“Game-changing” first ever European Running Championships ahead pledges President
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European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov is excited at the prospect of the inaugural European Running Championships in Brussels-Leuven on 12-13 April as a “game-changing” event for the sport.
The European Running Championships will be streamed live from start to finish with English-language commentary on the European Athletics website.
Speaking at the official pre-event press conference in Brussels on Friday (11), he said: “It’s a really historical event. The first ever! And it has already broken some records. More than 28,000 runners from 46 member federations are here.”
Organisers also revealed that 12,500 runners have registered specifically for the marathon, making it the largest ever race over the classic distance ever in Belgium. Meanwhile, 10,000 have entered for the half marathon and 5,500 for the 10km.
On a domestic level, there are 23,500 entrants from the host country, including 4500 residents of Leuven and 2200 from Brussels. It was also revealed that 50% of participants are aged 18-34. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Battocletti bidding to complete surface set of European titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nadia Battocletti, the reigning European champion on cross country and on track over 5000m and 10,000m will be targeting a unique hat-trick on the roads in the women’s 10km.
Victory on the streets of Leuven on Sunday (13) will seal the Italian’s status as the continent’s premier female endurance runner, regardless of terrain.
The Olympic 10,000m silver from Paris last year, is the pre-race favourite and she senses the expectation.
“Probably eyes are on me on Sunday,” she admits. “But I am so confident about my performance and my training. Everything is good. I did a lot of cross country races and an indoor race in Lieven (this winter), and I am ready for Sunday.”
The women’s 10km is potentially the most competitive race of the entire championships with Battocletti’s rivals likely to include European leader Klara Lukan of Slovenia (30:26), European 10,000m silver medallist Diane van Es of the Netherlands and four-time European cross country champion Yasemin Can of Türkiye. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Verbruggen puts on brave face for Belgium hopes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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