European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov has described the Silesia 2023 European Athletics Team Championships as “special for many reasons.”
Speaking at a press conference in the Slaski Stadium before the 1st Division competition was due to start on Friday (23), Karamarinov commented: “It’s the first time we have all the Divisions and Member Federations together at same time in a one-week festival of athletics and I want to thank Local Organising Committee for all their hard work and a support that Marshall of the Silesian Regiona Jakub Chełstowski provided. We at European Athletics are immensely proud that with this innovative new format of the team championships, we are now part of the third European Games and I would like to thank EOC President Spyros Capralos for sharing my vision and for being such great partner.
"We did this risk for the 2nd and 3rd Division that there will not be many spectators. But all the athletes are so happy because they have the chance for their friends and family to see them on TV competing in a big stadium.
"Compared to being in a small stadium with two or three thousand spectators the whole world can watch them live and they are really happy about that. But we are also looking forward to the next three days when the strongest teams in Europe will be here trying to win the trophy.
"We have nine Olympic champions taking part, 12 European champions and 14 European indoor champions.
"We are here for the second time in a row after 2021 when we delivered the Team Championships in very difficult circumstances in pandemic times. We did that for the athletes - we have to deliver our championships for them.
"And of course this is third time in a row in Poland for this event as in 2019 we were in Bydgoszcz.
"I also want to say something about the future of this concept because it’s really worthwhile and this will not be the only chance for athletes to be together in this way - so it is a good ongoing project for athletics.
"We have already started to negotiate our conditions for athletics to be part of the European Games again in four years’ time. In the meantime in two years’ time the host will be Madrid. We await the final decision in in July but we are assured it will be the same concept there in 2025."
Karamarinov was sitting alongside Jakub Chełstowski, Marshall of the Silesian Region, who added: "As a result of all the hard work that has been done in Silesia we are now able to invite the best athletes in Europe to this great stadium.
“It has an atmosphere that inspires our athletes and footballers, it seems to touch their hearts. I think it has some kind of magic about it.”