European Athletics (EA) – News – Men’s preview – Europe ready to show their field event strengths

On the first morning in Moscow on Saturday, Renaud Lavillenie will take centre stage. If all goes to plan he hopes to sail one step closer to pole vault domination.

The Frenchman is among European athletics' leading hopes for glory in Russia but first comes the tricky part: qualification. And in the opening session, when expectation will be high.

Lavillenie, 26, should have no trouble making the final, and if he goes all the way, he will add this title to those of Olympic and European champion.

The final is on Monday evening and his ambition will not end there. "I would like all (titles) double, triple," he said.
Once more he will face the German challenge that has finished in the medal places behind him at the last two outdoor major championships – Bjorn Otto and Raphael Holzdeppe and Greece's Konstadinos Filippidis has been a big threat on the Diamond League circuit.

But with a world lead of 6.02m, Lavillenie finds himself in a strong position once more at just the right time of the summer and will take all the beating.

Harting and Pars lead the way
Robert Harting will bid for a hat-trick of gold medals in the discus and it is an event where the European dominance remains at its highest. The German, who won in Berlin with 69.43m in 2009 and Daegu in 2011 with 68.97m, once more faces tough opposition from Poland's Piotr Malachowski, who was second behind him at those World Championships four years ago. But this summer Malachowski enters Moscow with the psychological advantage over Harting having thrown an impressive 71.84m in Hengelo in June. The German's best is 69.91m. Harting won in London as did Hungary's Krisztian Pars in the hammer and he is a justifiable favourite for more glory. He has three of the best four throws in the world this year, with the best, 81.02m, putting him top of the rankings.

Bondarenko wants a place in the record books
Ukraine's Bohdan Bondarenko is having a summer of his life, and while gold will be intention in the high jump, he is after more than that.
He has his eyes on the world record of 2.45m, which Cuba's Javier Sotamayor set over 20 years ago and he has vowed to break it in Moscow. Will he be true to his prediction? He has a world lead of 2.41m in 2013 and in London at the end of last month, he attempted 2.47m. It should be some event.

Russia's hopes for Tarabin and Menkov
There could be a great deal of home delight in the javelin and long jump as Dimitri Tarabin and Aleksandr Menkov bid for gold. Tarabin set down the marker for the rest with his best-in-the-world throw of 88.84m in Moscow last month while Menkov has been making an impression all year, going back to March when 8.31m brought him the long jump title at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Göteborg. In the triple jump, Frenchman Tammy Tamgho will probably have to jump a season's best to win gold, but he has been building up slowly. He has leaped 17.47m, which puts him third in the world rankings behind Cuba's Pedro Pablo Pichardo, who leads with 17.69m, and Christian Taylor, the Olympic champion from America, with 17.66m.

Farah is on double time
Mo Farah wants the double-double – that of Olympic and World champion at both the 5000m and 10,000m. He achieved the first part with his two gold medals 12 months ago in London and now he is determined to land the second stage. As per usual the African threat will be strong, but the tide has turned and it is Farah who is the athlete that the others have to watch.

Can Europe make the 100m podium?
Not since Darren Campbell, of Great Britain, finished third in the 100m final in Paris in 2003 has a European athlete made the podium of the men's 100m. His time of 10.08 brought him bronze behind Kim Collins, the gold medallist from St Kitts & Nevis, who won in 10.07, and Trinidad's Darrel Brown, who was second in 10.08. That was an era of pre-Usain Bolt. The Jamaican world record-holder will obviously be tough to overhaul, as per usual, but that 12-year European gap from Paris could be bridged with a two-pronged attack.

Britain's James Dasaolu has run 9.91 this summer while Frenchman Jimmy Vicaut has been timed at 9.95. If they repeat those runs in Moscow, a podium place is not of the question.

 European Athletics (EA) – News