Your Sport for Life
Newsletter of
European Athletics
2 | 14 December
INSIDE TRACK
A golden
year in
Europe
WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT
Titel
IMPRESSUM
Lead
European Athletics
Association Européenne
d’Athlétisme
President:
Hansjörg Wirz
Vice Presidents:
Jose Luis de Carlos
Karel Pilny
Jean Gracia
Director General:
Christian Milz
Text
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European Athletics
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François Schrurs
European Athletics
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James Mulligan, François
Schrurs, Bill Glad, Matthew
Brown, Richard Lewis,
Hansjörg Wirz, Christian Milz,
Andy Heading, Getty Images
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2
www.european-athletics.org
Hansjörg Wirz | President of European Athletics
Building momentum
following a fantastic
year for athletics
The focus this year was more on the Area Association
level than world level of high performance for our
sport. We enjoyed the European Athletics Team
Championships, European Athletics Championships
and IAAF Continental Cup.
In many aspects, Zurich 2014 was an excellent
championships. With the many fantastic performances
we witnessed at the Letzigrund still fresh in our
memories, we are now gathering important postevent data that underlines the importance of our main
event.
A total television audience of 358 million watched the
championships. Figures published by Switzerland’s
Federal Statistical Office showed that with 316,881
overnight stays in Zurich in August, the 300,000
barrier was broken for the very first time (There
were more than 18,000 room nights booked in
official VIP, team and media hotels in Zurich during
the event). There were 148,432 spectators in the
stadium, 100,000 attending the road races in the city
centre and 250,000 visiting the City Festival during
the championships, making the event very popular
among residents and tourists alike.
This all adds up to a big overall economic impact:
Zurich 2014 triggered a total revenue of 95 million
Swiss francs for the canton of Zurich alone, and 146
million Swiss francs for the whole of Switzerland.
Taking into account our experiences in Zurich, a lot
can be learned for our events in the future. On the
question of filling seats in the stadium, support from
institutions is decreasing therefore the income from
tickets is very important. It is clear we must retain
larger stadium capacities so that prices for spectators
are more attractive while still securing an important
revenue on ticket sales. And finding the correct
pricing level from country to country is a detail to
work on.
For our European Athletics Championships, the goal
first and foremost is to have the highest possible
attendance for the evening sessions, when there are
the finals and not solely qualification rounds, and
when television is broadcasting live the majority of
the action. It is clear that ticket sales were not what
was expected but an average attendance for the
evening sessions of 80.7 percent over the six days
clearly contradicts opinion that the event failed to
attract high attendances. That is plainly false when
on certain evenings attendance was at 95 percent
– and an estimated 100,000 people attended the
championships road races.
The make-up of the crowd was different at Zurich 2014
than at Weltklasse: more athletics specialists at our
championships and more business type people at the
meeting. This undoutably had a big positive effect on
the atmosphere during the European championships.
It would have been great for the fans to stay to enjoy
the entertainment at the end of each evening session
but this idea was not so effective, with the stadium
emptying out by the time the performers took the
stage. This is something we must consider for the
future.
It is also obvious that we don’t have a clear
qualification system to promote the Championships
compared to a sport such as football, which promotes
the main championships through the qualifiers.
It’s hard to compete with such a set-up and to
create awareness. Thus, we must better establish
the European Athletics Championships brand,
integrating and linking much closer together three
different elements – the one-day meeting structure,
the European Athletics Championships format and
the championship qualification system – into one
attractive product that continues to appeal to the
public.
High performance remained our focus at the end
of this season when we celebrated our best athletes
with the newly branded Golden Tracks ceremony in
Baku. It was a fantastic occasion with all the athletes
present. Indeed, I was very pleased with the overall
outcome of the Convention in Azerbaijan.
Outside our comprehensive Competition Programme,
we also need our sport to be involved with developing
and serving society through our outstanding values
and not only through high performance.
Running activities are growing at a rapid rate and
as the number of activities increase, so too do the
demands of the runners. Every runner has a reason
Newsletter of European Athletics 2|14 INSIDE TRACK
Word from the President
Titel
Strong TV figures
Text
for Zurich; SPAR extends
live streaming partnership
for participating and holds certain expectations on the
level of quality and safety wherever and whenever they
intend to take part in a public race.
Every race organiser has the intention to organise their
race in the most secure way possible for the runners and
the spectators whilst maintaining the quality in order to
attract a large number of participants.
Until now there are only a limited number of regulations
that exist in some European countries. Where examples of
best practice exist, the experience cannot be considered
Europe wide and is not understood by all.
