Olympic glory for our athletes passed through the European Championships in Rome

They say that it is impossible to remain the same after knowing Rome, the only city where love takes on a different meaning and where dignity, pride and stoicism until death have forged great warriors, such as will be in Europe Union to start this year. Friday as a prelude to the Paris Games, with the 19 Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions who will use this championship to measure their strength.

In total there will be six days of fucking athletics with 1,574 athletes from 48 countries and divided into 24 events. Spain includes an ambitious list of 86 athletes, with the aim of exceeding 10 medals at Munich 2022. The team presents two luxurious reinforcements of Cuban origin, Jordan Díaz (triple jump) and Yulenmis Aguilar (javelin) , clear candidates for everything in this Continental and the Games. Also favorites are Ana Peleteiro (triple), Thierry Ndikumwenayo (5,000 m/10,000), Dani Arce (3,000 obs) and Paul McGrath (20 km walk), who will come as leaders of the year. Navarrese Asier Martínez, who had the best start to the season of his life, will try to defend his European title in the 110 hurdles. His teammate Quique Llopis is another strong medal contender in this event, along with resurgent Olympic silver medalist Orlando Ortega.

Duplantis, for another record

Five athletes who hold world records in their disciplines will not be missing from the Romanesque event, led by Mondo Duplantis who debuted this year’s outdoor season with a new record in the Xiamen Diamond League with a bar of 6.24 meters.

In Rome, the Swede is expected to beat this mark, which is the ninth world record and the best motivation to face his second Games and defend his gold.

There will also be 400 hurdles record holder, Karsten Warholm, in search of his third consecutive European title. Another reference that will reappear in the Italian capital is the Frenchman Kevin Mayer, the holder of the decathlon record, who after a season complicated by physical problems received an invitation from the organization to compete. His goal this year is to achieve the Olympic gold he lacks in front of his audience in Paris.

The youngest of the record holders present was the Lithuanian Mykolas Alekna, who at the age of 21 had already thrown the discus further than anyone with 74.35 meters. For her part, the only woman with a record to compete is Polish hammerer Anita Wlodarczyk, who made her European Championship debut in Barcelona 2010 and who at 38 is seeking her fifth continental title. Other references such as Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Femke Bol, Gianmarco Tamberi, Marcell Jacobs, Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Miltiadis Tentoglou will also present a show.

The women’s walk will open the day (6:35 pm), with three medals at stake in the 20 kilometers and with the Spaniard Laura García-Caro as the European leader of the year. In addition, Catalans Cristina Montesinos and Raquel González are also among the main favorites as third and sixth on the continent, respectively.

Italian Antonella Palmisano, Olympic champion in Tokyo, is one of the rivals to watch in the race. It will be a tough test, with temperatures around 30 degrees throughout the day, on a circuit that will go around the Foro Italico and finish inside the track of the Olympic Stadium in Rome. At 10:40 pm the 5,000 m race will close the day, with the Spaniard Marta García with the best mark of the year of all the participants and as the favorite for the medals