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By Admin EAC Roma2024

Karsten Warholm, a gladiator is coming back to Rome

How many stars at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships. In addition to Mondo Duplantis, Femke Bol and the Italian champions, the fans are waiting at the Olympic Stadium for the world record holder in the 400 hurdles Karsten Warholm, one of the most acclaimed athletes.

The 28-year-old Norwegian triumphed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games with the sensational world record of 45.94, and now he is at the same time Olympic, World and European champion. With just over a month to go, he is aiming to win his third consecutive continental title in Rome after Berlin 2018 and Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships.

Warholm will be competing at the Olympic Stadium for the semi-finals on the morning session of Monday 10 June, while the final is scheduled for the evening session of Tuesday 11 June.

It will be an amazing night  that will also feature the final of the men’s high jump with the great expectation for the Italian captain Gianmarco Tamberi and the final of the women’s 400 hurdles with another world-class athlete like Femke Bol, as well as much more (tickets on sale here).

Warholm‘s career says a lot about his incredible talent (one Olympic gold medal, three World titles, two European outdoor titles and two indoor titles) but it is also his friendly character, his leadership, his iconic shout and his famous ‘slaps’ with which he charges into the starting blocks that have made him an icon of  athletics in the world.

A warrior spirit that transformed him into a Coliseum gladiator in the celebratory graphic with which the European Athletics announced his participation on social media accounts.

His power is impressive: he boasts five of the best ten times of all eras in the 400 hurdles and with his feat in Tokyo, anticipated by 46.70 in Oslo, he managed to erase an historical record, which had stood for almost thirty years, Kevin Young’s 46.78 in Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, dragging the speciality into a new dimension.

In Rome, Warholm has already raced twice at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea Diamond League meetings, in the 2018 (second) and 2020 editions, when he scored one of his eighteen Diamond League victories.

The Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships await him on the new Olympic Stadium track, for a new chapter in his exciting career.

Credit photo: Colombo\FIDAL

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Hughes targets golden double at Roma 2024

Tunnel vision is a common trait within world class sprinters. And as one of the most decorated 100m and 200m runners of recent years, Britain’s Zharnel Hughes is no different.

His eyes are firmly focussed on the most sought after prizes at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, which take place on 7-12 June (tickets on sale here).

“My hopes and dream for Rome is going out there and capturing the gold medal in the 100m and also in the 4x100m,” Hughes told European Athletics new podcast series Ignite.

“For me, I’m going out there to have fun and executing a very good race and forgetting about the likes of ‘who are the favourites?’ Even if that includes myself being a favourite – which I should be. I just want to go there and get this title. 

“We’ve been pretty close to it in 2022 when I got dipped on the line. This time I want it and this time I am going for it.”

Hughes has had an eventful history with the European Athletics Championships.

In his first appearance in Amsterdam 2016, he limped out of the 200m heats with injury. But he returned two years later in Berlin to set a championship record of 9.95 to win 100m gold. He was edged out by Italian Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs in Munich, who equalled Hughes’ championship record as he relegated the British athlete to silver by 0.04. However, Hughes returned to take 200m gold in 20.07 in Munich.

But he will be focussed on the shorter sprint in Roma, where he is racing headlong to a rematch with Jacobs. The Italian is fit again and on home territory, a formidable adversary for Hughes. Now he is 28 and having won 100m bronze at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hughes is a seasoned sprinter and a match for anyone.

He is able to produce his best, even in the most high pressure situations. And on the Ignite podcast, he gave a fascinating insight into the intensity of championship level sprinting.

“One of the most intensifying feelings you could probably experience is when you enter the stadium and have to set your blocks,” he says. “That can be very intimidating. Sometimes you go there and the crowd is so loud man. 

“You can feel the different egos from the other athletes as they are on the line with you, hear other athletes as they are setting their blocks. That’s where people can decide to play a little mind games. 

“You know you have to have that belief in yourself where no matter what’s happening around you, who’s next to you, who’s had the fastest time on paper leading up to this moment, you just have to remember you and no-one else. 

“It’s all about you at this moment. It’s not about the crowd. It’s not about the media. It’s not about your coach. It’s not about the sponsors. It’s all about yourself right now. You just have to dial in those nerves, got to control the nerves and keep in mind that you belong here, you can achieve this and allow yourself to go ahead and do it.”