For that reason, European Athletics has developed
Safety and Quality Standards for public road races via
consultation and integration of different experts within
the running movement.
There is a need to recognise the races with a goodquality level. It will be the role of European Athletics
and its Member Federations to support this movement by
setting and implementing these standards, ensuring the
necessary legitimacy and credibility.
The Safety and Quality Standards will serve as an
orientation, common view and understanding of the
expected requirements. Additionally it will encourage
positive partnerships between runners, race organisers,
European Athletics and the athletics Federations as well
as with all the other stakeholders.
The Safety and Quality standards are divided into three
levels – 1-star, 3-star and 5-star - to encompass all race
types and sizes.
European Athletics will launch an online platform and
promotional tools that will enable Member Federations
to manage the spread of the standards in their territory
and facilitate race organisers applying for certification.
The ultimate goal is to have as many races in Europe
certified, bringing race organisers and Member
Federations closer together and to have the runners
themselves recognising and trusting the system.
INSIDE TRACK 2|14 Newsletter of European Athletics
A total television audience of
358 million watched the Zurich
2014 European Athletics
Championships this summer,
underlining the continued
popularity of European
Athletics’ flagship event.
The cumulative figure (excluding news
audiences), collated from EBU and
Repucom reports received by European
Athletics, was higher than the 340 million
reported for the Göteborg 2006 European
Athletics Championships and on an
almost equal level to Barcelona 2010’s
368 million.
Göteborg 2006 was held over seven days
while Barcelona 2010 like Zurich 2014
was held over six days.
In the Olympic year of 2012, with a
shortened programme that didn’t include
road races, the European Athletics
Championships in Helsinki had a total
cumulative audience of 156 million.
The European Broadcasting Union
also delivered a report on the average
audience per minute during transmission
of the championships – a more qualitative
measurement that European Athletics
plans to use in the future. The report on
average audiences, which are based on
live, delayed and highlights transmissions
during the daytime, included only the
same 25 countries that broadcast the
championships in 2006, 2010 and 2014.
(Countries: Belarus, Belgium, Croatia,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
United Kingdom.)
Zurich 2014 had an average audience of
11.6 million which is an increase of 3.2
percent in the average audience between
Göteborg 2006 and Zurich (11,260,727
to 11,621,183) and is almost on par with
Barcelona 2010 (11,877,496).
Average audiences continued to increase
in key markets France and Germany, with
audiences above 2.5 million. Average
audiences remained stable in the United
Kingdom, hovering just below the 2
million mark.
Other countries that saw increases
included Czech Republic and Netherlands,
both of which have major upcoming
European Athletics events. Prague will
host the 2015 European Athletics Indoor
Championships and Amsterdam the 2016
European Athletics Championships.
In addition, European Athletics is pleased
to announce that it will continue to
provide a full live streaming platform
during major events in 2015 including
Video on Demand, in partnership with
principal sponsor SPAR.
This means that the european-athletics.
org website will continue to be the main
source of athletics on the continent. It
brought together for the first time live
streaming, live results, live blogging,
news, video interviews and photos on the
homepage during the European Athletics
Team Championships in Braunschweig
last June.
www.european-athletics.org
3
Golden Tracks
Titel
Lead
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The European Athletics Golden Tracks award winners, Maria Kuchina, Renaud Lavillenie, Dafne Schippers and Adam Gemili, with their Golden Tracks trophies.
Athletes
of the Year
4
www.european-athletics.org
Newsletter of European Athletics 2|14 INSIDE TRACK
Golden Tracks
Spotlight on the
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«best of the
Lead
Text
best»
France’s Renaud Lavillenie and Dafne Schippers of the
Netherlands were named European Athletes of the Year at the
Golden Tracks awards ceremony in Baku, Azerbaijan. Great
Britain’s Adam Gemili and Russia’s Mariya Kuchina claimed the
European Athletics Rising Star awards.
With the Golden Tracks being shown live
on television and streamed live across
the world, all four athletes were present
to collect their trophies in a glittering
ceremony at the Fairmont Hotel in the
iconic Flame Towers.
Pole vaulter Renault Lavillenie, 28, was
voted the men’s winner after a season
where he was crowned for the third
consecutive time at the 2014 European
Athletics Championships and also broke
Sergey Bubka’s world record which now
stands at an impressive 6.16m.
