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By Admin EAC Roma2024

School Day on 7 June: students enter the stadium for 1€

The Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships will open on 7 June with a special promotion dedicated to young people: school students will in fact be able to buy tickets at the symbolic price of 1 Euro to follow at the Olympic Stadium, in the Curva Sud, Curva Nord and Distinti Sud stands, both sessions (morning and evening) of the first day of competition.

The promotion will also be valid for people accompanying students at the stadium, whether relatives or teachers. 

And there is more: thanks to the new ‘Last Call‘ promotion from 9 a.m. this morning, it is possible to purchase all available ticket and season ticket types at a 40% discount. The ‘Last Call’ promotion will run for one week and will end at 9 a.m. on Thursday, 30 May. Detailed informations about on the ongoing promotions can be found here.

“We can’t wait to go at the Olympic Stadium to enjoy the enthusiasm and passion of young people, in the name of inclusion and participation, for the opening of the European Athletics Championships. This is a formidable opportunity to transfer the commitment, quality and excellence of our country and our territory to the whole world, as well as to confirm our skills in organising major events,” says Stefano Mei, president of FIDAL and of the EuroRoma 2024 Foundation.

The presence of thousands of children and young people will make the atmosphere at the Foro Italico Park and the Olympic Stadium magical, in a day that will be full of emotions for all lovers of athletics.

The morning session on 7 June will open at 9.35 a.m. with the discus throw qualifiers, then there will be space for many other disciplines: shot put, hurdles, 1500m, 800m, 3000 steeplechase, triple jump and long jump qualifiers, as well as the first Heptathlon competitions.

In the evening session, the first medals of the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships will be awarded, starting with the women’s 20km race walk, with a course designed around the Stadio dei Marmi and the Fountain of the Sphere culminating inside the Olympic Stadium.

The other scheduled finals will be the women’s discus throw, the women’s shot put, the mixed 4×400 relay and the women’s 5000m, while the sprinters will compete in the men’s 100m qualifiers.

The spectacular challenges of Roma 2024 will fill six consecutive days of competition until 12 June, with over 1600 European athletes competing in 24 different disciplines. Tickets and season tickets are on sale here.

Credit photo: Grana\FIDAL

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Leonardo Fabbri hoping for gold medal and European record in Roma

“Trust me, it will be amazing. You cannot miss the European Athletics Championships in Rome, such a strong athletics team in Italy has never been seen.” Leonardo Fabbri invites all the fans at the Olympic Stadium for the upcoming Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, scheduled 7 -12 June (tickets on sale here).

Fabbri won the silver medal in the shot put at the Budapest 2023 World Athletics Championships and the bronze medall at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow. Since a few days he is also the Italian record holder with a fantastic 22.95 in Savona, a performance that made him the second European shot putter of all times behind the German Ulf Timmermann (23.06 in 1988) and that allowed him to go beyond a legend of Italian athletics such as the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic champion Alessandro Andrei (22.91 in 1987), that was born in Florence like him and is a model for Fabbri.

“Overcoming Andrei for me is like a dream coming true. I started to compete in shot put when I was 12 years old” said Leonardo Fabbri, who will compete tomorrow at the Grifone Meeting in Asti to continue his preparation to Roma 2024. “Many people have always made comparisons between me and Andrei, with the performances he did as a child, with those he did as an adult, and I have always tried to match him. In many things I have succeeded, and I am proud of that because for me he is like a divinity. There is still one medal separating us, let’s see if in two months at the Olympics Games in Paris I can get close to him. I have thrown more than him but Alessandro Andrei will forever remain in the history of Italian sport for what he has done.”

In the last three competitions, between Modena, Savona and Lucca, Fabbri has exceeded the 22-metre mark nine times.

“I finally found continuity and lost several kilos, I no longer have the physical problems I had two years ago and now I can train every day. The technical gesture in the shot put is very stable and this allows me to throw regularly over 22 metres, even without being in my top condition: this is really important if you want to compete with the best athletes at international level.”

The Olympic Stadium awaits him for the qualification round at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships on the first evening session of competition scheduled on Friday 7 June and for the final on the following day, Saturday 8 June. “The first time I competed at the Olympic Stadium was at the 2019 Golden Gala meeting: I did really badly, but my international career started from there. I still laugh when I think about the athlete I was in 2019: I did 19 metres, I had little experience and I was very nervous. But it’s important to make mistakes: I’ve learnt a lot from that and I can’t wait to come back to Rome on 8 June to prove to myself that I’ve done a good work in these five years.”

