European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov praised the hard work and commitment of the Portuguese athletics federation – Federação Portuguesa De Atletismo – ahead of this year’s European Throwing Cup this weekend at the traditional pre-event press conference on Friday (8).
“I would like to thank the Portuguese athletics federation and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) here in Leiria for all their hard work with what will be the last edition of this three-year period of [European Throwing Cup] competitions,” said President Karamarinov, at the press conference in the Estádio Municipal Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, one of two venues for the Cup.
“I am optimistically waiting for great results from this weekend which will point the way towards Rome, where the European Athletics Championships are being held this summer.”
The Portuguese athletics federation President Jorge Vieira commented: “European Athletics confidence in our organisational abilities has once again been translated from words into deeds thanks to the efforts of the Municipality of Leiria and [local athletics club] Juventude Vidigalense, which can only be good for athletics and, in particular, the throwers.”
“Like President Karamarinov, I hope for a great edition of the Cup as many of the best athletes in Europe are competing, and some great results,” added Vieira.
Municipality of Leiria President Gonçalo Lopes also suggested that the Cup may return to Leiria sometime soon in the future, after staging the event six times in the last decade including the last three editions.
“We make ourselves available to continue hosting future editions of this competition. I take advantage of this date to also leave a word of tribute to our female athletes, on this very significant date,” commented Lopes, referencing International Women's Day which was also on Friday.
LOC President Paulo Vieira, who is also the Vice President of Juventude Vidigalense brought proceedings to a close. “I can only praise the commitment of the entire LOC and particularly the volunteers, who have been essential for the high quality of these three editions [in Leiria].”
Also present, answering questions from the local media, were Italy's 2023 World Athletics Championships shot put silver medallist Leonardo Fabbri, Germany's new javelin star Max Dehning and Portuguese throwers Eliana Bandeira and Raquel Gomes.
Some important statistics emphasise the quality of this year’s Cup.
- Seven medallists from the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships will be in Leiria, including three gold medallists (Jessica Schilder, Bianca Ghelber, Elina Tzengko).
- The 1-2-3 from the women’s hammer in Munich 2022 will be competing in Leiria..
- The 1-2 from the Munich 2022 women’s javelin will also be in Leiria.
- Six senior champions from will be defending their titles in Leiria.
- Six U23 champions from the 2023 European Throwing Cup will also be in action in Leiria
- Two medallists from the 2023 World Athletics Championships will be competing (Leonardo Fabbri, Bence Halasz).
How to watch the Cup...
Both days of the 2024 European Throwing Cup in Leiria, Portugal from 9-10 March will be streamed live through the European Athletics website and on the European Athletics YouTube channel.
The live stream will be accompanied by expert English-language commentary and if you missed anything or want to re-watch the best of the action, highlights from both days of competition will be published on our YouTube channel.
Live results will be available through the European Athletics website and there will also be extensive coverage of both days across European Athletics’ social media channels as well as editorial coverage on the European Athletics website.