Speaking as he received the trophy from
European Athletics President Hansjörg
Wirz, and with Bubka as a guest in the
audience, Lavillenie, 28, said: “This year
is something I cannot forget. It was like a
dream for many years (to break the world
record) and nobody was expected to do it.
“This winter was crazy for me and after
that, my main motivation was to stay at the
top and Zurich was very important. It was
one of the best years I have ever known.
“In Zurich, the conditions were not easy.
There was a lot of pressure on me, the
pole vault can be random but I was happy
to take the win.”
The 22-year-old Dafne Schippers
surprised most specialists when she elected
to compete in the 100m and 200m instead
of the heptathlon in Zurich. But her decision
paid off beautifully as the Dutch star won
both events and left Switzerland with two
brilliant gold medals in 11.12 and 22.03
over the longer distance, a national record.
Receiving the trophy from President Wirz,
Schippers said: “It was a special feeling
(to win). I started with the heptathlon
in Götzis and it was nice to win both
the 100m and 200m at the European
Championships.”
When she was asked by the master of
ceremony, Andy Kay, what her plans
were for 2015, and whether it will be the
sprints or the heptathlon, Schippers said:
“Now I say both. I hope to be in Götzis
next year and then after that I will have to
choose like this year.”
IAAF vice presidents Bubka and Sebastian
Coe presented the Rising Star awards.
Adam Gemili, who just turned 21, sped
to a very impressive European 200m
title in 19.98 on a cool night and into a
headwind. He also anchored the British
4x100m relay team to victory which
meant he too left Zurich with two golds
around his neck.
Rising Stars
INSIDE TRACK 2|14 Newsletter of European Athletics
www.european-athletics.org
5
GOLDEN TRACKS
Titel
On Saturday, he said of the 200m glory: “It was a great result for myself and
my team. It was always going to be tough but to walk away with the gold
medal is such a great feeling.
“People now see me more as a 200m runner but I am trying to do the 100m
and 200m.”
Lead
He received his trophy from Lord Coe who said: “There is a real renaissance
in British, European and global athletics and tonight is a really good example
of that. We have a veryText
strong future to look forward to.”
The 21-year-old Mariya Kuchina, took high jump silver at the European
Athletics Championships, won at the European Team Championships,
shared gold at the IAAF World Indoor Championships and also won the
Diamond Race.
"I am so thankful to have been considered for this award. I was very close
to winning my first big title in Zurich and I will continue to try to go higher
next year," Kuchina said.
Bubka, who handed the award to Kuchina, said: “We have a lot of great
young talent and athletics is a popular sport and youngsters enjoy it. We
have a fantastic and bright future with our young generation.”
It was a wonderful evening for European Athletics, with special mention of
Team Europe winning the IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakech in September,
and President Wirz said: “We have the great winners of today. But let us not
forget these winners help us bring our sport to the youngsters.”
Azerbaijan Athletics Federation President Chingiz Husseinzade hailed the
evening and said: “We welcome the best athletes to Baku and we look
forward to seeing you again and again.”
The winning athletes were decided by counting votes from fans, media,
European Athletics Member Federations as well as an expert European
Athletics panel, with the results from each group of voters counting for one
quarter of the athlete’s final score.
More than 9,000 fans voted on the Golden Tracks Awards at
www.facebook.com/EuropeanAthletics.
Top 3
FRA
UKR
GBR
Women’s 2014 European Athlete of the Year
1. Dafne Schippers 2. Anita Wlodarczyk 3. Ruth Beitia NED
POL
ESP
Men’s 2014 European Athletics Rising Star
1. Adam Gemili 2. Konrad Bukowiecki 3. Wilhem Belocian GBR
POL
FRA
Women’s 2014 Rising Star
1. Mariya Kuchina 2. Angelica Moser 3. Anezka Drahotova 6
www.european-athletics.org
Athletics 365, a teaching and coaching
programme for young athletes created by
England Athletics, has been awarded the
top prize in the 2014 European Athletics
Innovation Awards.
Announcing the award, Dr Sylvia Barlag,
European Athletics Council member
and the chair of the awards jury, said: “I
congratulate England Athletics for this
exciting programme, which is already
having a significant impact on the
grassroots of the sport in Britain and could
well be a model for other countries.”
“The jury was impressed, first of all with
how Athletics 365 creatively addresses
the development of young athletes and
how to retain them in the sport and
then with how its implementation adds
a new dimension to the operations and
sustainability of athletics clubs.”
The award and a cash prize of CHF 10,000
were presented to the project leader Scott
Grace.
