<p>Welcome to the heart of Europe!
<br>Banská Bystrica is a city in Central Slovakia located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains. There are over 76,000 inhabitants living in this area and is home to a few thousand foreigners.
<br><br>Municipality of Banská Bystrica
<br>With 76,089 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia.
<br>The City of Banská Bystrica has its own representative bodies – the Mayor and the City Parliament, as well as the advisory bodies of councils and committees.
<br>The Municipality Office consists of different departments dealing with various life situations:
<br><br>Department of Social Affairs – establishes centers of social services, including Section of long-term care services and Section of crisis intervention.
<br>Department of Education – establishes kindergartens and elementary schools.
<br>Registry Office – issues birth certificates, accepts applications for marriages, etc.
<br>Building Department – issues planning, zoning and construction permits.
<br>Department of Culture – establishes cultural institutions in the city and authorizes civic assemblies.
<br><br>For more information on the municipalities, its responsibilites and activities, please check: www.banskabystrica.sk<br></p>

<h2>European Athletics U18 Championships</h2>
<p>The European Athletics U18 Championships is a biennial competition for European athletes under the age of 18 in the year of competition.</p>
<p>The newest addition to the calendar of age-group events, the European Athletics U18 Championships was created to promote higher-level competition among the most talented members of this age group in Europe and provide a stepping stone to the U20 age group. The first edition of the European Athletics U18 Championships was held in Tbilisi, Georgia in 2016.</p>
<p>At the most recent edition of the championships in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia from 18-21 July, Italy topped the medal table with seven gold medals. Elisa Valensin won the 200m title in a championship best of 23.09 before anchoring Italy to gold in the medley relay. In doing so, she became the only athlete to come away with two gold medals.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The championships was also highlighted by European U18 bests from home favourite Laura Frlickova who blasted to a 12.86 clocking in the 100m hurdles to smash the previous mark of 12.98 set by current European champion Cyrena Samba-Mayela in 2017. She duly won the final the following day in 12.97 to win Slovakia's first ever gold medal at the European U18 Championships.</p>
<p>Michal Rada decimated the European U18 best in the 400m hurdles, winning the gold in an unopposed 49.42 to become the first European in his age-group to break the 50 second-barrier in the U18 400m hurdles. Remarkably, he provided the second part of a twin double after Nina Radova came home with the 400m hurdles title in the women's race.</p>
<p>The 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships will take place in Rieti, Italy.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

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Banska Bystrica 2024 | Day four highlights

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Banska Bystrica 2024 | Day two highlights

