the young man from Colchester already has a taste of high achievement on the European stage but the talented Brit is rounding in on individual glory in Rome.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Others in the hunt will include Ukraine&rsquo;s Oleksandr Pohorilko, who has run a national best of 44.94 this year, the highly talented Jonathan Sacoor from Belgium - the 2018 world U20 champion - and home sprinter Davide Re, who has a best of 44.77 although he is yet to open his season.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And while he is yet to display his best form at this relatively early juncture of the summer, Norway&rsquo;s Havard Bentdal Ingvaldsen will be a title contender if he can rekindle the form which saw him slash his Norwegian record to 44.39 at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest where he made the final.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Spain&rsquo;s reigning European 110m hurdles champion Asier Martinez, who won gold ahead of Pascal Martinot-Lagarde by a mere 0.001, has a season&rsquo;s best of 13.29 that keeps him well in the mix, but his teammate Enrique Llopis, who is back at full fitness after his nightmare fall in the 60m hurdles at the Istanbul 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships, is a fraction ahead of him on 13.26.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wXCF8uTfT68?si=rhsIceyxz6Ea018_" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p dir="ltr">Poland&rsquo;s Damien Czykier, who has clocked 13.27 this season, is always a strong competitive force, although Belgium&rsquo;s Michael Obasuyi is fastest in the field this season with a national record of 13.20.</p>
<p dir="ltr">However, the prospective favourite could be world indoor silver medallist Lorenzo Simonelli who has lowered the Italian record to 13.21 this year.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Rome has been my big goal since the start of the year. Naturally everyone is talking about Gianmarco [Tamberi] and our race walkers but this will be my chance to let people know who I am. All my friends and family are buying tickets for Rome. It started at about 10, then went up to 20 and now it&rsquo;s even more! I&rsquo;m going to have a lot of support there!&rdquo; said Simonelli in the build-up to the championships.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Meanwhile Britain&rsquo;s 32-year-old Andrew Pozzi, European indoor champion in 2017 and world indoor champion the following year, is back in excellent form having clocked 13.23 last month - his fastest time since 2020.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Mike Rowbottom for European Athletics</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