This year’s Innovation Awards, the ninth
edition of the biennial competition,
attracted 41 entry files from 17 countries. Both totals were the second highest in the
history of the competition.
Judging in five categories was conducted
by an international panel of experts. The
evaluation criteria were “quality” and
“relevance to athletics”.
Men’s 2014 European Athlete of the Year
1. Renaud Lavillenie 2. Bogdan Bondarenko 3. Mo Farah Innovation prize
youth coaching
RUS
SUI
CZE
In addition to Athletics 365, which was
the winner in the Promotion category, the
previously announced category winners
for 2014 are:
• Coaching – “Monitoring Training
Load in Sprint Interval Exercises” by Ari
Nummela (FIN)
• Technology – “Motion Estimation
Using Inertial Sensor Technology with
Applications to Sporting Exercises” by
Michael Gasser (SUI)
• Open – “α-actinin-3 deficiency is
detrimental to 100 and 200m Olympic
sprinting performance in six European
and one American cohort of elite
sprinters” by Ioannis Papadimitriou
(GRE)
Newsletter of European Athletics 2|14 INSIDE TRACK
INTERNATIONAL PARTNER
goes
Titelto
programme
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OMEGA &
ATHLETICS
There is no question that timekeeping
is among the key components
contributing to the excitement of
athletics competitions. Be it long jump,
steeplechase, javelin or the fan-favourite
100m sprint, results are separated by
increments of measurement units and
OMEGA is proud to use its specially
developed technology and dedicated
team of data-handlers to measure the
results of each athlete in order to help
determine the champions.
Great Britain’s Scott Grace with the European Athletics Innovation
Award beside Adam Gemili holding his 2014 Rising Star trophy.
In addition to the four winners, the jury
recognised 14 projects with certificates of
Honourable Mention.
The jury decided not to name a winner
or give an honourable mention in the
Sustainability category.
“On behalf of European Athletics, I want
to thank all those who invested their time
and effort to make athletics better by
entering projects,” said Dr Barlag, “we
are proud that the awards competition
has continued to grow and attract their
interest and commitment.”
Since 1932, OMEGA has served as
Official Timekeeper at 26 editions of the
Olympic Games and it is this unparalleled
experience that the brand draws upon
when its serves in the same role at other
major international events like Diamond
League meetings and the European
Athletics Championships.
In addition to its role as Official
Timekeeper, OMEGA has also been
behind the development of some of the
most advanced pieces of timekeeping
technology and equipment. Earlier this
year at the Zurich 2014 European Athletics
Championships, the brand introduced
several upgraded and enhanced versions
of existing timekeeping technology.
between them and it is this photograph
that the judges will use to determine the
champion of each race.
Scoreboards
The three- and two-sided scoreboards
situated along the race course and at the
finish line respectively are operated by
innovative software that enables them
to display not only text, pictures and live
information, but also animations and
videos. With their high resolution and 16
million colour options, the scoreboards
benefit spectators in the stadium as well
as those watching from home.
False Start Detection System
At the start of each race, the sensors
built into the starting blocks measure
each runner’s reaction time - defined as
the interval between the sound of the
starter’s pistol and the athlete’s response.
Each runner’s response to the sound
of the start gun (pressure exerted by
the athlete’s foot against the blocks) is
detected by the sensors and measured
by the OMEGA timing device. If the time
measured is less than the time in which a
person can possibly react to the sound of
the starter’s gun as defined by the IAAF,
the runner has “jumped the gun” and
the timekeeper signals a false start.
The OMEGA Scan’O’Vision MYRIA
The European Athletics Innovation
Awards were created in 1998 to
encourage research and the sharing of
new ideas leading to the promotion and
development of the sport of athletics.
The competition is open to any European
working in or otherwise associated with
athletics, including sport scientists,
academics, coaches and students. The
tenth edition of the awards will be in
2016.
INSIDE TRACK 2|14 Newsletter of European Athletics
The
Scan’O’Vision
MYRIA
is
a
combination of a time detector and a
chronograph. Photo-finish images are
produced using a high-tech imagecapture device that records up to 10,000
digital images per second. Each runner’s
image is captured by this device as he
or she crosses the finish line, and each
appears in the final “photograph”. On
this photo-finish image, the time that
separates the runners as they cross the
finish line is represented by the space
Sensors in the starting blocks measure the
athletes’ force against the footrest 4,000
times per second. In the event of a false
start, the detection system will instantly
send the force measurements to an onsite
computer
and create a
“force curve” so
the starter can
visually analyse
the reaction.