Banska Bystrica 2024 | Day one highlights

European U18 100m hurdles best for Frlickova

Jerusalem 2022 | European U18 javelin best for Parviainen

Jerusalem 2022 | Furlani's 8.04m championship record

Jerusalem 2022 | Topic clears 1.92m in the high jump

Jerusalem 2022 | Elnan Aurstad storms to 400m hurdles gold

Jerusalem 2022 | Akinbileje emerges with 200m title

Jerusalem 2022 | Zakrzewski storms to 100m gold

Jerusalem 2022 | McIntosh's 100m hurdles masterclass

Gyor 2018 | Yaroslava Mahuchikh's Road to Gold

Gyor 2018 | Max Burgin's Road to Gold

https://www.atletika.sk/

<p><strong>No fewer than 16 gold medallists from the European Athletics U18 Championships in Banska Bystrica last month feature on the entry-lists for the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru from 27-31 August.</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/66bf3a354a17e3cbd23a7e36.pdf?_gl=1*16kz6up*_ga*MTI2NTAyMDc2My4xNzIxMzE5OTQy*_ga_7FE9YV46NW*MTcyNDY2NTg2My4xMDUuMS4xNzI0NjY4OTY3LjAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final entries</a></li>
</ul>
<p>More than 1700 athletes from 134 teams are due to compete and many of the European winners are likely to be in contention for the women&rsquo;s and men&rsquo;s Rising Star awards - the long-lists will be revealed in mid-September - with the winners to be crowned at the Golden Tracks in Skopje, North Macedonia on 26 October.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And expect to see many of the medallists next week in action at next year&rsquo;s European Athletics U23 and U20 Championships which will take place in Bergen and Tampere respectively next summer.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Who to watch in Lima?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Among the 16 individual champions who won gold in Banska Bystrica, none was more impressive than Michal Rada who decimated the European U18 best in the 400m hurdles, winning gold over the 84.0cm barriers in 49.42 to take 0.96 off the previous mark.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The hurdles at U20 level are set at the senior regulation height of 91.4cm but Rada, who is one of the youngest athletes entered for the 400 hurdles, has already broken the 50 second-barrier with 49.89 which makes him the sixth fastest on the entry-list.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MgXuR1m2Vh0?si=CJ7ffuM2gu9O51lb" 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">Rada provided the second-half of a family double in the 400m hurdles with his victory succeeding that of his twin sister Nina Radova who won the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles title in 58.00. Like Michal, Nina will also be in action in Lima.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Czechia enjoyed an excellent campaign at the European U18 Championships, winning four gold medals to finish third on the medal table. And their other two champions from Banska Bystrica - Adela Holubova (800m) and Filip Toul (800/1500m) - will also be in action.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And it could be another excellent championships for the Czechs in Lima as their team also includes three reigning European U20 champions: Lurdes Gloria Manuel (400m), Karolina Jarasova (3000m steeplechase) and Jakub Dudycha (800m). Manuel and Dudycha are ranked first and third in their respective events and both competed for Czechia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1724688127/GettyImages-2162123545.jpg"></p>
<h2 dir="ltr">A busy programme in store for rising star Valensin</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Rising Italian sprint star Elisa Valensin came away with two gold medals at the European U18 Championships, winning 200m gold in a championship best of 23.09 before anchoring Italy to gold in the sprint medley relay in a European U18 best of 2:05.23.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But a different programme awaits the precocious and versatile 17-year-old in Lima. Valensin has entered the individual 400m - she clocked 52.50 in her first and only recorded race at the distance earlier this year - and is expected to be part of Italy&rsquo;s team in the mixed 4x400m and women&rsquo;s 4x100m.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L3_ocUYsVeE?si=f3CIexe-NpfaNhwo" 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">Italy won eight gold medals in Banska Bystrica and another of the champions Diego Nappi - who sped to gold in the men&rsquo;s 200m - will be part of Italy&rsquo;s 4x100m team.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Other European U18 track champions who are due to compete in Lima include 100m winners Jakob Kemminer from Germany and Bulgaria&rsquo;s Radina Velichkova, Poland&rsquo;s 400m winner Stanisław Strzelecki in the 4x400m and 3000m champion Aldin Catovic from Serbia who contests the 1500m.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Barbic in focus in the javelin&nbsp;</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Croatia&rsquo;s Vita Barbic produced a rare double at the European U18 Championships by winning bronze in the discus and gold in the javelin on the very same day.</p>
<p dir="ltr">&ldquo;Some people think that one event makes the other one weaker,&rdquo; said Barbic in a recent interview with <em>European Athletics</em>. &ldquo;But for me, it wasn&rsquo;t the case. Both of them are going great.&rdquo;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1724150255/vits_barbic.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Barbic will be focusing solely on the javelin in Lima and the Croatian, who turned 17 earlier this month, will be a medal contender with the heavier weight javelin after winning U18 gold in Banska Bystrica with a world U18 lead of 61.07m with the 500g implement.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Recently crowned U18 champions are well represented in the field events in Lima. Also watch out for fellow gold medallists Lilianna Batori from Hungary (high jump), Latvia&rsquo;s Brenda Apsite (triple jump), Greece&rsquo;s Maria Rafailidou (shot put) along with Germans Nadjela Wepiwe (discus) and Clara Hegemann (hammer).&nbsp;</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">European U18 and U20 champions aiming for a hat-trick</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Some familiar names will also be aiming to cap their junior careers with world U20 titles having won European U18 and U20 titles in back-to-back years.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Mykhaylo Brudin has won European U18 and U20 titles in the discus in successive years and this will be his last chance to add the world U20 title to his burgeoning medal collection. The Ukrainian won bronze two years ago at the age of 17.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1691575925/Getty%20Easy%20Access/1601711594.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Likewise, Valentina Savva has put Cyprus on the athletics map with her exploits in the hammer and the European U18 and U20 hammer champion will go in search of world U20 gold in Lima after just missing out on a medal two years ago in fourth.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Germans Frederick Weigel and Amadeus Graber will also be aiming for a third major title in as many years in the 10,000m race walk and decathlon respectively while Polish sprinter Marek Zakrzewski - who became the first male sprinter since 1991 to complete a 100/200m double at the European U20 Championships - will be aiming for his first global medal in the sprints in Lima.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Steven Mills for European Athletics</strong></p>