The goal for Fabbri is to win the gold medal in the shot put, never won by any Italian thrower at the European Athletics Championships in the previous 25 editions since 1934. In indoor competitions, on the other hand, only three athletes have managed it in the past: his coach Paolo Dal Soglio in Stockholm in 1996, his training partner and Italian teammate Zane Weir in Istanbul in 2023 and Assunta Legnante in Birmingham in 2007.The gold medal is not the only hope for Leonardo: “The 11 centimetres that separate me from the European record is another goal. I already wanted to take the indoor record and unfortunately I missed it by 18 centimetres. Rome would be a wonderful opportunity to do so but I try never to think too much about it: I just go there, throw and have fun.”

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Jacobs thrills crowds at Roma Sprint Festival

Olympic and European 100m champion Marcell Jacobs gave a thrilling glimpse of what was to come at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, which take place 7-12 June.

The Italian icon took part in the Roma Sprint Festival on Saturday (18) at the immaculately renovated Stadio dei Marmi, which will be the warm-up track for next month’s showpiece event. 

And Jacobs did not let down the hordes of home fans who came to support their hero as he scorched to a season’s best of 10.07 (+1.1m/s) to win the 100m.

“The race went quite well but there were always some errors at the start. If I had started like in the warm-up there would have been another race. I still missed that part, but I’m happy with it. 

“And then I’ve had some sort of allergy for two days. I finished the race unable to breathe, it took me a while to recover, but everything was fine. I’m very happy to have raced in this environment, the support from all the fans was incredible, I had a lot of fun. 

“For us athletes, cheering is fundamental, the more they support us, the more we are able to bring out the best in ourselves. Now we are all looking forward to the European Championships in the Olympic Stadium,” said Jacobs. 

In addition to Jacobs‘ success at the all-marble arena, the crowd were treated to some brilliant 200m victories by European bronze medallist Filippo Tortu, who won the men’s race in 20.72 (+0.7m/s) and Zaynab Dosso, the World Indoor 60m bronze medallist who set a personal best of 23.10 (0.4m/s). 

Credit photo: Grana\FIDAL

By Admin EAC Roma2024

A new tickets promotion is open in the weekend

With 20 days to go until the start of the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, scheduled from 7-12 June, it’s coming a new ticketing promotion. Starting at midnight today, during the weekend it will be possible to buy tickets and packages with a 40% discount. (Click here to buy your tickets).

The ‘Sprint Festival’ promotion is valid for all tickets and packages on sale and will remain open for 48 hours, until midnight on Sunday 19 May.

The promotion was launched today during the Roma SprintFestival 2024 press conference, which took place at the Olympic Stadium and was attended by FIDAL and EuroRoma 2024 Foundation President Stefano Mei, Sport e Salute CEO Diego Nepi Molineris, Roma Councillor Alessandro Onorato and the Italian star Marcell Jacobs.

“The SprintFestival is a very important step towards the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships. From midnight we will start an important promotion on tickets, the European athletics fans will be able to take this opportunity for two days,” said Stefano Mei.

Marcell Jacobs, Filippo Tortu, Zaynab Dosso and the other sprinters will be competing tomorrow afternoon at the Roma SprintFestival 2024 on the renovated track of the Stadio dei Marmi, that will be become the main warm-up area for the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships.

The Roma SprintFestival 2024 will be a special preview of the great challenges between the European stars of athletics, who will compete from 7 June at the Olympic Stadium for six consecutive days of competition. There will be 147 medals up for grabs during the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships and the best Italian and European athletes have already confirmed their participation: from the Italian champions Marcell Jacobs, Gianmarco Tamberi, Larissa Iapichino, Leonardo Fabbri and Mattia Furlani, to the big European stars as Armand Duplantis, Femke Bol, Keely Hodgkinson, Karsten Warholm and many others.

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Special discounts for train travel to Rome with Frecciarossa

Frecciarossa is the Official Train of the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, to be held from 7-12 June at the Olympic Stadium and the Foro Italico Park. Thanks to a special promotion dedicated to athletics fans who will travel to Rome on the Frecce trains will be much cheaper during the great sporting event. 

In fact, the Special Events offer will allow passengers to purchase tickets for travel on the Frecce with discounts of up to 80% on the base price by using the code “ROMA2024”. 
 
The promotion will be valid for travel in Italy with destination Rome from 6 to 12 June 2024 and for travel with origin Rome from 7 to 13 June 2024.  
 
For validating the offer it will be necessary to show the ticket for the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships on board the train at the ticket inspector’s office.
 
