With the IAAF World Championships moving into view and the four divisions of the European Athletics Team Championships a fortnight away, national championships will be the focus of the next two weeks.
Some 17 countries will be staging national championships this weekend and some of the biggest names in athletics will be in action. We have outlined some of the main storylines which will unfold this weekend and we will round up the best of the action on Monday morning.
Stefanidi, Tentoglou and Karalis headline in Patras
The horizontal and vertical jumps will take centre stage at the Greek Championships in Patras, headlined by reigning world, Olympic and European champion Ekaterini Stefanidi in the pole vault. Stefanidi faces her long-time rival Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou while veteran Kostas Filippidis faces teenager Emmanouil Karalis in the men’s pole vault. European champions Miltiadis Tentoglou (long jump) and Paraskevi Papahristou (triple jump) will also be in action.
Mayer to test out shape on the road to title defence in Doha
On the road to his title defence at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Kevin Mayer will contest individual events at the French Championships, including the 110m hurdles and pole vault. Mayer clocked 13.90 in Talence for the 110m hurdles into a headwind - and will be capable of improving on that if the conditions allow - but the Frenchman has been struggling with the pole vault this summer. Mayer will also compete in the decathlon discus.
Schippers back in domestic action over 100m
Dafne Schippers will be in action at her national outdoor championships for the first time since 2015 and the two-time world 200m champion will contest the 100m this weekend. Among others, Schippers will face her training partner and fellow former heptathlete Nadine Visser who will also contest the 100m hurdles this weekend.
Gudzius on the comeback trail in Palanga
Andrius Gudzius’ season initially seemed to be in some jeopardy after undergoing surgery at the start of the summer but the reigning world and European discus champion made an earlier than expected return to competition. Gudzius has competed five times this year and he will be looking to extend his season’s best of 66.03m at the Lithuanian Championships in Palanga with the knowledge that his big rival Daniel Stahl has been throwing over 70 metres consistently in 2019.
Giorgi to drop down in distance to contest the 10,000m race walk
Eleonora Giorgi leads the 2019 European list in the 20km race walk with 1:27:46 and she made a sparkling debut in the 50km race walk in Altyus, winning the European Race Walking Cup in a European record of 4:04:50. Giorgi’s plans for the World Championships have not been set in stone just yet but the 29-year-old will be competing over 10,000m at the Italian Championships in Bressanone as part of her build-up to Doha.