Next stop Lima! European U18 and U20 winners bid for world U20 gold 

<p><strong>One month on from the European Athletics U18 Championships in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia 18-21 July and organisers can look back on not just a golden legacy, but a green one.</strong></p>
<p>The event set new standards for European Athletics events in the area of sustainability. Through close collaboration between European Athletics and the Local Organising Committee, a strategy was developed and widely communicated with participating teams and across all event areas to gain broader buy in and maximise impact.</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1724247975/sustainability_lo_res.png"></p>
<p>The Banska Bystrica strategy focussed on five core areas:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Paper reduction</strong> &ndash; printing only on request for media, with an emphasis on digital</li>
<li><strong>Single-use plastic reduction</strong> &ndash; all athletes and officials received a reusable water bottle, plastic bottles only distributed in four main areas, but also bottles collected for the exchange and refund programme</li>
<li><strong>Low emissions travel</strong> &ndash; electric scooters available for team transport and all main accommodation within walking distance of stadium</li>
<li><strong>Waste reduction</strong> &ndash; following reduce, reuse and recycle principles deployed &nbsp;</li>
<li><strong>Environmental education</strong> &ndash; prominent communication around site of sustainability supported by the presence of the Eco Team volunteers</li>
</ul>
<h2>Sustainability as a core priority</h2>
<p>The progress within sustainability is all part of wider movement by the European Athletics Development Commission who have made sustainability a core priority and it will be on the agenda when the group meet again in Lausanne, Switzerland on 22-23 August.</p>
<p>In additional, a workshop led by the Development Commission&rsquo;s sustainability working group on Thursday (22) is being delivered to the European Athletics staff team.</p>
<p>European Athletics Vice President Karin Grute Movin opened the workshop. Alongside members of the Development Commission Katrin Heyers and Emmanuelle Jaeger, Dr Aila Ahonen from Jamk University delivered her presentation and said: &ldquo;European Athletics is on a good pathway in its sustainability development. We have a well structured road map in sustainability. Our events, for example, are doing a lot already. European Athletics is a front runner in this area.&rdquo;</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1724331513/ea_staff_workshop2.jpg"></p>
<p>The workshop aims are to to involve sustainability in every department's work and help them understand that sustainability is an integral part of operations and not an isolated topic.</p>
<h2>More events to embed environmental sustainability</h2>
<p>The working group has also already begun building upon the foundations laid at Banska Bystrica by engaging with Local Organising Committees (LOCs) for the Antalya 2024 SPAR European Cross Country Championships, the Apeldoorn 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships and the Tampere 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships with sustainability in their event delivery.</p>
<p><strong>Chris Broadbent for European Athletics</strong></p>

Banska Bystrica and beyond; sustainability's growing presence within European Athletics

