Mariya Savinova is part of a strong Russian team
at the SPAR European Team Championships in
Stockholm this weekend.

Can any of the other 11 nations at this year’s SPAR European Team Championships in Stockholm prevent Russia from repeating her success of 12 months ago?

On paper, this year’s Russian team looks almost as strong as the one that scored 379.5 points across two days in the Norwegian city of Bergen 12 months ago, when they won by an emphatic margin of 62.5 points and notching up 13 individual wins.

Russia team this time around includes 2010 European Athletics Championships gold medallists like 800m runner Mariya Savinova and 400m hurdler Natalia Antyukh; 2011 European indoor long jump champion Darya Klishina and two world leaders in their event: high jumper Aleksiy Dmitrik and hammer thrower Aleksiy Zigorniy.

In truth, there are only a handful of disciplines where a Russian athlete could be expected to finish outside of the top three this weekend, mainly in the men’s track events.

Consequently, it’s a tall order for any country to topple them, especially if you also remember Russia’s history of producing teams that in the last two decades have regularly topped the medal tables at major events, just as they did at 2010 European Athletics Championships and 2011 European Indoor Championships.

However, Great Britain, Germany and France, the three teams that finished in that order immediately behind Russia in 2010, are obviously not going to throw in the towel before the first gun is fired.

German threat

Germany showed that Russia can be beaten at the inaugural Championships in Leiria, Portugal, two years ago. As the German high jumper Ariane Friedrich memorably said before those first SPAR European Team Championships: “Nobody who is part of a team that could also be in contention will say someone else is going to win before the first race is run.”

Last year, Germany had to settle for third place but, in place of injured Friedrich, it could be the newly-minted hammer world record holder Betty Heidler who will act as the unofficial cheerleader for her team.

“The SPAR European Team Championships are like no other competition in athletics. It’s a wonderful feeling to be competing for your country and also sitting in the stands cheering on your team mates. I was very proud to have been part of the Germany tam that won at the inaugural Championships two years ago in Portugal,” said Heidler recently.

Will Heidler also threaten the 80-metre barrier in Stockholm, especially as she threw over 77 metres again earlier this week?

“Despite a few losses due to injuries (including the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships 60m hurdles gold medallist Carolin Nytra) we will start with a powerful team,” added the German athletics federation sports director Thomas Kurschilgen.

Long jumper Christian Reif joined Heidler at the top of the podium in Barcelona last summer and the German team also has admirably strength in many other events. It has a quartet of 2010 European Athletics Championships medallists silver medallists in its team this weekend: Carsten Schlangen, Robert Harting, Mattias De Zordo and Silke Speigelburg.

Great Britain and France have also both finished the top four in the last two years and will field excellent teams as well.

Greene leads Brits

The former are captained by Europe’s top 400m hurdler David Greene, who is looking for a hat trick of victories after winning in Leiria and Bergen.

His fellow hurdler and European champion Andy Turner, the fastest European of the year with 13.28, is the favourite for the 110m hurdlers.

The 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships 3000m gold medallist Helen Clitheroe will race over 5000m and showed her improving endurance by finishing fourth at the European Cup 10000m in Oslo earlier this month.

Among the other leading names in the British team are Barcelona medallists Michael Rimmer, Chris Thompson, Jennifer Meadows and Perri Shakes-Drayton and there is a lot of interest in how fast the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships 60m silver medallist Tiffany Ofili-Porter can go in the 100m hurdles after her recent British record of 12.77, which is the leading European time this year.

Talisman Lemaitre

France have the 2010 European Athlete of the Year Christophe Lemaitre down to run the 100m, 200m and be part of their 4x100m team, all three events at which he won gold medals at last summer’s European Athletics Championships in Barcelona.

The right conditions could see Lemaitre improve on his French records of 9.96 and 20.16, although in the shorter distance he could be under pressure from Great Britain’s Dwain Chambers and Portugal’s evergreen 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships 60m gold medallist Francis Obikwelu.

Pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie was the star of the 2009 Championships when he cleared 6.01m and the current European champion indoors and outdoors. However, he will have to be on top form once again as his event includes Germany’s Malte Mohr and Ukraine’s 2010 European Athletics Championships silver medallist Maksym Mazuryk.