The offer can be used on board of “Frecciarossa”, “Frecciargento” and “Frecciabianca” trains in the service levels Business, Premium, Standard, in 1st and 2nd class.
 
For all other informations, consult the web-page dedicated to the promotion.
By Admin EAC Roma2024

Marcell Jacobs with Fiona May waiting for Roma 2024

This is not just an interview. It is an heart to heart conversation between two icons of Italian sport, recorded while walking on the new athletics track at the wonderful Stadio dei Marmi. With 22 days to go until the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, scheduled from 7-12 June, (tickets on sale here), Marcell Jacobs speaks with Fiona May.

The reigning Olympic and European champion sprinter and the Italian long jump legend, who will participate at the European Athletics Championships in the role of Ambassador, approach the big event together, sharing their respective feelings and experiences. An informal, sincere dialogue, during which Jacobs also confides to May the responsibility he feels in having to defend an Olympic title, his fears, the desire to find himself again during his training period in America, the desire to win again in front of the home crowd at the Olympic Stadium and the great opportunity represented by the European Athletics Championships in Rome, to bring athletics even more into the hearts of Italians.

Marcell, how are you?

“Good, very good. I’m back in this wonderful city, I missed this incredible stadium, so I’m ready to start my season.”

What is your relationship with Rome?

“The capital is the place I moved to, where I prepared for my last Olympics. It has given me many emotions, many victories, but also defeats that are part of the game and are important because they help you grow. However, I have great memories that tie me to the city.”

How do you feel preparing for such a big event as the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships?

“I am ready and charged up. These months of training in America have helped me, not only for the athletics part. It helped me to get back in touch with myself, I found a Marcell who was lost and needed to understand what he really wanted from life. I regained energy, charge and motivation to come back and compete again. The European Athletics Championships at home will have a whole other value, they will be very important for me, and I am the reigning European champion. Running in front of your people with the Italian jersey on is something incredible and I can’t wait for that moment to come.”

The great thing about you is that you are human, peaceful. I was glad to hear you say that you went in America to find yourself. Often many people don’t really understand that being a champion becomes mentally heavy.

“Yes, let’s talk about this heaviness that comes with winning an Olympic medal. I used to think that once I won the gold, everything would become easier. Instead, that’s when the real work and the hard part started. I am someone who has always put myself on the line, I have never been afraid of defeats and disappointments because they are part of our sport. I wish you could always win, everyone wants to do that, but you have to take steps to get there. I am a human being like everyone, I have my fears, my difficulties. I admit that before entering the race I am afraid, it’s a normal part that I have learned to accept. It’s part of facing the race and it’s an adrenalin rush that I need. All this I have learnt over time, with the bad moments, the disappointments, the defeats, which are an important part for us athletes. We have to be good at looking at that difficulty, learning something from that and then turn it into something that will help us in the future.”

Do you have any particular superstitious rituals before competitions?

“Nothing in particular, I always try to follow a certain routine. Considering that the races are in the evening, I try to sleep a lot, as much as possible, even until 1pm or 2pm. After that I wake up, have lunch and then shower at the same time, prepare all my clothes beforehand, choose a lucky underwear. These little things are part of my preparation.”

You’re a normal guy, come on.

“Absolutely yes (laughs).”

What is the secret of your fantastic 4×100 relay team?

“There is not a real secret. The question is how much we feel like a family and are able to go from being opponents to becoming one single thing in the track. We trust each other, we have a great relationship. We spend a lot of time together, we try to organise dinners to strengthen this relationship. We are always ready to spur each other on, when we see that someone is in trouble we remind him that we are a group, that we win and lose together. This is our strength, which allows us to present ourselves on the track not as the strongest athletes in the world but as those who make the baton travel the fastest, and to win medals.”

Is there any particular teammate you believe will win at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships?

“The Italian national team is going strong right now, there are many athletes who are proving their worth. After Tokyo Olympics Games there was an evolution that made them realise how important it was to believe in their own potential to achieve results. I think we can really win a lot of medals in Rome, I’m thinking of Mattia Furlani, Larissa Iapichino, obviously Gianmarco Tamberi, Leonardo Fabbri and… me.”

Well, of course.

I’ll leave myself for last but I don’t think I am. Then there are the 4×100 and the other relays, we can win several medals and I think we can make a great competition in Rome.

But the most important medal to win will be to conquer the heart of the fans, especially here in Rome.

“Exactly. We are working hard to make people discover athletics. The most important thing is for people to get to know the athlete outside of the performance, because I think the moment they start to see the life they have, the training, the difficulties they can experience then they really start to fall in love with that person and become a real fan who supports them throughout. So I think the most important part is to bring not only athletics but the guys who populate it into homes and families to make them understand that we too are human, that we have our problems, our difficulties, our joys, our families and everything else.”

