Top of the European Athletics rankings, eighth in the world and running in front of her home crowd, Türkiye’s Yasemin Can has every incentive to become a gold medallist on Sunday.
Indeed, it has already been a brilliant season for the 19-year-old who will be among the favourites at the European 10,000m Cup in Mersin.
A week after staging the European Champion Clubs Cup, the Nevin Yanit Athletics Complex will once again become the focal point for this big, competitive test so close to the championships.
At the start of May in Mersin, Can broke the European under-23 record when she won at the national 10,000m championships in 31:30.58 and she is heading into this cup on the back of a superb 5000m at the IAAF Diamond League in Rome on Thursday night.
It is her first main season at that distance and this personal best time of 14:37.61 is impressive for a teenager who has also run her quickest 3000m this year with 8:53.16, again in Mersin, last month.
All those ingredients put Can, the youngest in the race, at the forefront of a Turkish team where she is joined by Esma Aydemir (pb: 34:33.86), Sevilay Eytemis (33:45.55) and Fadime Suna (33:11.92).
Only one other woman in the field has ever broken 32 minutes – Ukraine’s Olha Skrypak (31:51.32) – but it is not all about times and it is why Spain’s defending champion Trihas Gebre (32:03.39) could be hard to beat again in this 20th edition of the European 10,000m Cup.
Rosaria Console (32:47.70) is quickest among the Italians and Romania’s only entrant, Monica Madalina Florea (32:55.08), might have a say on the outcome too.
It could be a great event for Türkiye as Can’s teammate Polat Kemboi Arikan is the defending men’s champion after his success in Chia-Pula 12 months ago.
One rival he knows very well indeed is Italy’s Daniele Meucci, the European marathon champion.
When Arikan won the European 10,000m gold in Helsinki 2012, Meucci was his biggest challenger and in the end they were separated by only 0.46 as the Italian took silver.
Spain also look strong with Alemayehu Bezabeh, Jose Espana and Juan Perez in their squad.