European indoor champion Rosolová wants to hear the Czech anthem again in Helsinki

Czech Republic's Denisa Rosolova will be bidding for the continental title over the 400m at the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki.

Denisa Rosolová climbed to the top of the podium at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships after she won the 400m in Paris last year and in Helsinki this summer she will be bidding to have the right be called a double continental champion.

'I was fifth in Barcelona at the last European Athletics Championships two years ago but, since that time, I am much more mature. I can handle event tactically much better,' the 25-year-old Rosolová explained to European Athletics.

'Remembering the European Indoor Championships in Paris, I had a mixture of feelings at the finish, I didn't realize immediately and clearly what had happened. It was very emotional experience to stand on the podium and listen to the Czech anthem. I hope I will repeat these feelings sometimes in the future, maybe that will happen in Helsinki,' she added.

The 2012 European Athletics Championships will be held in the Finnish capital from 27 June – 1 July.

'Unlike at the international meetings, nobody asks you about the time you ran in the big final but the medals. So, for me the best result would be to leave with a medal on my neck in a solid time.'

Rosolová eventually finished 2011 as the sixth fastest European runner over one lap of the track, behind four Russians and Ukraine's Antonina Yefremova.

However, she is not worried about her potential opponents, whoever they maybe. 'They can run very fast in Russia but they show up quite seldom at other meetings. Nobody knows what to expect from them at the Championships.'

'The only thing I am afraid of in Helsinki will be the weather,' she joked. 'I really do not like cold weather and I heard some stories about the World Championships in 2005. It will be tough but I want to be ready for every condition. The Olympics in London may be rainy as well, so it can be a good examination.

'My ideal plan is to qualify quickly for the European Championships in my first start of the summer, which will be at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava (in the Czech Republic on 25 May).'

In the audience, at the Ostrava meeting will be her family and friends as she hails from the city and it was there last year that she set her 400m personal best of 50.84.

'But I am already looking forward to Helsinki and I believe there will be many Czech fans there as it is not too far away and the tickets will be more available comparing to London.'

Rosolová will also be seen racing over 200m more often this summer and, given her wide variety of talents - she won world and European long jump titles as a junior and also competed in the 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships pentathlon - it's possible one may see her also competing in the 400m hurdles in the near future.

She admitted that she and her coach Martina Bla…¾ková experimented with the event during a recent training camp in South Africa.