Marcell, you are really a great ambassador for athletics. So, good luck.

“Thank you Fiona!”

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Fabbri, Dosso and Furlani on fire: “Roma we are coming”

An incredible year for Italian athletics got even better at the Savona Meeting, a World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger meeting, on Wednesday (15) afternoon, with just 23 days to go until Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships (tickets on sale here).

In the space of 15 minutes, Leonardo Fabbri went to fifth on the world all-time shot put list with a world lead of 22.95m to break the Italian record set by Alessandro Andrei in 1987 by four centimetres.

“I’m really happy, I saw my coach Paolo Dal Soglio cry and I cried too. Crazy stuff! For me Alessandro Andrei means everything, if I’m here it’s thanks to him,” said Fabbri, who is an iron-clad favourite for the shot put title at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships from 7-12 June.

And in the long jump, European U18 and U20 champion Mattia Furlani eclipsed the world U20 long jump record by one centimetre with a second round lead of 8.36m just in time before the conditions in Savona worsened. 

“Finally! I have been looking for this result for a long time and it means a lot, it means that we are working well and on the right path, on the cusp of two very important events such as the European Championships in Rome and the Paris Olympics,” said Furlani as quoted by FIDAL. 

And in the women’s 100m, world indoor bronze medallist Zaynab Dosso improved the Italian record from 11.14 to 11.12 in the heat before slicing another tenth from the record with 11.02 in the final.

Other highlights included Great Britain’s Charles Dobson smashing his lifetime best in the men’s 400m with 44.46 and Ireland’s Sharlene Mawdsley winning the women’s 400m in 51.43 just ahead of Great Britain’s reigning European 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson who opened her 2024 season with a lifetime best of 51.61. 

Credit photo: FIDAL

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Sandra Perkovic in Rome to win again

No one else in the history of the European Athletics Championships has ever won six consecutive titles. Sandra Perkovic is the only one and she isn’t satisfied yet. At the Roma European Athletics Championships, scheduled from 7-12 June at the Olympic Stadium and the Foro Italico Park, the Croatian discus thrower is confirmed to be in attendance and will be looking for her seventh gold medal in a row (tickets on sale here). 

Her married surname (Elkasevic) will appear on her bib in Rome, but in the world of athletics she has become a star as Perkovic, one of the most successful athletes ever, twice Olympic champion (London 2012 and Rio 2016) and twice World champion (Moscow 2012 and London 2017).

At the European Athletics Championships, Perkovic has been undefeated since 2010: in Barcelona fourteen years ago, she began an incredible serie of triumphs, which also included Helsinki 2012, Zurich 2014, Amsterdam 2016, Berlin 2018 and Munich 2022. A record of victories indicative of a sporting continuity and results with few equals in the world.

The 33-year-old thrower will be on the piste at the Olympic Stadium in the opening morning session on Friday 7 June for the qualifying round, ahead of the medal-winning final scheduled for the evening session on Saturday 8 June. The fans has already appreciated her in Rome over the past decade on the occasion of the three triumphs obtained at the Pietro Mennea Golden Gala in the capital (2013, 2015 and 2018).

For the Italian team, the hope is that Daisy Osakue, the Italian record holder with 64.57 last season, can also play a leading role in the discus throw competition.

Credit photo: Colombo\FIDAL

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Marcell Jacobs is already focused on Roma 2024

Marcell Jacobs is back in Rome to conquer the Foro Italico. After completing his training period in the United States and competing at the Jacksonville meeting, the Italian Olympic champion is now training in the Eternal City.

The next target is the Sprint Festival scheduled for next Saturday at the Stadio dei Marmi in Rome, with just 20 days to go until the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, scheduled  7-12 June (tickets on sale here).

This morning Jacobs trained on the new track of the Stadio dei Marmi, the same amazing venue where he will compete at the Sprint Festival on Saturday. The historical stadium has been restored by Sport e Salute and today turned into a wonderful setting for the training of the Italian sprinter.

The Stadio dei Marmi will also be one of the warm-up of the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, while all races will take place or conclude (the race walk and the half marathon) inside the Olympic Stadium.

There will be several special events for fans of speed competition. The mens 100m qualification rounds are scheduled on the first evening session of the European Athletics Championships, on Friday 7 June. Semi-finals and finals will take place on the evening sessions of Saturday 8 June, when Jacobs will try to defend the European champion title that he won in Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships.