<p><strong>Following her impressive display in July&rsquo;s European Athletics U18 Championships in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia where she won javelin gold in a world U18 lead of 61.07m and discus bronze with 49.50m, Vita Barbic is ready to step up a level at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru from 27-31 August.</strong></p>
<p>Turning just seventeen last week (13), the multi-talented Croatian is an energetic character who blends the unconventional and the more traditional approach.</p>
<p>Competing in more than one track and field event is nothing unusual, but her combined commitment to javelin and discus is rare.</p>
<h2>Unprecedented at international level</h2>
<p>More so, succeeding in both disciplines at international level, as she managed in Banska Bystrica is almost unprecedented in the modern era.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xkqWFwgdv7I?si=kD-ZyMx8u3tQu7Cg" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>&ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t know anybody else,&rdquo; admits the articulate thrower when asked if she knew of any other athletes balancing the same two events.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I know people who combine discus and shot put or javelin and shot put, but discus and javelin too, it is unique. I enjoy multiple events that are different. I can test which goes better and try something new because things are always changing in both events.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Some people think that one event makes the other one weaker. But for me, it wasn&rsquo;t the case. Both of them are going great.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Basically, when you get to the point of honed technique, it is very easy to combine multiple events. For me, it is not that difficult. I love it so much I can&rsquo;t even describe it.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Falling in love with athletics</h2>
<p>But Barbic took a conventional pathway into the sport through her local club in her hometown Zagreb when growing up.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I started doing athletics at five or six-years-old,&rdquo; she recalled. &ldquo;We were walking to the park one day and my sister saw a commercial that said &lsquo;join the best athletics club in our country.&rsquo; &nbsp;After a month of persuading me to try it and me saying &lsquo;no, no, no.&rsquo; I went. Then on my first training session, I fell in love with the sport.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;It was so amazing, it was something new and you could choose between multiple events and I found throwing and my coach and he just took me under his wing and we have been together for over six years. It has been an amazing journey and I want to continue doing it.&rdquo;</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1724150835/vita_barbic_discus.png"></p>
<p>Croatia has rich lineage in the throws with the likes of two-time Olympic, world and seven-time European gold medallist Sandra Elkasevic, 2016 Olympic javelin gold medallist Sara Kolak, 2022 European shot put champion Filip Mihaljević and 2014 world U20 discus champion Martin Markovic, with the latter hailing from the same club as Barbic in Zagreb.</p>
<p>But Barbic embraces the attention and expectation upon Croatian throwing&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely not pressure,&rdquo; she says when asked how it feels to be a Croatian throws prospect. &ldquo;As throwers, we have a really good environment for training. We have this one place on our coast where we all go for a throwing camp. It is amazing.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We are all good. But we can encourage each other to be even better. So, I think it is an amazing thing to have a heritage of throwers in the history of our country.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Looking to the long term</h2>
<p>Although Barbic is a likely target for USA universities seeking talent for their collegiate system, for the moment, she is content in her home country.</p>
<p>&ldquo;My ambitions are to go to some good college,&rdquo; commented Barbic whose older sister Klara, a high and triple jumper, is in her first year of studying at the prestigious Harvard University.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I really think about staying in Croatia, because I have my coach, and I really think Croatia has everything you need. So, I am going to stay there and pursue my career in this. I want to last to senior category. I just want to last in this sport and do it for as long as I can."</p>
<p>Outside of athletics, she also enjoys handball and basketball. But she also has another unusual hobby that marks out her sometimes unconventional approach.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I do many paintings inspired by athletics,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Through the art I have managed see how the technique should look from the outside, compared to what I feel on the inside when I am throwing.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Through my art I try to improve my technique, and I try to be even better. I paint other athletes. Sometimes I paint myself, but I really like to paint others. &nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to focus too much on me. So, some of the best javelin throwers like Johannes Vetter, Maria Andrejczyk, Steve Backley. My coach says they have a good technique and I try to figure out what they are doing.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t show my art to anybody. It just hangs in my room, and I try to have my own collection and for some close people I show them.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Next stop: Lima</h2>
<p>In Lima, the multi-talented Barbic is purely going to be focused on the javelin, where despite competing in the higher age group, she is ranked eighth on the entry list.</p>
<p>She is part of a <a href="https://www.has.hr/index.php/savez/naslovna/rss/3206-odreden-sastav-za-svjetsko-juniorsko-prvenstvo-u-limi " target="_blank" rel="noopener">13-strong Croatian team</a> that also includes Eva Barbaric, women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles silver medallist in Banska Bystrica, and rising combined events star and 2022 European U18 helptathlon champion Jana Koscak.</p>
<p>Lima may come a little early in her career for a medal to be a realistic target although the experience will undoubtedly stand the 16-year-old in good stead for her ascent into the U20 ranks next year when the European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere from 7-10 August.</p>
<p>[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/C9tyD_gN2cA"]</p>
<p>But the multi-talented teenager has already demonstrated her artistry inside and outside the athletics arena.&nbsp;</p>
<p>And she paints a vivid picture of a future that could be daubed with gold.</p>
<p><strong>Chris Broadbent for European Athletics</strong></p>

European U18 champion Barbic has dual throwing ambitions

<p>Matthew McKenna started the year with modest ambitions at domestic level and will end it as a European gold medallist.</p>
<p>The 800m runner gave an assured display at the European Athletics U18 Championships in Banska Bystrica 18-21 July, winning the two lap title as yet another British middle distance prospect emerged on the international scene.&nbsp;</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xkqWFwgdv7I?si=dcXk-Tj0lTgsFC7x" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<h2>Brit exceeds own expectations</h2>
<p>&ldquo;To be honest, I just wanted to make the English Schools finals at the start of the year,&rdquo; he said in the aftermath of his impressive victory.</p>
<p>&ldquo;And then coming into the BMCs (British Milers Club, UK distance running events), I was running faster every race, especially in the 1500m as well. And (then) getting that call to come out here (Banska Bystrica) and race, it was such a shock. To come out here and win it was amazing.</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1721920181/mckenna.jpg"></p>
<p>&ldquo;It means everything to me. I&rsquo;ve been putting in so much effort with my coaches and my family. To come out here and win it for me and them, it was perfect.</p>
<h2>Running with confidence</h2>
<p>McKenna cuts a confident figure on the track, racing with a baseball cap backwards and &ndash; as he triumphed in each round - spreading his arms wide to savour the crowd&rsquo;s appreciation.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;If you try and keep the confidence, you race well off the back of that,&rdquo; he says. And of the cap, he says: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always run with this. Throughout lockdown when I started running, I&rsquo;ve always had a hat. It&rsquo;s just my thing, I never really know anything different. I always keep the hat on.&rdquo;</p>
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<p>The COVID-19 pandemic was the genesis of McKenna&rsquo;s athletics career. &ldquo;My mum would make me 4-6 miles every morning when I was 12-13 and then I moved down from Scotland to Surrey and started track and I really built in some speed,&rdquo; he explains. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Perhaps it is born of his introduction into the sport, but training remains a solo pursuit with the support of coaches Jamie McLoughlin and Martin Norman.&rdquo; I&rsquo;m just training by myself. I&rsquo;d love to have a training partner at some point. But this year has just been me,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<h2>All in for track career</h2>
<p>McKenna is also at perfectly at ease being the latest name on the conveyor belt of British middle distance running talent and the expectation it inevitably brings. &ldquo;I see it as privilege,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I want to keep it going. I don&rsquo;t see any pressure with it. I race my own races. I train how I train. I&rsquo;m not going to let that get into my head too much.&rdquo;</p>
<p>There is a still a long way to go for the teenager, but for now he is fully committed to making his way in athletics. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all about track,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I love waking up in the morning, going running and getting those endorphins. It&rsquo;s just my thing. I love it!&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Chris Broadbent for European Athletics</strong></p>

