The famous Banska Bystrica indoor high jump meeting in Slovakia, a European Athletics Indoor Permit Meeting, has announced part of its elite field for the 25th anniversary edition.
Belarus’ Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships silver medallist and 2017 European U20 champion Maksim Nedasekau is among the names announced and will be out to improve his indoor best of 2.31m set last winter.
Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi, the 2016 European champion, will also return to the competition having won in Banska Bystrica the same year as his continental crown.
Former world champion Donald Thomas, from the Bahamas, and Japan’s 2018 Asian Games medallist Naoto Tobe will also be in the men’s field.
In the women’s competition, Rio 2016 Olympic Games and Berlin 2018 silver medallist Mirela Demireva, from Bulgaria will come up against one of the rising stars of the event, Belraus’ 2018 world U20 champion Karina Taranda.
Czech Republic’s 2017 European U20 champion Michaela Hruba, who was Taranda’s predecessor as world U20 champion in 2016, and another former world U20 champion Alessia Trost, from Italy will also be in action in Banska Bystrica, where Trost won in 2015.
The long-standing women's meeting record is 2.05m by Croatia's Blanka Vlasic in 2006 while Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim cleared 2.40m in 2015 for the men's meeting record.