Hughes, Jacobs, world record breakers Femke Bol (Netherlands), Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) and Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) are among the stars competing at Roma 2024. The men’s 100m final will take place on Saturday 8 June at the Stadio Olimpico.

Credit photo: Getty Images

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Tamberi illuminates Roma 2024: “The Olympic Stadium is magic, I must win a gold medal”

The flagbearer of Italy at the next Olympics Games Gianmarco Tamberi is ready to light up the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, scheduled from 7 to 12 June at the Olympic Stadium and the Foro Italico Park. “I must win and confirm the gold medal I won two years ago,” said the Italian captain who was chosen together with the fencer Arianna Errigo as the representative of Italian sport in the ceremony to be held in Paris on July 26th. 

The European Championships in Rome will be more than a test before Paris for Tamberi, who is the actual Olympic, World and European champion and is determined to become the first athlete in history to triumph in two consecutive editions of the Olympics in the high jump, but also to confirm the European record after winning already in Amsterdam 2016 and Munich 2022.

The European Championships in Italy and the embrace of the public, always enthusiastic about his spirit as a showman in the competition, will be able to give him the right push and extra energy, “even if I won’t be in full shape yet. The magic of the Olimpico will be able to help me even where my preparation doesn’t reach” explains Tamberi.

The date to keep in mind for Rome 2024 is Tuesday 11 June, when the high jump men final will take place at 8.35pm. But all the fans attending the Olympic Stadium will already be able to see him in action on the morning of Sunday 9 June, from 11.35 am, in the qualifying round (tickets on sale here).

‘Gimbo‘ Tamberi completed a unique collection of gold medals at the Budapest 2023 World Athletics Championships: during his career he won Olympics, World Athletics Championships, European Athletics Championships, World Athletics Indoor Championships and European Athletics Indoor Championships. He also added two Diamond League titles.

There is a long love story between Tamberi and the Olympic Stadium which is confirmed year after year: the last time, at the ‘Golden Gala Pietro Mennea’ Diamond League meeting, two seasons ago, he put on a show near the Curva Sud stands, between jumps, selfies with fans and autographs. He have always considered the Olympic Stadium as one of his favorite venue. At the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships he will also have the opportunity to break a negative streak: he has never managed to win at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meeting in the four editions held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome (he finished second in 2020, third in 2016 and 2022, fourth in 2019) and he will not want to miss the opportunity next june.

Furthermore, the Italian star,  who will turn 32 on 1 June, will return to compete in Italy after two years: he will be missing from the Italian Athletics Championships held in Rieti in June 2022. One more reason to return to see him live.

Credit photo: Colombo\FIDAL

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Enter the Roma 10k at the European Athletics Championships

Runners will have a rare opportunity to race on a European Athletics Championships course at Roma 2024, by taking part in the Roma 10K during the championships which take place 7-12 June.

The Roma 10k will take place on Sunday 9 June from 10:15am, starting and finishing at the Fori Imperiali, the same iconic location in the heart of Rome where shortly before, the official half marathon of the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships will start.

The unique event will bring together runners and amateurs from all over the world to take part in the Roma 10K, a competitive and non-competitive 10km mass race. It’s an opportunity for regular runners to experience a true championship atmosphere in one of the world’s great cities.

Registration for the Roma 10K is open here.

As well as entry for the race, participants will get an official race bib, a technical jersey made by the Official Supplier of the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships Karhu and a ticket valid to enter the Olympic Stadium during the morning session on Saturday 8 June of the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships.

The Roma 10K course will partly follow that of the half marathon included in the official programme of the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships (men’s start 9:00am and women’s start 9:30am), touching some of the most iconic spots of the Eternal City: the Altare della Patria in Piazza Venezia, Castel Sant’Angelo, Piazza del Popolo, Piazza di Spagna and Piazza Navona, before coming back to the Fori Imperiali.

Registration for the competitive Roma 10K is scheduled to close on 3 June, while the deadline for the non-competitive race will be 8 June. 

The first registered athletes will be able to purchase the race pack at the promotional price of 20EUR, and there is also a special deal for sports clubs: for every 10 participating athletes, one will be able to register for free. The complete regulations of the Roma 10K and the rest of the information are available on the icron.it website.