Preview | Reigning champion Jacobs poised for golden homecoming in Roma 2024

<p dir="ltr"><strong>British female middle and long distance runners have a deep and long-lasting heritage with the European Athletics Championships.&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Well-known names such as Lillian Board (800m, 1969), Yvonne Murray (3000m, 1990), Paula Radcliffe (10,000m, 2002), Lynsey Sharp (800m, 2012), Jo Pavey (10,000m, 2014) and - more recently - Laura Muir (1500m, 2018, 2022) have all won gold on the continent&rsquo;s biggest stage.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But the generation of Roma 2024 might yet prove to be Great Britain&rsquo;s best yet.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Spearheaded by 800m star Keely Hodgkinson, already a European gold medallist from Munich 2022, they have a team well placed to challenge for medals on multiple fronts. Hodgkinson has made it a mission to win as many medals as possible and still aged just 22, she has made a flying start.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"I would like to win in my career as many medals as possible," Hodgkinson told European Athletics earlier this year. "And I think if I was to miss it (Roma 2024), I&rsquo;d be missing out on an opportunity. I&rsquo;d love to look back on my career and say I did this many European Championships and I won this many medals. I don&rsquo;t want anything to go to waste."</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qWCalSABAtM?si=i7HVm2QdgrobjVj0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p dir="ltr">As well as European gold, she has Olympic silver, two world silvers and two European Athletics Indoor Championships gold medals in her growing collection. Having made a scintillating start to her season by beating world champion Mary Moraa at the Eugene Diamond League last month in 1:55.78, she arrives in the Italian capital in superb shape.</p>
<p dir="ltr">On season&rsquo;s bests alone, she has more than three seconds in hand on the rest of the field. But with compatriots Erin Wallace and Alexandra Bell second and third fastest this year on the entry-list, Hodgkinson is not the only British medal hope over two laps.</p>
<p dir="ltr">European indoor silver medallist Anita Horvat of Slovenia is among a pack of closely-matched contenders who could challenge for medals along with Switzerland&rsquo;s Lore Hoffmann who finished fourth in Munich 2022.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Who will succeed Muir in the 1500m?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Hodgkinson&rsquo;s training partner Georgia Bell is one to watch in the women&rsquo;s 1500m in the absence of her illustrious teammate Laura Muir, the gold medallist in 2018 and 2022.</p>
<p dir="ltr">A prodigiously talented runner in her childhood days before taking time away from the sport, she has burst onto the elite level athletics scene this year.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">She placed fourth at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March and recently lowered her personal best to 4:00.41 when finishing seventh at the Diamond League in Eugene last month, a massive 42 seconds better than her season&rsquo;s best two years ago.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1dCjpED1xhI?si=LDJEruyaPHHF7slR" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p dir="ltr">Placing just ahead of Bell in Eugene was another 30-year-old British runner, Katie Snowden in 4:00.24 and she heads the entries on season&rsquo;s bests. Snowden was fourth in Munich, eighth in last year&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships in Budapest and is twice a finalist at the European Indoor Championships and will be eager to win her first senior international medal.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But the strongest British contender is probably Jemma Reekie, winner of 800m silver at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, she has extended her brilliant winter form into the summer with super victories over 800m (1:57.79) in Stockholm and 1500m (4:02.57) in Chorzow recently.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">The experienced Ciara Mageean, who just missed out on a medal in fourth at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, may start as favourite though. She has won silver and bronze over 1500m at previous European Athletics Championships and having recently won at the Ostrava Golden Spike in 4:01.98, arrives at Roma 2024 in great form.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1717508029/GettyImages-1415847718.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Irish teammate Sarah Healy, another of Hodgkinson&rsquo;s training partners, finished just 0.14 behind Mageean in Ostrava and is another athlete with tangible medal hopes after a sterling age-group career which saw her win a 1500/3000m double at the European Athletics U18 Championships.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Poland&rsquo;s Sofia Ennaoui is also a proven championship performer, with 1500m bronze medals at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships and the Istanbul 2023 European Indoor Championships. It promises to be a thrilling tussle.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">A rich cast assembled for the 5000m and 10,000m</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The 5000m is also a race rich in promise. Norway&rsquo;s Karoline Bjerkeli Gr&oslash;vdal - who has also entered the half marathon - will be taking part in her sixth European Athletics Championships, the highlights being 10,000m bronze (Amsterdam 2016) and 3000m steeplechase bronze (Berlin 2018).&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">As winner of the senior women&rsquo;s race at the last three SPAR European Cross Country Championships, the 33-year-old is still very much at the peak of her powers as she proved at the Bislett Games in Oslo, where she set a national record of 8:27.02 over 3000m to break the late Grete Waitz&rsquo;s revered Norwegian record of 8:31.75.</p>
<p dir="ltr">An Olympic and world finalist over 5000m, she will be highly motivated to grab the first senior track gold of her career.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1687706104/Getty%20Easy%20Access/1500910242.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Italy&rsquo;s Nadia Battocletti was a prolific medallist on track and cross country at U20 and U23 level and with the crowd sure to lift her in Roma, she is likely to figure, especially in a slow race after winning the 5000m at the European Athletics Team Championships last year with a 60-second last lap. She has entered both the 5000m and 10,000m in Roma 2024.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Another name worth watching is European U20 3000/5000m champion Agate Caune. The Latvian is a rare talent who loves to run from the front and her bold tactics are sure to test the rest.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">The 10,000m entry-list is headed by another British athlete on the conveyor belt of talent. Megan Keith won European U23 titles in the 5000m and cross country last year and has maintained her progress this year, slashing her personal bests in the 5000m (14:43:24) and 10,000m (30:36:84).</p>
<p dir="ltr">Based on lifetime bests, the biggest threat is her British team-mate Eilish McColgan, who will be making her first track appearance for over a year.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">In her last track race in March 2023, McColgan eclipsed Paula Radcliffe&rsquo;s British 10,000m of 30:01.09 - set at the 2002 European Athletics Championships - with 30:00.03 in California before her plans for the rest of the season were waylaid by a plethora of knee and hamstring injuries.</p>
<p dir="ltr">McColgan won 10,000m silver and 5000m bronze in Munich 2022 and is a proven championship performer.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">One late but notable withdrawal from the long distance events is 2022 European 5000m champion Konstanze Klosterhalfen who was due to contest the 5000m and 10,000m in Rome. However, European indoor 3000m champion Hanna Klein will be a medal threat for Germany over 5000m.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1687544231/Getty%20Easy%20Access/1416050833.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">The three medallists from the 3000m steeplechase in Munich 2022 will renew their rivalry at Roma 2024.&nbsp; Defending champion Luiza Gega from Albania - who won her country&rsquo;s first ever European outdoor title in Munich 2022 with a gun-to-tape run - is joined on the start lists by silver and bronze medallists Lea Meyer of Germany and Great Britain&rsquo;s Lizzie Bird.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But one athlete who was conspicuously absent from that final in Munich was German record-holder Gesa Felicitas Krause who will be motivated to regain the title she won in 2016 and 2018 - the latter to deafening noise in Berlin&rsquo;s Olympic Stadium - on her return from maternity leave.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Chris Broadbent for European Athletics</strong></p>

