CONICA, the preferred supplier for European Athletics, continues to provide surfaces for some of Europe’s most iconic stadiums, with the latest one being the Raul Guidobaldi Stadium in Rieti, Italy which will have a new CONICA track installed later this year.
The new surface will be a CONIPUR Vmax track, the same track system that is installed at the Letzigrund Stadium in Zürich and at the Stade Louis-II in Monaco, both stops on the Diamond League circuit with the former also being the venue for the 2014 European Athletics Championships.
Rieti has always been a mecca for athletics, with the prestigious annual meeting that ran from 1971-2015 seeing some truly memorable moments over the years including eight official world records.
The Raul Guidobaldi Stadium - which was also the venue for the 2013 European Athletics U20 Championships - was set to host the 2020 European Athletics U18 Championships, which was sadly cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
However, it will host the European Athletics U18 Championships in 2026 as well as the 2023 DNA U20 Clubs competition this year on 16-17 September.
When the European Athletics Council made the decision to give Rieti the 2026 European Athletics U20 Championships in November 2021, one of the key factors was the continued enthusiasm of the Rieti LOC to host the championships once the pandemic had subsided.
As part of the LOC and FIDAL’s commitment to the event, they have promised European Athletics that there will be an extensive promotional and marketing effort to highlight the championships, which will bring Europe's top teenage talent to the heart of Italy.