7
ZURICH 2014
Zurich memories
When Kariem Hussein settled into his blocks for the final of the men’s
400m hurdles on a cold, wet Friday evening at the European Athletics
Championships in Zurich this August, few imagined the largely unknown
25-year-old from Munsterlingen was about to provide one of the
brightest highlights of a hugely memorable week of athletics.
He was, after all, only the seventh fastest of
the eight finalists, a man who’d never before
been beyond the semi-final stage at any major
championships. And it was raining. Hard.
But Hussein had the crowd on his side, and in
the packed bowl of the Letzigrund Stadium that’s
quite a boost. Swiss flags flapped frantically from
the wind-swept stands and when the gun went
off the noise was deafening. The decibels rose
and rose until, 10 slick barriers and just under
49 seconds later, Hussein was carried across the
line on a wave of emotion, an instant hero in the
swirling rain.
Indeed, the stadium’s famously knowledgable
crowd – egged on by their ever-entertaining
mascot, Cooly the cow – rose to appreciate every
startling performance across all 12 sessions of
the tightly scheduled programme – from the very
first night when Britain’s 40-year-old mother of
two, Jo Pavey, finally claimed a championship
title after two decades striving for success, to the
last afternoon when Germany’s Antje MoldnerSchmidt grabbed gold in the steeplechase just
four years after winning her battle with cancer.
“It is incredible, I still am searching for the right
words, I am speechless,” was all the tearful
Hussein could utter afterwards. “You cannot plan
such a thing in advance, you cannot think it in
advance.
Pavey’s heart-warming 10,000m victory kicked off
a British gold rush that launched the GBR team to
the top of the medal table with no fewer than 12
golds, three more than France and nine ahead of
Europe’s perennial powerhouse, Russia.
“At the moment, all this feels really strange to
me. I am tremendously happy, but all my emotions
went into the race. I wanted it so much.”
The base for Britain’s success lay on the track
where they dominated the men’s sprints and
relays, took both women’s hurdles golds and
provided the championships with one of its two
double winners in Mo Farah, who repeated his
5000m and 10,000m victories from Barcelona
four years ago to become the only man ever to
amass five individual European titles.
Hussein may have been the sole Swiss to strike
gold in Zurich – only the fifth Swiss athlete ever to
win a European title, in fact – but he was far from
the only star of these enjoyable and unpredictable
championships, which brought nearly 150,000
fans to the home of the Weltklasse, while
8
thousands more lined the lakeside city’s old and
beautiful streets for the road events.
www.european-athletics.org
This was the first time one nation had won both
10,000m finals at the same championships and,
in retaining his 5000m crown on the last day,
Farah became not only one of 13 successful
defending champions, but one of just five to win
a third consecutive gold – joining discus supremos
Robert Harting and Sandra Perkovic, pole
vault king Renaud Lavillenie, and Ukrainian
triple jumper Olha Saladukha.
The other double winner – of course – was
Dafne Schippers, the Netherlands’ newest flying
Dutchwoman who blew away the opposition over
100m and 200m, matching the exploits of her
legendary compatriot Fanny Blankers-Koen some
64 years earlier.
No-one who saw her second sensational sprint
victory on the Friday evening could doubt her
decision to skip the heptathon and concentrate
on speed. And what speed. Schippers hurtled
off the 200m bend and strode across the line in
22.03, the fastest by a European woman since
1995 and a Dutch record.
Talking of records, who can forget Yohann
Diniz’s 50km walk, the Frenchman winning his
third European title in a world record of 3:32:33.
After destroying his rivals with his relentless
pace, up and down the picturesque loop beside
downtown Zurich’s River Limmat, Diniz stopped
to grab two flags before completing an emotional
victory.
“I want to dedicate this to my grandmother
who died this year,” he explained. “She was
Portuguese and that is why I was holding both
French and Portuguese flags while coming to the
finish.”
Diniz smashed the world record by almost two
minutes, and the championships record by four.
But his wasn’t the only CR performance by a
French athlete on the Zurich streets as Christelle
Daunay won the gruellingly hilly women’s
Newsletter of European Athletics 2|14 INSIDE TRACK
ZURICH 2014
marathon in 2:25:14 after an epic struggle against
Italy’s world silver medallist Valeria Straneo.
In the stadium, only Anita Wlodarczyk
produced a championships record – the Pole’s
winning hammer throw of 78.76m not only a
national record but the third longest of all time.
As it turned out, that was merely a prelude to her
world record of 79.58m in Berlin just a fortnight
later.
