The Fribourg Track Lab will take place on 1 September in Saint Léonard University Stadium, Fribourg, Switzerland and features a team format, including international stars with multiple event innovations to add to the spectator experience.
Twice European gold medallist and Chair of the European Athletics Athletes Committee Lea Sprunger is the Meeting Director of the Fribourg Track Lab event and is supported by her former coach Laurent Meuwly is harnessing new technology and new ideas for the groundbreaking event.
The following innovations will be tested in the first-ever Track Lab:
- Team Event Structure
Six teams, each with six captains, will compete in eight diverse disciplines.
- Elimination (Limitation) of False Starts
The authorised reaction time for this meet will be 0.000 seconds, reflecting technological advancements that allow athletes to react faster than the traditional 0.100-second threshold.
- Effective Height/Distance Measurement
For the pole vault, new technology will measure the highest point at which the athlete clears the bar, providing a true assessment of their maximum height reached.
Similarly, in the long jump the actual distance will be measured from the tip of an athlete's foot, ensuring accurate results, as Fribourg Track Lab, in partnership with World Athletics, will introduce the use of the 'take-off zone'.
- Enhanced Dynamism in Javelin
Only the best throw of each athlete's series will be measured. This approach is expected to add dynamism, rhythm, and greater spectator engagement.
- Draw Night Ceremony
All the athletes will gather the evening before the meeting on the Bletz (Café des Arcades) in Fribourg to participate at the team draw night ceremony.
Athletes set to compete at the event include a plethora of well-known names:
- Switzerland’s European pole vault gold medallist Angelica Moser
- The Netherlands’ two-time European Indoor 60m hurdles gold medallist Nadine Visser
- Former European 100m hurdles champion Pia Skrzyszowska of Poland
- 2024 European 200m champion Timothé Mumenthaler of Switzerland
- Liemarvin Bonevacia, Olympic, world and European 4x400m medallist of the Netherlands
- Switzerland’s William Reais, 2024 European 200m bronze medallist
- Two-time world javelin champion Anderson Peters of Grenada
- Two-time Olympic 400m hurdles bronze medallist Alison Dos Santos of Brazil
- Three-time European 800m medallist Rénelle Lamote of France
- Eugene Omalla of the Netherlands, 2024 Olympic 4x400 mixed gold medallist
- Alina Rotaru of Romania, fifth at 2023 World Athletics Championships long jump
- Serbia’s Milica Gardasevic, 2022 Mediterranean Games long jump gold medallist
- Audrey Werro of Switzerland, two-time European Athletics U20 800m gold medallist
- Gabriela Gajanova of Slovakia, 2024 European 800m silver medallist
- Edgar Rivera of Mexico, two-time world championships high jump finalist
The initiative is led by LoRo-Sport Fribourg and TEAMMATE, a Swiss company active in innovative solutions in sports. It is being supported by the local authorities in Fribourg, Switzerland and endorsed by World Athletics, European Athletics, and the Diamond League.
The meeting will also be a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver Meeting and streamed live on the European Athletics YouTube channel.
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics