Yemaneberhan Crippa, 21, will make his 10,000m debut at the European 10,000m Cup in London on 19 May.
Crippa is one of Europe’s finest long distance prospects. He won back-to-back titles in the U20 race at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in 2014 and 2015 and showed his prowess on the track last summer by winning the 5000m at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Bydgoszcz with a scintillating finish.
Crippa started his summer campaign brilliantly, setting an Italian U23 5000m record of 13:18.83 at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford to eclipse Francesco Panetta’s 33-year-old mark.
The European Championships qualifying mark of 28:55 should be comfortably within Crippa’s reach and with pacemakers being included at the European 10,000m Cup, he could get close to Panetta’s national U23 record of 27:44.65.
Crippa is joined on the men’s team by Lorenzo Dini and Marco Salami. The women’s team is made up of Sara Brogiato, Giovanna Epis and Nicole Reina.