Throwers were never far from the attention in
Zurich, not least Perkovic whose fifth round
heave of 71.08m certainly caught the eye. It not
only secured the Croatian’s third European discus
gold by a massive 5.75 metres, but was her third
national record of the season and the longest in
the world since 1992.
“I wasn’t surprised because I came here
prepared,” said the nonchalant Perkovic later.
Barbora Spotokova came prepared too. The
javelin world record holder was in her comeback
season after giving birth last year, but already
sitting top of the world list and ready to win her
first European title.
INSIDE TRACK 2|14 Newsletter of European Athletics
Yet for four agonising rounds the double Olympic
champion threw like a novice – “I feel ashamed,”
said the Czech star afterwards – before clinching
gold in the fifth by 20cm, so outdoing her famous
coach and mentor Jan Zelezny who never won
the European crown.
And the week’s biggest talking point? What else?
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad’s bare-chested
home-straight antics at the finale of the men’s
steeplechase, a feat which earned him a yellow
card, then disqualification, but finally a chance to
make good as he cantered to gold at the end of a
crazy 1500m final on the last afternoon.
Like Pavey two days earlier, Spotokova celebrated
victory with her young son in her arms – the
week’s second proud mum.
“Winning today was the best thing I could
do after the steeplechase,” said the relieved
Frenchman. “I had a lot of motivation; I ran with
rage. I am very proud.”
As for the championship’s forgotten hero, that
was Christian Lemaître, the French sprinter who
lost his 100m title to James Dasaolu and 200m
crown to Adam Gemili’s chill-defying 19.98,
but still left Zurich with a record eight European
outdoor medals to his name.
Rage, joy, relief, pride … emotions were never
far from the surface at Zurich 2014; never more
evident, nor more widely shared, perhaps, than
when the crying hurdler Kariem Hussein brought
heat and light to a drenched and ecstatic home
crowd.
The duel of the championships? That has to be
the thrilling head-to-head between Ethiopianborn friends and 1500m rivals Sifan Hassan of
the Netherlands, and Sweden’s Abeba Aregawi,
won at the death by the emphatic Dutch runner –
a woman set to rival Schippers as a poster-girl for
Amsterdam 2016.
“Kariem, Kariem, Kariem,” they cried as he stood
on the podium wiping his eyes, a moment he will
never forget.
Indeed, it was one of many memorable moments
at the 2014 European Athletics Championships,
an event that, as Sergey Bubka put it, “has
written a new and fabulous chapter in the history
of the city, its stadium and athletics”.
www.european-athletics.org
9
CONTINENTAL CUP
Team Europe
triumphs
The strength of European athletics came to the forefront in remarkable
fashion in Marrakech as the team won the IAAF Continental Cup on
14 September.
After six individual triumphs on the first
day of competition, Europe won 10
events on the second day to take the title
with 447.5 points from the Americas with
390, Africa with 339 and Asia-Pacific with
257.50.
Wherever you looked at the Le Grande
Stade, it seemed like a European athlete
was winning a race or going clear in the
field as the team made their bid to win
the trophy.
Europe’s field eventers led the way on
opening night
Ukraine’s Bondarenko dominated the high
jump as 2.37m was enough for success
ahead of Russian Ivan Ukhov and Qatar’s
Mutaz Essa Barshim.
Bondarenko had lost to Barshim at the
final Diamond League meeting in Brussels,
and with it the Diamond Race, but the
European champion took this win after
clearing his first effort at 2.37m.
Spotakova’s summer has been full of
glory in what has been an outstanding
comeback year since she became a
mother.
Fresh from winning the European title
and Diamond Race, the Czech Republic
javelin thrower was trailing in Morocco
to Sunette Viljoen after two rounds, but
eventually took control in the next round
as she achieved the winning throw of
65.52m.
10
Great Britain team for the European
Athletics Championships in Zurich when
he was hit by injury.
Not only did he book his place, he then
went on to win the gold medal, and
now on Saturday evening he banked the
maximum eight points for Europe with
a narrow victory in 10.03 from Mike
Rodgers, of the USA, in 10.04, and Qatar’s
Femi Ogunode in third, also in 10.04.
This summer Compaore has proved he is
a man for the big occasions and after an
opening effort of 17.26m, he found more
speed on the runway to secure victory
from South African Godfrey Khotso
Mokoena, who jumped a national record
of 17.35m, and American Will Claye, the
Olympic silver medallist, who was third
with 17.21m.