Preview | Hodgkinson headlines a strong British middle distance contingent in Roma 2024

<p dir="ltr"><strong>Still only 23, Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway is seeking a third consecutive European 1500m and 5000m double at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships from 7-12 June.</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">And given last Thursday&rsquo;s dramatic 1500m win at Oslo in 3:29.74, which puts him top of the 2024 world list, he will surely like his chances.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But this phenomenal talent &ndash; who announced his senior championship potential by winning the European 1500 and 5000m titles in Berlin six years ago and retained both at the 2022 Munich edition &ndash; is wise enough to know that even he cannot afford to take victory for granted.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZuUcsPo9yW8?si=3nWbGJD_V6hfNh-i" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p dir="ltr">After successive defeats in the World Athletics Championships 1500m final to British athletes who have moved outside him around the final bend &ndash; Jake Wightman in 2022, Josh Kerr last year &ndash; the man who plans to defend his Olympic 1500m in Paris this summer will be wary of history repeating itself.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ingebrigtsen lost again to Kerr in&nbsp; Eugene on May 25, but his time of 3:45.60 &ndash; a little behind the Briton&rsquo;s national record of 3:45.34 &ndash; was highly encouraging given that his winter preparations were blighted by Achilles tendon problems which forced him to miss the SPAR European Cross Country Championships and the indoor season.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">"I tried to fight him," Ingebrigtsen said of Kerr, "but today for me was more of a time trial.</p>
<p dir="ltr">&ldquo;Of course, we&rsquo;re racing, but it&rsquo;s definitely some differences in terms of approach into this race because this, for some people, this is their final test, even before the Olympics in Paris. But this is not my final test. I think if anything, this is going to be an exciting summer. For myself, I think it&rsquo;s very good.&rdquo;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Very good became even better in Oslo and the Norwegian&rsquo;s form is clearly on an upward trajectory in Olympic year.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But while Kerr will not be in Rome, his fellow Briton, Neil Gourley &ndash; fourth in Eugene in 3:47.74 after overcoming his own winter injury hitches which forced him to miss the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow&nbsp; &ndash; will be. Gourley also chased Ingebrigtsen home at the European Indoor Championships last year, finishing a close second behind the Norwegian.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In terms of 2024 times, other challengers look likely to be Portugal&rsquo;s Isaac Nader and Italy&rsquo;s Pietro Arese, who were fourth and ninth respectively behind Ingebrigtsen in Oslo, in personal bests of 3:30.84 and 3:32.13, the latter a national record for Italy.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ingebrigtsen will be looking carefully at the 19-year-old Dutch runner who in 2022 beat his own European U18 1500 and 3000m records &ndash; Niels Laros, who reached the 1500m final at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last year at the age of 18.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1717499946/GettyImages-1627490470.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Also very much in his thinking will be the fellow Norwegian still being coached by his estranged father, Gjert &ndash; namely Narve Gilje Nordas, who has run 3:33.87 this year but has a best of 3:29.47 and who finished a fraction behind him to take world bronze last summer.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Nordas and Ndikumwenayo the main threats in the 5000m</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Nordas is also on the entry-list to contest the 5000m, in which he has a personal best of 13:05.38. He showed his form most recently at the Stockholm Diamond League meeting on Sunday (2) in winning the 3000m in a fast 7:33.49.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The defending champion, who has a best of 12:48.45, will also concerned with the challenge posed by Thierry Ndikumwenayo, who won at the European Athletics Team Championships last summer and showed brilliant form in Oslo, setting a personal best of 12:48.10 to move ahead of Ingebrigtsen to second on the European all-time list.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1717500080/GettyImages-1501780425.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Also in his sights will be Switzerland&rsquo;s 25-year-old South Sudan-born Dominic Lobalu, who competed for the Athlete Refugee Team at the 2017 World Athletics Championships and emerged to prominence by winning the 3000m at the 2022 Stockholm Diamond League.</p>
