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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

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Six incredible moments from the Roma 1974 European Championships

Fifty years after Rome last staged the European Athletics Championships, we revisit some of the most memorable and incredible moments from the Roma 1974 European Athletics Championships, waiting for Roma 2024 scheduled from 7 to 12 June (buy your tickets here).

Distance running history for Holmen

Finland is a country renowned for its history in men’s distance running events but their sole gold medal in the distance events in Roma 1974 came in the inaugural edition of the women’s 3000m.
Previously no Finnish female had ever placed higher than sixth in a track final at the European Athletics Championships but Nina Holmen ran her way into the history books, breaking away from a pack of six and winning the title courtesy of a 61.9 last lap in 8:55.10 – the second fastest time in history at that stage.

Holmen out-sprinted a notable field which included the Soviet world record-holder Lyudmila Bragina (8:56.09) and Brit Joyce Smith (8:57.39) who was making her major international track debut at the age of 36 some 14 years after just missing out on a place on the British 800m team at the 1960 Olympic Games – which also took place in Rome – and 10 years before competing in the inaugural Olympic marathon in Los Angeles at the age of 46.

And the Holmen family legacy at the European Athletics Championships continued into the 2000s. Her son Janne won the marathon title at the 2002 European Athletics Championships in Munich.

Szewinska sparkles in the sprints

Eight years after winning three gold medals at the 1966 European Championships, Irena Szewinska stood on top of the podium again after achieving a sprint double against an athlete who had amassed an incredible win streak of 90 races between 1970 and 1974, including a 100/200m double at the 1971 European Championships.

But East Germany’s Renate Stecher had to cede both titles to Szewinska who was back to her best after trailing home in sixth behind Stecher in 1971. Szewinska began her remarkable week by winning her first European 100m title in 11.13 into a 1.2 m/s headwind before achieving the sprint double, reeling in Stecher in the home straight to win the 200m in 22.51 against a headwind of 2.7 m/s!

Szewinska added to her tally with bronze in the 4x100m before concluding her campaign with a blazing 48.5 leg in the 4x400m. Despite her best efforts, the Poles just fell short of a medal in fourth but Szewinska’s split was the fastest ever split recorded in a 4x400m at the time.

Susanj’s unstoppable sprint finish

The men’s 800m final in Roma 1974 featured three of the event’s most talented and mercurial exponents which made for an instant classic.

As British magazine Athletics Weekly reported: “Was there ever an 800m runner possessed with such devastating acceleration as Luciano Susanj? Was there ever such a brilliant 800m competitor, at the age of 18, as Steve Ovett? And was there ever an 800m star so hero-worshipped as Marcello Fiasconaro? The combined efforts of these three remarkable runners made this a race to remember.”

Buoyed on by a partisan home crowd, Fiasconaro powered through 200m in 24.5 and 400m in 50.1 – described by Athletics Weekly as a “do or die effort” – but these heroics didn’t do anything to blunt the finishing speed of Susanj who accelerated into the lead with 180 metres and opened up a winning gap of 15 metres for victory in 1:44.07. This remains the second fastest winning time in European Athletics Championships history.

In the scrap for the minor medals, an 18-year-old Ovett battled to his first major medal with silver in a European U20 record of 1:45.76 with Finland’s Markku Taskinen taking the bronze in 1:45.89. A forlorn Fiasconaro faded back to sixth in 1:46.28, his front running efforts unrewarded.

“Fiasconaro started too fast,” said Susanj in the aftermath of his victory. “I knew he couldn’t keep it up. I’m not ready for a world record now, but perhaps next year.”

Last on that day was West Germany’s Willi Wulbeck who would go on to win the inaugural world 800m title in Helsinki 1983.

Foster front runs to 5000m gold

It only took Brendan Foster eight seconds to hit the front of the 5000m in Roma 1974 in earnest and the Brit didn’t relinquish the lead. “It was front running at its best: positive, unflinching, challenging,” as described by Athletics Weekly.

Defying the 85 percent humidity and high air temperatures in the Italian capital, Foster ground his rivals into submission, including 1972 Olympic 5000m and 10,000m champion Lasse Viren from Finland who bravely stuck with Foster before coming apart after the Brit cranked out an eighth lap of 60.2.

Foster’s winning time of 13:17.21 was a championship record and he won by six seconds from East Germany’s Manfred Kuschmann (13:23.93) and Viren (13:24.57) whose bronze medal in the 5000m was the sole European medal of his career which saw him win four Olympic gold medals.

Mennea roared to Italy’s first and only gold

After settling for silver in the 100m final behind reigning champion Valeriy Borzov, Pietro Mennea was roared to the 200m title from lane two in front of 60,000 pertisan fans who had packed into the Stadio Olimpico.

