European Athletics (EAA) – News – Road to Rome leads on to European Athletics Championships

The Samsung Diamond Meeting in Rome, the first European event this year in the 14-meeting series, has announced that a large contingent of European stars will be present in the Italian capital on 31 May.

For many, the famous Golden Gala meeting will be a vital part of their preparations in their build up to the European Athletics Championships barely a month later.

The 2012 European Athletics Championships will be staged in Helsinki, Finland, from 27 June to 1 July.

France's 2010 European Athlete of the Year Christophe Lemaitre will have a rematch with the Jamaican sprint stars Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell over 100m.

Last year, Lemaitre was third in 10.00 and will be aiming to do better this time around.

Lemaitre is far from the only 2010 European Athletics Championships gold medallist who will be in action in Rome and tuning up to defend his or her title in the Finnish capital.

Great Britain’s world, European and Commonwealth 400m hurdles champion David Greene will be in action in his specialist event.

Another European champion over the barriers from Barcelona, French steeplechaser Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad, will take on a contingent of top class Kenyans in the 3000m steeplechase.

In the discus, there is a tremendous clash in store between Germany's 2009 and 2011 world champion Robert Harting, Poland's defending European champion Piotr Malachowski, Estonia's 2008 Olympic champion Gerd Kanter as well as the Lithuanian legend and former European Athlete of the Year Virgilijus Alekna.

Belarus shot putter Nadezhda Ostapchuk, who has already shown great form this year by taking the World Indoor Championships silver medal and then winning at the European Cup Winter Throwing, will take on her arch-rival from New Zealand, Valerie Adams.

European athletes will also be to the fore in the women's javelin with Russia's 2011 World Championships gold medallist Mariya Abakumova taking on Germany's former European record holder and 2010 European Athletics Championships silver medallist Christina Obergföll.

Poland's 2010 Barcelona 800m gold medallist Marcin Lewandowski will face Great Britain's Andrew Osagie over two laps of the track while Russia's 2011 European Athlete of the Year and current world champion Mariya Savinova will take on the best of the rest of the world in the women's 800m.

Three European jumpers who climbed to the top of the podium at the World Indoor Championships in March will also be on display in Rome: Greek high jumper Dimítrios Chondrokoúkis, French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie and British triple jumper Yamile Aldama.

Both Chondrokoúkis and Lavillenie have spoken to European Athletics in recent weeks about the importance of the 2012 European Athletics Championships and how it fits into their build up to the Olympics.

 European Athletics (EAA) – News