Tickets and subscription to follow the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, including the 9 June date, are on sale here with prices starting from 5EUR plus pre-sale and service fees.

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Keely Hodgkinson eyes title defence in Roma 2024

An athlete’s career is a short one and although she is still only 22, British 800m superstar Keely Hodgkinson doesn’t want to waste a moment of it. It’s part of the reason why she is committed to trying to defend her title at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, taking place on 7-12 June (tickets on sale here).

The Olympic and world silver medallist won gold at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships and has an unquenchable appetite for more success in the Italian capital.

Hodgkinson talks exclusively to European Athletics for our brand-new eight-part podcast series Ignite and can be listened to and downloaded on all major podcast platforms.

“I would like to win in my career as many medals as possible,” she said. “And I think if I was to miss it (Roma 2024), I’d be missing out on an opportunity. I’d love to look back on my career and say I did this many European Championships and I won this many medals. I don’t want anything to go to waste.”

In her short career, Hodgkinson has already accrued 10 medals at major championships at senior, U23, U20 and U18 level. From her Olympic silver in Tokyo through to gold at the European Athletics U18 Championships in Gyor, Hungary. And she has her eyes on more European glory this year. 

“I also have a title to defend. This could be second outdoor, but also fourth European title including indoors (Torun 2021 and Istanbul 2023) and outdoors. So that’s a really good aim for me now. It’s a perfect amount of time away from the Olympics and good chance to get some rounds practice.”

Having not raced during the winter due to injury, she is now ultra keen to get back to the championship arena. “It comes at a good time for me,” she says. “I’ve not done an indoor season, so I’m fresh going into the outdoor season, a bit more mentally ready. Ready to attack it from all ends.”

She has only raced in Italy once before, as a raw 18 year old in Rovereto in 2020 and is excited at the prospect of returning to compete in Rome.

“It’s such a beautiful country, I’ve always wanted to go back,” she admits. “It just hasn’t fitted in with Diamond League meetings there. So, I am really excited to go to such as historical place and race. 

“I’ve actually been to a lot of places in Italy, but not for racing. I’ve been to Milan, I’ve been to Verona. I’ve been to Lake Garda, I have been to Rome before. But I was a baby, so it will be nice to experience it again and feel the culture.”

Two years ago Hodgkinson struck gold in Munich at the end of a hectic championships season for the young British runner.

“We’d already had the World Championship and the Commonwealth Games – being British – so we were definitely the most run down out of everyone,” she recalls. “But, I remember thinking I was annoyed I got silver at the Commonwealth Games – I thought I was going to win that day. So, I was like ‘right, you’ve got to win this one.’

“Going into the final, I was quite excited. I really get up for a final. I think they are really fun. That’s the stage where you can really showcase the best of you. I remember going into it and thinking I want to run it a bit differently. 

“It was automatic that people thought I would just go from the front – I could have run it that way – but I didn’t want to be so predictable. I wanted to try another way. I sat down with (coaches) Jenny (Meadows) and Trevor (Painter) and said ‘How would you feel if I just sat in the middle towards the back and let someone else take it? 

“I feel that might have thrown people off a little at the time. So, I did that, I sat in around fifth for the first lap and slowly worked by way forward and in the last 200 just went for it and it worked out fine. 

“I wanted to have some fun with it, finish off the season with something fun, a bit different, do something unexpected. Still coming away with the win, I think it’s a good experience to go though, knowing that going forward, I can run it a few different ways.”

The women’s 800m final takes place on Wednesday 12 June at the Stadio Olimpico.

Credit photo: Getty

By Admin EAC Roma2024

‘Illuminate’ will be the official song of Roma 2024

European Athletics are proud to announce the release of the official song ‘Illuminate’ for the forthcoming Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships with just 50 days to go to the most important continental athletics competition of the year.

The song, written and sung by Grace Davies, features pulsing piano and driving drums as it builds up to a euphoric chorus.

“I was so flattered to have been approached to provide the official song for the European Athletics Championships, not only as an artist but also as a writer,” commented Davies.

The Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships take place in the Italian capital between 7-12 June and will feature the sport’s top stars including current male and female European Athlete of the Year and reigning world champions Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Femke Bol, from Norway and the Netherlands respectively.