“I come from a small town called Barletta. They nearly tore it apart last month when I won the national championship. I imagine there will be chaos there tonight,” commented Mennea after winning Italy’s first and only gold medal of the 1974 European Athletics Championships.

In doing so, Mennea emulated his hero Livio Berutti who had sprinted to Olympic 200m gold in the same stadium at the 1960 Olympic Games. Mennea himself would follow suit by winning Olympic 200m gold in 1980.

The arrival of two of Italy’s greats


While it might not have been a vintage championships for hosts Italy who will be looking to better the five medals they won in 1974 this June, the international careers of two of Italy’s greatest female athletes began in earnest in the Stadio Olimpico in 1974.

Sara Simeoni won bronze in the women’s high jump final some four years before winning gold at the 1978 European Athletics Championships, equalling the world record of 2.01m. Like Mennea, Simeoni would go on to win Olympic high jump gold in 1980.

And only two months after celebrating her 17th birthday, Gabriella Dorio progressed through to the 1500m final – just the second time the event had been staged at a European Athletics Championships – where she finished a creditable ninth.

Dorio would also go on to win Olympic gold in her famed career although she would have a decade-long wait before clinching 1500m gold at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Femke Bol targets 400m hurdles defence at Roma 2024

Dutch phenomenon Femke Bol has committed to defend her women’s 400m hurdles title at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships which take place on 7-12 June (buy your tickets here).

Since winning gold in the 400m flat, 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay two years ago at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, Bol has gone from strength to strength. 

Last year she won the women’s 400m hurdles at the Budapest 2023 World Athletics Championships before famously anchoring the Dutch team to a glorious 4x400m gold. 

She has continued in the same winning vein indoors, bettering her own 400m short track world record in winning gold in 49.17 at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March, where she once again ran the last leg for the Netherlands to win 4x400m gold.

As one of the true superstars of the sport today, her presence in Rome will add huge excitement to this year’s European Athletics Championships. And Bol shares in the excitement.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” she said. “I always love Rome. I had one of my first Diamond Leagues there in COVID times. There was this huge stadium and just two people I think in the crowd because it wasn’t allowed. 

“Another year I was there and Tamberi (Italy’s Olympic high jump gold medallist Gianmarco Tamberi) was jumping and the crowd went crazy. The Italians go crazy. There are so loud which is so nice. So, I am really looking forward to being able to compete there. I think it is a great stadium and track. It will be nice to be able to test myself also over the 400m hurdles.

“I love the warm up track with the big statues around it. There is such a nice vibe and the weather is good. I must say the Italians are also really nice. I have run a few times there and they cheer for everyone and want everyone to do their best.”

With the Paris Olympic Games later in the summer, Bol will not be tackling the 400m double over flat and the hurdles as she did two years ago. But she also welcomes the expectation on her to defend at least one of her titles. 

“I won’t do a double of 400m and 400m hurdles because that is too much right now,” she says. 

“But I think that is also nice. It gives a nice pressure. It also shows you ‘Okay I have the medal, because I have already done it once – I know how I have done it back then. I have learned from it.’ This is also something that helps, I think. A bit of pressure is never something bad.”

The full interview with Femke Bol can be heard on the European Athletics new’ Ignite podcast series due to be released on 18 April, where she talks in-depth about her life and career in the sport, Roma 2024 and the Paris Olympic Games.

The women’s 400m hurdles final will take place on Tuesday 11 June at the Stadio Olimpico.

Credit photo: Colombo/FIDAL

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Communications leaders prepare for Roma 2024

With two months to go until the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships (tickets on sale here) European Athletics hosted a Communication Managers Seminar in the Italian capital. 37 Member Federations were represented at the biennial gathering.

The three days included an overview from European Athletics leaders on continent-wide communications plans, updates from the Roma 2024 Local Organising Committee (EuroRoma 2024 Foundation), presentations from external experts and networking opportunities for communications colleagues to share best practice in the modern media environment.

European Athletics Vice President and Development Commission Chair Karin Grute Movin opened the conference. 

She welcomed all the delegates, articulated the European Athletics Strategic Roadmap 2024-2027 and delivered a presentation on ‘Growing the Athletics Community,’ including the role of communications within Member Federations.

European Athletics team members Biljana Danicic (Head of Communications), Peter Sanderson (Television, Digital and Creative Consultant) and Marko Vasic (Running Unit Director) delivered presentations on European Athletics communication priorities, the ‘Road to Rome’ campaign and the ‘European Running Strategy’ respectively.