McKenna's English Schools ambitions lead to European gold

<p><strong>The European Athletics U18 Championships came to a conclusion on Sunday (21) and European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov has already hailed Banska Bystrica 2024 - the fourth edition of the champiuonships - as the "best ever" since the event launched in 2016</strong>.</p>
<p>Here are some of the numbers behind a memorable four days in Slovakia, with the championships being held on a track installed by European Athletics Partner and Preferred Supplier CONICA.</p>
<h2>1133</h2>
<p>A record number of athletes entered for the championships</p>
<h2>48&nbsp;</h2>
<p>European Athletics Member Federations competed in Banska Bystrica</p>
<h2>20,000&nbsp;</h2>
<p>Estimated total attendance at the SNP DUKLA Stadium over eight sessions across four days</p>
<h2>3</h2>
<p>Number of European U18 bests established</p>
<h2>14</h2>
<p>World U18 leads over the course of the competition</p>
<h2>15</h2>
<p>Championship best performances</p>
<h2>15&nbsp;</h2>
<p>Medals won by Italy, who topped the medal table</p>
<h2>29</h2>
<p>New European U18 leads over four days</p>
<h2>79</h2>
<p>National U18 bests</p>
<h2>595</h2>
<p>Personal bests</p>
<h2>"Best ever"</h2>
<p>At the conclusion of four pulsating days, President Dobromir Karamarinov said: &ldquo;I want to give a big thanks to the Slovak Athletic Federation - they were an excellent championships.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"They have already organised SPAR European Cross Country Championships, European Throwing Cup and European Athletics Team Championships, but now this is the first European Championships on the track.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;This is such as important age group because for us &ndash; at European Athletics - U18 is a crucial age. When World Athletics decided to stop such a championships, we in European Athletics decided we have to establish such a championships.</p>
<p>&ldquo;This is the fourth edition, but I can declare this is the best ever European Championships in this age group. From the stadium and the warm up track, this is really excellent. It is exactly right for this size of championships.&rdquo;</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1721226920/Website/SM_SUI_DAY0_press_009_k40cqn.jpg"></p>
<h2>"We fulfilled all our expectations"</h2>
<p>President of the Slovak Athletics Association and the head of the Local Organizing Committee of the Banska Bystrica 2024 European Athletics U18 Championships Petar Korčok was also thrilled with the event and the way it was delivered.</p>
<p>""I received a lot of congratulations and thanks from individual delegates, presidents of [European Athletics] Member Federations and from the European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov," said Korčok.</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1721227857/SM_SUI_DAY0_press_025.jpg"></p>
<p>"Everyone feels that we surprised them with the level of organisation of the event. We appeared on the map of European organisers in a very favourable light. We fulfilled all our expectations and were able to cope with the great challenge that we set ourselves many years ago,</p>
<p>&ldquo;Of course, there were many challenges, but organisationally we passed with flying colours. Also, our volunteers, referees and, last but not least, the athletes proved that they have what it takes."</p>
<p>The next European Athletics U18 Championships will take place in Rieti, Italy between 16-19 July 2026.&nbsp;</p>

Record numbers at "Best Ever" European Athletics U18 Championships

Twin assault on glory as Czechs win three golds in Banska Bystrica

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European Athletics U18 Championships All News

European Athletics U18 Championships | All News

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