<p dir="ltr">He set a personal best of 12:50.90 as he finished seventh in Oslo and showed his speed over 3000m in as he finished just 0.19 behind Nordas in 7:33.68. This will be his debut for Switzerland in a major event.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">There is another potential challenge to Ingebrigtsen over his longer distance in the solid form of Great Britain&rsquo;s George Mills &ndash; son of former England football defender Danny &ndash; who finished seventh behind him in the Oslo 1500m, clocking 3:31.57, and who has run a sub-13 minute 5000m indoors this season.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ndikumwenayo will also hold tangible medal chances in the 10,000m, where he set a personal best of 27:26.57. Lobalu, who set a personal best of 27:36.29 with a solo run at the Swiss Championships this season, is also doubling up.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Sweden&rsquo;s former 800m star Andreas Almgren, who finished fourth in the Stockholm 3000m in a national record of 7:34.28 will be another strong contender. His 2024 personal best of 26:52.87, set in California on March 16, makes him the fastest runner present this year and the second fastest European 10,000m runner of all-time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">However it will take something good to wrest the title away from Crippa who ran an incredible last lap to win the 10,000m title in Munich 2022. However, this could potentially be the Italian's second race of the championships as he is also due to contest the half marathon at these championships.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1717500165/GettyImages-1416570405.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Other contenders include Belgium&rsquo;s Isaac Kimeli, who has run a personal best of 27:07.97 this season, Britain&rsquo;s Patrick Dever, who has also run a best this year, 27:08.81, and Tadesse Getahon, representing Israel, who has a 2024 best of 27:34.30.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Also look out for the French tandem of European cross country champion Yann Schrub and the flamboyant Jimmy Gressier who finished third and fourth in the 10,000m in Munich 2022.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Italian medal hopes in the 800m and 3000m steeplechase</h2>
<p dir="ltr">In the absence of reigning champion Mariano Garcia from Spain, the 800m offers an opportunity for home success thanks to the talent of Romanian-born Catalin Tecuceanu.</p>
<p dir="ltr">This 24-year-old, who became eligible to represent Italy from 2021, tops the entry-list through his personal best of 1:44.01 in Asti on May 23.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But he will face a strong French effort presented by European U23 champion Yanis Meziane, who has run 1:44.13 this season and has a best of 1:43.94, and Gabriel Tual, who has clocked 1:44.43 in 2024.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Elliot Giles of Britain, who has run 1:44.46 this season and set a British indoor record of 1:43.63 in 2021, has the class and experience to add another European medal following the bronze he earned in Amsterdam in 2016.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ireland&rsquo;s Mark English, European bronze medallist in 2014 and 2022, is also a proven championship performer who can never be written off.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Others to look out for include Spain&rsquo;s Adrian Ben, last year&rsquo;s European indoor champion in Istanbul. Dutch super-kid Laros has also entered the 800m as well as the 1500m.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1717500265/GettyImages-1415154524.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Finland&rsquo;s Topi Raitanen will defend his 3000m steeplechase title in what looks a very open competition.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Raitanen, who has a best of 8:16.57 from 2020, has run 8:21.00 this season but he will need to go faster if he is to head off the challenge of others such as Spain&rsquo;s Daniel Arce, who is fastest European in the field this year with 8:12.28.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The French pairing of Djilani Bedrani and Alexis Miellet, respectively second and third on this season&rsquo;s European list with 8:13.73 and 8:14.71, should also be in contention.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Home hopes will be carried by the 2022 bronze medallist Osama Zoghlami, who has run 8:19.54 this year, and Yassin Bouih, who has a 2024 best of 8:18.37.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And there is also the genuine prospect of Andorra's first ever medal in European Athletics Championships through Nahuel Carabana who has improved his national record to 8:16.04 this year.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Carabana made headlines in Munich 2022 when he stopped to assist an injured runner in the heats but the 24-year-old could make the headlines in his own right later this month.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Mike Rowbottom for European Athletics&nbsp;</strong></p>