Fabio Guadagnini, Director of Communications led a team from the LOC proving an in-depth presentation on the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships spanning communication, promotion, ticketing, venue, village and medal plaza, TV, broadcast, volunteer programme and merchandising. 

The LOC also hosted a tour of the competition venue including the historic Stadio Olimpico and the marble Stadio dei Marmi which will be used as a warm-up track and form part of the race walk course.

Delegates also learned from keynote speaker Lazar Dzamic, a creative strategist and former Google ZOO Head of Brand Planning for North and Central Europe (NACE). Who introduced the digital content pillars of ‘hero’, ‘help’ and ‘hub’ for delegates planning their national communications strategies for athletics.

European Athletics strategic partner European Broadcast Union (EBU) were represented by Andreas Aristodemou, Head of Summer Sports. He presented the new direct to consumer streaming platform Eurovision Sport, its coverage of athletics in the coming year and how Membership Federations can engage audiences through the platform’s content across multiple channels.

“The EBU and European Athletics have a long standing and excellent relationship which started more than 40 years ago and it’s going from strength to strength,” said Aristodemou. “We have seen that athletics remains the number one Olympic sport. 

“The ongoing and future discussions are always interesting looking for innovations, strengthening the audiences and the development of the sport of athletics.” 

There was also a presentation by Michelle Sammet of World Athletics providing insight and analysis of social media across Member Federations across the year.

Karin Grute Movin said: “The European Athletics Strategic Roadmap 2024-27 is built around three key priorities of Competition, Digitalisation & Innovation and Community. So, communication has a fundamental role in delivering on our priorities and for Member Federations to deliver on their national objectives in an ever-evolving media landscape.

“Within the European Athletics Development Commission, our current priorities are around leadership, health & wellbeing and sustainability, and it was a valuable experience to share work with a receptive audience who can really help programmes come to life through communication in their territories.”

“It was a really fruitful gathering of expertise from inside and outside our sport to share best practice, enhance collaboration between Member Federations and meet the collective challenges around reaching and engaging all aspects of our wonderful sport to existing and new audiences,” said European Athletics Head of Communications Biljana Danicic.

“Thanks to the LOC for hosting the Communication Managers Seminar with typically warm Italian hospitality and we look forward to our whole community of communication professionals collaborating to help make Roma 2024 the big success we all know it can be.”  

By Admin EAC Roma2024

Jacobs to race over 100m in Rome. And the mass race is coming

The European and Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs will contest the 100m at the Rome Sprint Festival at the Stadio dei Marmi – the warm-up track for the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships from 7-12 June – on 18 May.

“On a mental level I am fine, I am very relaxed and very focused on training,” said Jacobs, “and in September I will be happy if I will confirm my two titles, the Olympic and the European one.”
 
Marcell is expected to compete in Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships on Saturday evening, 8 June, on the new Olympic Stadium track in the 100-metre final, while the 4×100 relay is scheduled for the final session on 12 June.
 
“I am happy to make my debut in Italy in Rome, a city that I love,’ Jacobs concluded, ‘and where I will move soon.”
 
Tickets and subscriptions for the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships are on sale here. 

Meanwhile, Italtain athletics federation (FIDAL) Technical Director Antonio La Torre appeared at the Milano Running Festival, ahead of this Sundays’s (7) Milano Marathon in a talk dedicated to Roma 2024.

“It will be great to see Jacobs again at the Stadio dei Marmi,” added La Torre. “He will be able to start breathing the atmosphere of the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships in the stadium named (after) Pietro Mennea (1980 Olympic 200m champion).” 

The talk, conducted by the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships Communications Director Fabio Guadagnini, was also attended by the Italian sprinter Roberto Rigali, a 4x100m silver medallist at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, the Roma 1987 World Athletics Championships 3000m steeplechase gold medallist Francesco Panetta, former AC Milan footballer and running lover Massimo Ambrosini and Sky Sport Italia journalist Nicola Roggero. 

“Roma 2024 will be a key moment to understand what role Italy team is going to play at the Olympics Games in Paris. For athletes like Roberto Rigali, it will be a unique opportunity to compete in front of the Italian passionate fans. The technical level of the European Athletics Championships will be high, with international stars as Duplantis, Bol and Ingebrigtsen joining the competition,” commented La Torre.

Rigali is also eagerly looking for the European Athletics Championships: “I am proud to be part of this group and of the Roma 2024 generation. Our secret is that we are stronger together. In Rome we want to give our best.” 

La Torre also said that plans are in pace for a mass participation race at Roma 2024. “On the morning of the half marathon, Sunday 9 June, there will be a 10km mass race opened to all runners, amateurs and professional will run together,” he said.

All details about the course and how to register for the Roma 2024 mass race will be announced in the coming days.