In Rome, Marcell will be able to count on the support of the home crowd, ready to fill the Olympic Stadium stands to cheer the Italian national team that has never been so full of talent, spread over several disciplines.

On the evening session of Sunday 9 June, there will be space for the finals of the women’s 100m and men’s 200m, the latter race in which another Italian star, Filippo Tortu, is also aiming to participate. Tortu was one of Jacobs’ teammates in the 4x100m Italian relay that won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The debut of the relays competition at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships is set for the evening session of Friday 7 June, when is scheduled the final of the 4x400m mixed relay. On the morning of Tuesday 11 June are scheduled the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays qualification rounds, while the four relays finals are scheduled for the last evening of competition, on Wednesday 12 June.

Credit photo: GMT

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Lorenzo Simonelli: Rome will be my chance to let people know who I am

Italian hurdler Lorenzo Simonelli hopes to have a glorious appearance in front of a home crowd at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships next month (tickets on sale here), and perhaps a medal on the Olympic stage in Paris.

“Rome has been my big goal since the start of the year. Naturally everyone is talking about Gianmarco Tamberi and our racewalkers but this will be my chance to let people know who I am,” said the 21-year-old talent, who took the 60m hurdles silver medal at the Glasgow 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships.

A win, or even a place on the podium, in the Stadio Olimpico in front of what is expected to be a large group of family and friends – “All my friends and family are buying tickets for Rome. It started at about 10, then went up to 20 and now it’s even more! I’m going to have a lot of support there!” – will also end a very long medal drought in this event for the Azzurri.

Not since another Italian icon Eddy Ottoz won the second of his two consecutive continental titles in 1969 has an Italian flag fluttered during a European Athletics Championships 110m hurdles medal ceremony.

Having started the 2024 indoor season with a 60m hurdles personal best of 7.59, set when finishing fourth at the Istanbul 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships, Simonelli clocked 7.50 in his second outing of the winter in Lodz, Poland to take possession of the Italian record from Dal Molin, who had run 7.51 in 2013.

He then reduced the record by three further increments, clocking 7.48 at the Italian national championships, 7.46 in Madrid and then 7.43 in Glasgow, when he chased home the USA’s three-time reigning world champion outdoors Grant Holloway to move up to equal-ninth on the European list for the indoor event.

“I never imagined I’d get this result. I came here wanting to get to the final but to come out with a silver medal is crazy. It was a fight for second place as Holloway is impossible to beat,” said a stunned Simonelli immediately after his Glasgow feat.

Speed is something Simonelli already has in abundance. He is able to boast of a 60m best of 6.59 – a time delivered when won the 2024 Italian indoor title in the event although he was actually second across the line at the championships behind the speedy Cuban Yenns Fernandez – which made him one of the fastest men in Europe, just six-hundredths behind the 2024 European leader and Simonelli’s compatriot Chituru Ali.

In addition, he has a 100m best of 10.25 from last year, which makes him considerably quicker on the flat – at least in terms of listed bests – than all of the other top European sprint hurdlers including Switzerland’s Jason Joseph, Poland’s emerging talent Jakub Szymanski, Spain’s reigning European champion Asier Martinez and the French trio of Sasha Zhoya, Wilhem Belocian and Just Kwaou-Mathey, the latter finishing just behind Simonelli in Glasgow to take the world indoor bronze.

Guiding the rising star of Italian athletics and sprinter Zaynab Dosso, who won a 60m bronze in Glasgow, is Giorgio Frinolli, who represented Italy in the 400m hurdles at the Helsinki 1994 European Athletics Championships and Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Frinolli could be said to have hurdling in his blood as his father is the Budapest 1966 European 400m champion Roberto Frinolli.

“When I saw Lollo (as Simonelli is nicknamed) in 2022, he was already a top junior but during 10 days of tests, he blew me away,” recalled Frinolli, in an interview last month.

“I could see that he had 13-zero potential even then. And he’s fast, Last year he ran 10.25 in tights and in the rain. He can run 10 seconds dead, perhaps even less. I don’t see any differences in an athletic sense between Marcell Jacobs and Simonelli, the difference is that Lorenzo knows how to hurdle. However, in the hurdles it’s not that an issue of how fast you go on the flat, but being faster between the barriers and controlling that speed,”

“In Glasgow, I looked at Simonelli and Dosso and just admired what they were doing, and how they were doing it. Usually, my athletes at major championships raise my blood pressure but on this occasion they lowered it. I think they can prosper in the theatre that’s going to be the European Athletics Championships in Rome,” added Frinolli.

Credit photo: Grana\FIDAL