“It is a real privilege to be granted such a massive opportunity. I hope we have made something that is going to inspire the thousands of athletes competing, and narrate their experience through the good and the bad,” added the British 27-year-old singer-songwriter who was the runner up in 2017 on the British version of The X Factor.

“This is a beautiful song sung by a very special talent in Grace Davies, and it encapsulates the journey every athlete embarks upon. The power, passion and emotion in this song ignites the fire inside all of us and illuminates the love for our sport that everyone who wants to be part of this year’s European Athletics Championships will have. We are very proud to have it as our official song for Roma 2024,” said European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov.

“’Illuminate’ will be heard around the world in the coming months, and it will be used as an integral part of our digital content before, during and after Roma 2024. I am sure it will capture all athletics fans’ imaginations but also have an audience far beyond just those that love our sport,” added European Athletics CEO Christian Milz.

The song will also be frequently heard on the European Athletics broadcast coverage from Roma 2024 distributed by the European Athletics Broadcast Partner the European Broadcasting Union, as well as the live stream on the European Athletics website and Eurovision Sport platform.

“With Europe’s top tier athletes competing in Rome ahead of the Paris Games, this song will add an extra dimension to the EBU’s coverage with content that is already poised to be among the most innovative and technologically superior productions ever seen at a major athletics championships,” said EBU Sport Executive Director Glen Killane.

“It will be a magnificent addition to the atmosphere and ambiance that we will have during six days of spectacular athletics in our historic and iconic Olympic Stadium and Illuminate will add a new and exciting element during the build up to the event. It is a thrill to have this song as an integral part of these championships,” said EuroRoma 2024 Foundation (Local Organising Committee) President Stefano Mei, who is also President of the Italian athletics federation (FIDAL).

‘Illuminate’ is available on all major music streaming platforms – including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music – and you can find it here.

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Lorenzo Benati has a dream: “Two medals in Rome”

From Monte Mario hill to the Foro Italico Park, always focused on athletics. Lorenzo Benati, the twenty-two-year-old Italian sprinter born in Rome, is sure: “The European Athletics Championships (scheduled in Rome from 7 to 12 June, tickets and subscriptions on sale here) will be a big opportunity for all of us, in particular for those born in Rome like me because in the stands there will be friends and family. This competition will be very important in our career and we hope to give our best.”

Training at the Paolo Rosi Stadium in Rome, Benati saw many Italian talents growing up arount him :“From 2017 to last year I saw many athletes, such as Larissa Iapichino, Lorenzo Simonelli and Zaynab Dosso. It was a great feeling. At the last World Atlhetics Indoor Championships Lorenzo and Zaynab won two medals and they gave us so much energy.”

Running has always been a family affair fro Benati: the father-coach Mario and the mother Viola Serego were both athletes and 800 meters specialists. After playing volleyball and tennis when he was younger, Lorenzo fell in love with athletics and he focused on 400 meters and 4×400 relays. He has no doubts about the men’s and mixed relays: “There is a possibility to go and get something important in both. I’m not talking about the Olympics, but never say never. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.”

His link with the Eternal City is very strong: “I’m from the Balduina neighborhood – tells Benati, a scientific high school graduate and medical student at Sapienza University – I am a great lover of Piazza Socrate, one of my favorite places in Rome. I love also the city center, Piazza di Spagna and the Pantheon.”

Lover of music and in particular the piano, he is focused on the next continental event coming next in June: “Three good reasons not to miss the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships? The first because we will be there, one of the strongest  national teams that Italian athletics has ever had, then for the incredible atmosphere that will surround the competion and finally because the Olympic Stadium is a stadium like no other.” Benati concludes.

Credit photo: Grana\FIDAL

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Stadio dei Marmi renovated for Roma 2024: “There is no venue like this in the world”

The iconic Stadio dei Marmi which will serve as the warm-up track for the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships from 7-12 June (tickets on sale here) has undergone renovation in the build-up to the championships which begin in just over 50 days’ time.

And in preparation for a busy and action-packed summer season, the Italian men’s and women’s relay teams have had the honour of testing out the track this week.

“The Stadio dei Marmi has always been something spectacular, I achieved the personal best [on this track in the 100m] last year,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, who won 60m hurdles silver at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow but hopes to be involved in his country’s 4x100m team later this summer. 

“But now, with this dark track, the white stands out even more. There is no stadium like this in the world. I can’t wait to return to the European Athletics Championships in Rome – a very important stage of the season.