Ignisious Gaisah was a late replacement in
the team for Britain's Greg Rutherford and it can never be easy stepping into the
spikes of the Olympic, Commonwealth
and European champion.
France’s third gold came in the long jump
as Eloyse Lesueur followed up her glory in
Zurich with an extraordinary win.
But the Dutch athlete has had a fine
season and after finishing second in the
Diamond Race, he is the Continental Cup
champion with a winning effort of 8.11m
in the second round, the only man to pass
eight metres on the night.
The eight points were heading Europe’s
way as world bronze medallist Ivana
Spanovic, of Serbia, led with 6.56m after
With 222.5 points, Europe led from the
Americas with 191, Africa with 164 and
Asia-Pacific with 137.5.
Team Europe takes the trophy home
It was some Sunday, too, for France as
their athletes won three individual titles all from gold medallists from the European
Athletics Championships in Zurich.
Dasaolu does it again
Men’s team captain Renaud Lavillenie
did not enter the pole vault until 5.65m,
which he cleared at the first attempt,
before going over at 5.80m at the third
time to triumph.
It was another memorable night for James
Dasaolu, who at one time this summer
looked like he may not even make the
Benjamin Compaoré had won the triple
jump in Zurich with a European lead of
17.46m and he improved on that as he
www.european-athletics.org
took his personal best to 17.48m in the
second round.
Newsletter of European Athletics 2|14 INSIDE TRACK
CONTINENTAL CUP
Team Europe take back the IAAF Continental Cup as team captains Renaud Lavillenie and Jo Pavey lifted the trophy in Marrakech on Sunday night.
Lesueur had fouled the first three of her
four attempts.
But then with her last go she reached
6.66m to take the title from Spanovic with
American Tianna Bartoletta, the Diamond
Race winner, third with 6.45m.
Schippers back in first place
Having finished third in the 100m on
Saturday, Dafne Schippers came storming
back in style to win the 200m and end the
summer season as the most-talked about
woman sprinter in the world.
She triumphed in 22.28 from American
Joanna Atkins and European teammate,
France’s Myriam Soumaré, who was third
in 22.58.
Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk, the double
European hammer champion took the title
with 75.21m from her third round throw,
with her teammate Martina Hrasnova in
third with 70.47m as American Amanda
Bingson finished second with 72.38m.
And in the men’s discus, Estonian Gerd
Kanter made it another eight points in the
bank for Europe as, like Wlodarczyk, he
led all the way before his final throw of
64.46m was his best.
Sergey Shubenkov followed up his Zurich
success by making his mark again in the
110m hurdles as he won in 13.23.
The double European champion was
slick enough to hold off the challenge of
American Ronnie Ash, who was a close
second in 13.25, the same time as Great
Britain’s Will Sharman, the Zurich silver
medallist, who was given third for six
more European points.
The next race also brought maximum
points for Europe and once more
enhanced the reputation of Sifan Hassan.
The European 1500m champion from the
Netherlands had so much speed in the
final stages as she won in 4:05.99.
After such an exciting year for Hassan, now
she will head into the winter months with
the prospect of building on the success of
2014 at the SPAR European Cross Country
Championships in Samokov and European
Athletics Indoor in Prague in March.
Schwanitz follows Storl to the top of
the podium
and European double in the shot put
as she won with 20.02m, a distance
achieved in the second round as she beat
American Michelle Carter with 19.84m,
and Lijiao Gong, of China, with 19.23m.
Europe celebrated a first and third in the
women’s high jump as Mariya Kuchina,
the 2014 European Athletics Rising Star,
won again with a best of 1.99m, just one
centimetre adrift of the furthest she has
cleared this year.
Porter runs a British best
Britain’s Tiffany Porter was second in the
100m hurdles - and not only did it bring
seven points to the team but her run of
12.51 was a national record.
The European champion was flying in
a race won by American Dawn Harper
Nelson in 12.47 with Germany’s Cindy
Roleder third in 13.02.
Europe took second in both the 4x400m
relays.
In the women’s, Spain’s Indira Terrero,
Malgorzata Holub of Poland, Ukraine’s
Olha Zemlyak and Libania Grenot, of Italy,
combined for 3:24.12 as the Americas
won in a world-leading time of 3:20.93.
Then, in the men’s, Britain’s Conrad
Williams, Jakub Krzewina, of Poland,
Israel’s Donald Sanford and Martyn
Rooney, also of Britain, ran 3:00.10 in
a race won by Africa in 3:00.02 with a
dramatic finish.
