Some of Europe’s best will compete on 31 January in the jubilee 10th edition of the Pedro’s Cup in Bydgoszcz, Poland, a European Athletics Indoor Permit Meeting with five events scheduled.
In the men’s shot put this event will serve as a good test to home hero Tomasz Majewski who is preparing for the World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland.
He will face some of the world’s best at the Pedro’s Cup with US stars Christian Cantwell and Ryan Whiting competing alongside European indoor bronze medallist Ladislav Prasil, who at age 23 continues to progress.
For the women’s high jump European champion Ruth Beitia and Russian Irina Gordeyeva will seek strong results. Beitia has made it her objective to repeat her glory from Helsinki.
In the pole vault reigning European indoor and outdoor champion Renaud Lavillenie is the top name to figure in Bydgoszcz. He has already soared to great heights early this season with a world-leading 5.93m in Aulnay Sous Bois, France.
But he will be up against a familiar foe in the returning 2011 world champion from Daegu, Poland’s Pawel Wojciechowski, who similarly to Majewski is aiming to do well in Sopot in March.
Wojciechowski stunned Lavillenie who was favoured to win in Daegu. If he can manage to get back in the mix, it will make for an even more interesting event at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich 12-17 August.
A day prior, the 9th PSD Bank Meeting will take place on 30 January in Dusseldorf, another European Athletics Permit Meeting with nearly all of Germany’s elite competing.
World champion Raphael Holzdeppe and fellow countrymen Bjorn Otto will attempt to respond to Lavillenie’s early season form in the pole vault.
Both shot putters David Storl and Christina Schwanitz will be participating as well. Storl has lost 7 kilos during the off-season in an attempt to add more speed to his rotation.
German rivals Verena Sailer and Tatjana Pinto will face off in what is set to be an explosive 60m race.
Likewise Katya Demut will try to challenge the current European indoor triple jump champion, Italy’s Simona La Mantia.
Finally the European 400m champion Pavel Maslak of the Czech Republic is up against 2010 world indoor champion Chris Brown from the Bahamas.