In the women’s event, sprinters Véronique Mang and Myriam Soumaré proved their pedigree in Barcelona by getting medals, in the latter’s case her haul included gold in the 200m.

The other challengers

The other eight nations competing in Stockholm are: Ukraine, Poland, Italy, Belarus, Spain, Czech Republic, Sweden and Portugal.

Each one has stars in their own right and will be determined not to be overshadowed by the ‘big four’ of European athletics.

Ukraine finished seventh at the inaugural Championships two years ago, fifth last year and they will be looking to make a further improvement in the Swedish capital.

Among the leading names are three individual medallists from the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona: triple jump winner Olha Saladuha, who currently leads the world in her event with the 14.98m she jumped at the Samsung Diamond League meeting in Eugene earlier this month; pole vaulter Mazuryk and also the 400m hurdles bronze medallist Stanislav Melnykov.

Contesting the women’s 100m will be the sensation of the indoor season Olesya Povh, who was unbeaten over 60m this winter and capped her 14-race winning streak with a gold medal at the European Athletics Indoor Championships.

Ukraine can also boast of currently having fastest European women in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m; Mariya Ryemyen, Antonina Yefremova, Liliya Lobanova and Anna Mishchenko.

Poland is sending a team that is also looking to improve after finishing fifth in 2009 and sixth in 2010.

Among their leading names are 2008 Olympic Games shot put champion Tomasz Majewski and the 2010 European Athletics Championships discus gold medallist Piotr Malachowski.

Majewski, like Greene, is one of just a handful of athletes who have won on both occasions at first two Championships.

Big points are also expected over two laps of the track from the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships 800m gold medallist Adam Kszczot while Poland’s women middle and long distance runners should also do well as the team includes: Sylwia Ejdys (1500 m), Lidia Chojecka (3000m) and Wioletta Frankiewicz (5000m).

The 2009 pole vault world champion and the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships gold medallist Anna Rogowska could also get maximum points for Poland.

Belarus strength lies, literally and metaphorically, mainly in the throwing events, whose competitors include the 2010 European Athletics Championships shot put gold medallist Andrei Mikhnevich.

One exception is the women’s long jump world leader Tatyana Shutova, who jumped 6.95m recently.

Italy’s 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships triple jump gold medallist Simona La Mantia is the most obvious name for the Azzurri, who also have hammer thrower Nicola Vizzoni sending his implement over 80 metres again.

Spain’s middle-distance armada includes the 2010 European Athletics Championships 5000m silver medallist Jesus Espaí±a and the impressive young 3000m steeplechaser Abdelaziz Merzoughi, who leads this year’s European rankings; as well as Barcelona 1500m medallists Nuria Fernández and Natalia Rodríguez.

Czech Republic, Sweden and Portugal were relegated for the Championships in 2009 but bounced straight back by finishing in the top three of the First League last year.

However, they face a tough challenge to maintain their status

The Czechs are the best placed of the trio to avoid the drop again with the 2008 Olympic Games javelin champion and world record holder Barbora Å potáková back to winning ways after setting a season’s best at the European Athletics Outdoor Permit Meeting in Prague on Monday.

A lot of points from the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships 400m gold medallist Denisa Rosolová and 400m hurdler Zuzana Hejnová will also be required if Czech Republic are to stay up.

On the men’s side, the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships high jump silver medallist Jaroslav Bába will be looking to challenge Dmitrik and Germany’s Raul Spank in his event.

The home names that will get immediate recognition from an always enthusiastic and appreciate Swedish audience are likely to be former European Athlete of the Year Carolina Klüft, now concentrating on the long jump, and high jumper Emma Green Tregaro, a Barcelona silver medallist who notched up a confidence boosting win at the Diamond League meeting in New York last Saturday.

Portugal should be able to count on high finishes from distance runners Sara Moreira and Dulce Félix and the 2006 and 2010 European Athletics Championships long jump silver medallist Naide Gomes.

However, like with Sweden, they will have to defy the odds if they are to travel to Gateshead in two years time for the 4th SPAR European Team Championships as the event leapfrogs a year as Helsinki stages the European Athletics Championships in 2012.

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