April is traditionally the time of the year when the transition begins from indoor events to the outdoor season and a number of European athletes made an outstanding early start in their campaigns which they hope will lead to glory at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich, Switzerland, this summer.
In addition, there were two European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meetings this month and various marathons around the world.
Consequently, European Athletics is pleased to announce that athletes from 11 different countries have been nominated for the April award of European Athlete of the Month.
At the end of each month, a panel of experts produces a short list of the outstanding athletes and performances achieved by European athletes during that month, which is then mailed to the European athletics media and thousands of fans who have signed up to receive news from European Athletics.
The European Athlete of the Month fan voting takes place through our Facebook page, while members of the media can cast their vote on our website.
Fans are also able to vote through the European Athletics mobile applications on iPhone and Android phones.
The public, media and a group of expert statisticians cast their votes for the European Athlete of the Month with each category counting as 33.3 per cent of the vote.
For example, the winner of each poll will be awarded 10 points, second 9 points, etc. and the athlete with the most points after the three different polls have been counted will be declared the winner.
In the unlikely event of a tie, Hansjörg Wirz, the president of European Athletics, will have the casting vote.
The voting will close on Monday 12 May at noon CET.
The European Athlete of the Month initiative was launched in January 2007 and is designed to recognise outstanding performers at all levels of the sport in Europe.
No athlete who has previously served a two-year doping ban can be nominated for the European Athlete of the Month.
MEN
Aleksandr Lesnoy RUS (shot put): the 2013 World University Games champion and 2014 European Cup Winter Throwing winner equalled his personal best of 21.23m when winning the traditional Nizamutdinov Prizes competition in Adler on 24 April.
Bence Halasz HUN (hammer): the prodigious 16-year-old improved the European youth best with the 5kg implement to 84.43m on home soil in Szombathely on 12 April.
Greg Rutherford GBR (long jump): the London 2012 Olympic Games champion leapt to an impressive national record of 8.51m in the Californian town of Chula Vista on 24 April to move up to sixth on the European all-time list.
James Ellington GBR (sprints): ran European list-leading times of 10.13 and 20.44 at a meeting in the Florida town of Clermont on 26 April, the former was a personal best and the latter just 0.02 short of his best despite a stiff breeze in his face.
Maicel Uibo EST (decathlon): still only 21, the Georgia University student put together a European-leading total of 8123 points in Athens, Georgia, on 9-10 April; his marks included a high jump personal best of 2.16m.
Matej Toth SVK (walking): won the 20km event in the Czech spa town of Podebrady, a European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meeting, in 1:20:00 on 12 April and was just 12 seconds outside of his recent personal best for the distance.
Michael Bingham GBR (400m): the 2010 European Athletics Championships silver medallist and British relay team stalwart clocked a European-leading 45.49 at the Florida Relays in Gainesville on 4 April.
Mo Farah GBR (marathon): the double Olympic and World champion on the track ran 2:08:21 on his debut over the classic distance at the London Marathon on 13 April, the fastest time by a European runner for over two years.
Virgilijus Alekna LTU (discus): the two-time Olympic Games champion tossed his implement out to a European-leading distance of 64.70m in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on 17 April to show that he is still a force to be reckoned with at 42.
Wilhem Belocian FRA (110m hurdles): the 2013 European Athletics Junior Championships ran the 110m hurdles over the junior heights in 13.23, just 0.05 outside his own European junior record from last year, to win the CARIFTA Games title in Martinique on 21 April.
WOMEN
Anezka Drahotová CZE (walking): the 2013 European Athletics Junior Championships 10,000m winner, who is still only 19, won the 20km event in the Czech spa town of Podebrady, a European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meeting, in an impressive 1:29:43.
Desiree Henry GBR (100m): just 18, the 2011 World Youth Championships 200m winner ran 11.23 at the Florida Relays in Gainesville on 4 April, the best time by a European junior for almost three years, and a blistering but wind-assisted 11.04 later in the month.
Emily Dudgeon GBR (800m): the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships finalist returned to form with a European-leading 2:02.67, the second best time of her career, at the Mt SAC Relays in the USA on 19 April.
Jessica Augusto POR (marathon): the 2010 European Cross Country Championships winner ran a personal best of 2:24:25 at the London Marathon on 13 April, the third fastest time by a European runner this year.
Jodie Williams GBR (sprints): the 2011 European Athletics Junior Championships 100m winner ran European-leading times of 11.20 and 22.76 in Gainesville, Florida, on 19 April with her 200m time being a personal best.
Lyudmila Litvinova RUS (400m): the 2007 European Athletics U23 Championships gold medallist ran a European-leading 52.06 in Waco, Texas, on 19 April.
Patrycja Wyciszkiewicz POL (300m): the 2013 European Athletics Junior Championships 400m gold medallist ran the outstanding time of 37.51 on her home town track in Poznan on 26 April, a world-leading time for the non-championship distance.
Ruth Beitia ESP (high jump): the reigning European champion, indoors and outdoors, jumped a European-leading 1.93m at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, USA on 26 April in her first outdoor competition of the year.
Tiffany Porter GBR (100m hurdles): the 2013 IAAF World Championships bronze medallist ran 12.71 at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, USA on 26 April, the only European hurdler under 13 seconds so far this year.
Vera Santos POR (walking): won the 20km in Portugal’s biggest walking event of the year at Rio Maior, a European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meeting, in 1:31:14 on 5 April.