“I’m very calm, happy, and excited. We’re working to achieve important results, just as we did indoors. In the relay I don’t have a favourite leg, what matters is being in the group,” added Simonelli.

Another athlete in high spirits was Zaynab Dosso who capped her breakthrough indoor campaign by winning a bronze medal in the 60m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships.

And while Dosso will have her sights set on making an impact in the 100m in Rome 2024, she is also eyeing a medal of a shinier colour than the one the Italian team won in the 4x100m in Munich 2022.  

“With our relay teammates at the European Athletics Championships we are aiming for an even heavier medal than the bronze in Munich 2022,” said Dosso who ran the lead-off leg in Munich two years ago.

“Glasgow has left me with emotional tranquility, serenity. I know that I have achieved something and I just have to continue working as I was doing. There is a magical environment at the moment – in previous years we wanted to surprise, but now we know that we have the right qualities and can dream big,” she added. 

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Italian legend Livio Berruti greets relay teams at the renewed Stadio dei Marmi

“Curiosity and passion for running have always driven me throughout my career. This day, for me, it’s like going back to a beautiful time, full of joy and smiles. I wish the Italian sprinters all the best for the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships”. 

Italian legend Livio Berruti, gold medal in the 200 metres at Rome 1960 Olympic Games, said these words during the meeting with the Italian sprinters today at the Stadio dei Marmi, that will be used as one of the warm-up areas during the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships.

The sprinters were honoured to meet in person one of the legends of Italian athletics, whose victory more than sixty years ago at the Olympic Stadium in Roma is still in the memory not only of sport but of all Italian culture.

Berruti greeted the Italian 4×100 relay athletes one by one, from Olympic champion Lorenzo Patta to European Champion in the 60 meters indoor Samuele Ceccarelli, the world silver medallist in the 60 hurdles indoor Lorenzo Simonelli and the young talents Marco Ricci and Matteo Melluzzo, accompanied by Italian speed coach Filippo Di Mulo and assistant Giorgio Frinolli.

For the first time, the Italian team was able to test the new track at the Stadio dei Marmi, completely renovated by Sport and Salute. The Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships will be held at the Olympic Stadium and at the Foro Italico Park for six consecutive days from Friday 7 June to Wednesday 12 June. Tickets and subscriptions to follow the competition live are on sale here.

By Admin EAC Roma2024

All roads lead to Roma 2024: Duplantis will compete at the Olympic Stadium

All roads lead to Roma 2024. The day after the announce of Femke Bol‘s presence at the next European Athletics Championships, today the Swedish star Armand Duplantis has been officially pre-selected by the Swedish athletics federation to take part in the competition to be held from 7 to 12 June at the Olympic Stadium and the Foro Italico Park.

Duplantis is the ruler of the pole vault, one of the symbols of athletics in the world, a champion capable of attracting the attention of the public all over the planet. “Mondo” holds the pole vault world record and of all the major crowns (Olympics, World Athletics Championships, European Athletics Championships).

The next june in Rome he will try to win his third consecutive European gold medal after his triumphs in Berlin 2018 and Munich 2022.

For the 24-year-old coached by dad Greg and mum Helena, it will be a return in style at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, where he has already triumphed at the ‘Golden Gala Pietro Mennea’ Diamond League meeting in the 2020 season, which was conditioned by the pandemic: on that evening Duplantis climbed to a height of 6.15, that was the world record at the time, unfortunately in front of empty stands due to the Covid restrictions.

Now he is looking to compete in front of a warm crowd at the Olympic Stadium. Fans are waiting for his jumps under the ‘Curva Nord’ stands for the qualifying round scheduled for the morning session of Monday 10 June and for the final scheduled for the last evening session of the competition, Wednesday 12 June (tickets and subscriptions on sale here).

Duplantis won also the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, two world gold medals at the World Athletics Championships outdoor in Eugene and Budapest, and other two world gold medals at the World Athletics Championships indoor in Belgrade and Glasgow. 

Mondo is still moving up the limits of the pole vaulte: in the last four years he has already collected seven world records, step by step, from 6.17 in Torun in 2020 to 6.23 in Eugene last season. Dreaming of a new world record at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships is not impossible.

Credit photo: Colombo/FIDAL