Preview | Ingebrigtsen eyes third 1500/5000m double in Roma 2024

<p dir="ltr">Italy is a country renowned for its culinary delights and it is fitting that the entry-lists for the women&rsquo;s jumps at Roma 2024 will whet the appetites of athletics fans everywhere. With the perfect mix of established champions and emerging names, there are some tasty offerings on the Roma 2024 menu.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Mahuchikh targets back-to-back high jump titles</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Take the women&rsquo;s high jump for example. Still only 22, Ukraine&rsquo;s Yaroslava Mahuchikh is rapidly becoming one of the sport&rsquo;s stars. Since winning silver at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha with a world U20 record of 2.04m at the age of 17, she has been a relentless medal-winning machine.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Her impressive haul already includes two World Athletics Championships gold medals, Olympic bronze, European gold, two European Indoor gold medals and world indoor gold and silver. She opened her outdoor season with a 2.00m clearance for victory in Stockholm on Sunday evening.</p>
<p>"Rome is a special place for me.&nbsp;My first Diamond League was in Rome in 2018. Second, the world record in high jump was set in Rome in 1987 [2.09m by Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria.]&nbsp;So, it&rsquo;s a really special place and this place has a lot of energy.</p>
<p>"Italian fans, Italian people (it will be) so loud, so crazy. I am looking forward to this competition," Mahuchikh told European Athletics ahead of the championships.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Brwfzil0Yxo?si=1udzU1iy_1haUyLv" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p dir="ltr">She will start as a hot favourite for another title in Roma 2024. But there is another athlete following the same trail that Mahuchikh has blazed.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Serbia&rsquo;s Angelina Topic won bronze at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships aged only 17 to become the event&rsquo;s youngest ever medallist and has continually improved, raising her national record to 1.98m this year. The European U20 champion is a serious medal threat again this summer.</p>
<p dir="ltr">World indoor bronze medallist Lia Apostolovski of Slovenia will be looking for another major medal, whilst Germany&rsquo;s Christina Honsel, fourth at the World Indoor Championships, is still seeking her first senior medal. Her compatriot Imke Onnen is also in the mix after finishing second to Mahuchikh in Stockholm.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Other medal contenders include Mahuchikh&rsquo;s Ukrainian teammate and training partner Iryna Gerashchenko, Bulgaria&rsquo;s former European and Olympic silver medallist Mirela Demireva and Morgan Lake, the fourth-placer at the 2023 World Athletics Championships</p>
<p dir="ltr">Qualification takes place on Friday 7 June ahead of the final on Sunday 9 June.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">The rise and rise of Caudery to continue in Rome?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Great Britain&rsquo;s Molly Caudery is one of the breakthrough athletes of the last 12 months. Since smashing her personal best by clearing 4.75m to finish fifth in the women&rsquo;s pole vault at the Budapest 2022 World Athletics Championships, Caudery has gone from strength to strength.</p>
<p dir="ltr">She cleared 4.86m during the indoor season - still the world lead for 2024 thus far &ndash; and went on to win gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March. With a 4.84m clearance already under her belt this summer in far from ideal conditions from the Golden Spike in Ostrava, she heads to Roma 2024 full of confidence.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dj10wBRtW-w?si=2ztt4yGhyEwQPDft" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p dir="ltr">But in Finland&rsquo;s Wilma Murto, she has a worthy opponent. The defending European champion and world bronze medallist has cleared a season&rsquo;s best of 4.81m and is a 4.85m athlete at her best. She cleared that 4.85m to win gold in Munich 2022 where she broke her lifetime best three times to win the title.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And at 35, Slovenia&rsquo;s Tina Sutej is still a tough competitor, having placed fourth at the last two World Athletics Championships. She won bronze at Munich 2022, one place behind Greece&rsquo;s Ekaterini Stefanidi who is seeking her fifth successive medal at the European Athletics Championships having also won silver in 2014 and gold in 2016 and 2018.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1717411524/GettyImages-1415459949.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">The women&rsquo;s pole vault qualifying round is on Saturday 8 June with the final on Monday 10 June.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Who will succeed Spanovic in the long jump?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Defending European and world champion Ivana Spanovic of Serbia is absent, but the women&rsquo;s long jump is still a competition deep in quality. Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo is the class act of the field and leads the season&rsquo;s rankings with 6.95m.</p>
<p dir="ltr">She has stood on all three steps of a European Athletics Championships podium and will be looking to regain a title she first won in Berlin 2018, after winning bronze in Amsterdam 2016 and silver in Munich 2022.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In fellow Germans Mikaelle Assani and Laura Raquel Muller, she has two emerging domestic rivals nearing in on seven metres, who could be ripe for a senior international breakthrough. But the sentimental favourite for the Roma 2024 crowd will undoubtedly be Larissa Iapichino.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The daughter of twice world gold medallist and twice Olympic silver medallist Fiona May and Italian pole vault international Gianni Iapichino, she is already starting to make her own mark in the sport. Last year she won silver at the European Athletics Indoor Championships with 6.97m behind Great Britain&rsquo;s Jazmin Sawyers who is sadly missing from the championships due to injury.</p>
<p dir="ltr">[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/C7cXdviMWJd/?img_index=1"]</p>
<p dir="ltr">Also worth watching is Agate De Sousa, now competing for Portugal since switching from S&atilde;o Tom&eacute; and Pr&iacute;ncipe. With a 7.03m personal best, she is one of the longest jumpers in the field.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Add in world bronze medallist Alina Rotaru-Kottmann of Romania and world indoor bronze medallist Spain&rsquo;s Fatima Diame of Spain and it has all the ingredients of an exceptional competition. The qualification rounds are scheduled for Tuesday 11 June, with the final the following day.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In the absence of Ukraine&rsquo;s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, there will be a new champion in the women&rsquo;s triple jump. Spain&rsquo;s Ana Peleteiro-Compaor&eacute; looks best placed to seize the crown.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1712249707/GettyImages-2056132603.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">The world indoor bronze medallist and 2019 European indoor champion has a season&rsquo;s best of 14.75m, giving her a near 40 centimetres cushion on the rest of the field. This will be her first major outdoor competition since returning from maternity leave only last summer and she isn't shy about her ambitions in the Italian capital.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"The European Championship in Rome is coming, and I want gold," <a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/ana-peleterio-i-am-going-to-rome-and-i-want-gold-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">she told European Athletics earlier this season</a>. "People always say you come back stronger after pregnancy. I do not know if it is true, but I am happy to be stronger because I could claim another medal at the Olympics."</p>
<p dir="ltr">T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s European indoor champion Tugba Danişmaz is among a pack of medal contenders that also includes Finland&rsquo;s Kristiina M&auml;kel&auml; and Israel&rsquo;s Hannah Minenko, the silver and bronze medallists from Munich 2022. Though the latter two will need to improve on their current form if they are to make the podium again this time round. At the time of writing, neither athlete has surpassed the 14 metre-line this year.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Qualification gets underway on Friday 7 June, with the final set for Sunday 9 June.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Chris Broadbent for European Athletics&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

Preview | Global champions highlights women’s jumps in Roma 2024 

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European Athletics Championships Previews and Team News

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SPAR has been the principal sponsor of European Athletics since 1996, becoming synonymous with the sport during this period. Athletics is a sport where personal endeavour is combined with team participation to achieve success, and SPAR identifies with this principle through its national partners by ensuring that consumers enjoy shopping at SPAR. SPAR retailers continue to develop the brand through sponsorship awareness and through the critical link with individual athletes who are also customers of independent retailers. SPAR is proud to be involved with European Athletics, an organisation which strives to bring passion and enthusiasm for their sport to viewers, spectators and participants.

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Polanik is a family company, founded by Wiesław Szczepanik in 1966. It produces athletics equipment having over thousand products in the offer. Polanik fully equips stadiums all over the world and handles the highest-level athletics events. Stars of athletics beat world records using Polanik products. Polanik is held in high regard by many for top quality and advisory services for designers and investors of athletics stadiums.

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Apeldoorn is one of the greenest cities in the Netherlands and among the largest municipalities in Gelderland. It is a mid-size city with a population of approximately 161,000. Apeldoorn has a charming and lively inner city and a young, sports-minded population.

The town is easily accessible by car (A1 motorway) and train. The proximity of large cities such as Utrecht (59 kilometre) and Amsterdam (75 kilometre) and its space and tranquillity make Apeldoorn one of the most popular cities in the Netherlands. The area mainly consists of woods and heath-lands and is a popular destination for tourism, in particular hiking and cycling.

The Dutch royal family has always had close ties with the city. Apeldoorn is home to the stately Loo Palace, the former summer residence of the Dutch royal family and nowadays a national museum. Apeldoorn is possibly the most athletic-minded city in the Netherlands.