But by then Europe were way ahead on a
glorious weekend.
After David Storl’s victory on Saturday,
Christina Schwanitz made it a German
INSIDE TRACK 2|14 Newsletter of European Athletics
www.european-athletics.org
11
SAMOKOV 2014
1
The noise…for Mitko
Tsenov. Not until the SPAR
European Cross Country
Championships in Budapest
in 2012 had Bulgaria ever won a
medal at this event. But Tsenov, now
21, changed all that when he was
second in the junior race in 18:47 and
then 12 months later in Belgrade, he
repeated that silver success in the
under-23 race in 24:07. With local
support, it could be a glorious story
for the host nation if he makes it to
the podium again.
Ten things
to look forward to in
Samokov
6
The
chase
for
elusive gold. With
a lunging, final surge,
Great Britain’s Andy
Vernon won bronze in the men’s
10km as his nation topped the table
with nine medals in Belgrade last year.
But it was just the start of a superb
spell for the distance runner who
then won silver in the 10,000m and
bronze in the 5000m at the European
Athletics Championships in Zurich in
August. Could it be gold this time?
12
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Newsletter of European Athletics 2|14 INSIDE TRACK
SAMOKOV 2014
2
The setting. The races will
be staged on a picturesque
course in the Rila Mountain
in Borovets, just 10km south
of Samokov city. It is the highest mountain
range in the Balkans - at 2925m - and the
sixth highest in Europe. World Cup skiing
races have been held there before.
4
The future. Amela Terzic, one of the Balkan region's finest young athletes,
will be looking to further enhance her reputation. The Serbian is still only
21 and has won medals in each of the last four years at the SPAR European
Cross Country Championships, with junior silver in 2010, bronze in 2011
and gold in 2012 before she was second in the under-23 race in Belgrade last December.
3
The rivalry. Not only could the women’s senior race see a re-run of last
year’s finish, when France’s Sophie Duarte had just too much in the end for
Great Britain’s Gemma Steel, winning by five seconds in 26:34, it is set to
include other former winners in Portugal’s Jessica Augusto and Fionnuala
Britton, of Ireland. Steel, though, has been in fine form so far this winter, leading the
European Athletics rankings for both the 10km and half-marathon.
7
The favourite. Behind Vernon in that 10,000m
race was Turkey’s bronze medallist Ali Kaya, 20,
who won gold in the junior race in Belgrade. He
will be among the favourites for the under-23 race
in Samokov, unless he is selected for the senior event where he is
likely to make a big impression too.
9
The LOC. President of the Samokov
2014 local organising committee,
Dobromir Karamarinov, former
national and Balkan 400m hurdles
champion is also President of the Bulgarian
Athletic Federation since 2004.
INSIDE TRACK 2|14 Newsletter of European Athletics
5
The history. It will
be the first time that
Bulgaria has hosted the
SPAR European Cross
Country Championships, an event
which is celebrating its 21st edition.
The first competition was held in
1994 in the north-east English town
of Alnwick.
8
The heroine. In Belgrade last year, Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan
produced a superb performance to win the under-23 race, and then
she had an amazing summer with gold in the 1500m and silver in the
5000m at the European Athletics Championships. But as she said in
July: “I actually think I like cross country slightly more than the track, I feel free when
I am running.” Samokov could be treated to another special moment from her.
10
The legend. While nothing has been confirmed,
Ukraine’s Serhiy Lebid, a winner of nine gold
medals at the SPAR European Cross Country
Championships, the first dating back to 1998 in
Ferrara, Italy, could make a bid for the team at the age of 39. In
the summer he ran in the 10,000m at the European Athletics
Championships in Zurich.
www.european-athletics.org
13
COUNCIL
European Athletics allocates events
at its 140th Council meeting
The European Athletics Council agreed on a number of important resolutions, including the
awarding of the 2016 Convention and SPAR European Cross Country Championships at its
140th meeting at the Château de Montvillargenne in Chantilly, France.
The 2016 SPAR
European Cross Country
Championships were
allocated to Chia, Italy.
It was decided that the 2016 European
Athletics Convention would be held in
Funchal, the largest city of the Madeira
region in Portugal. Before that, the 2015
Convention takes place at the home
of European Athletics in Lausanne,
Switzerland.
The 2016 SPAR European Cross Country
Championships were allocated to Chia,
Italy, subject to European Athletics
receiving a guarantee for television
production of the event by the end of
January 2015.
Chia, a coastal area in Southern Sardinia,
made an impressive presentation. The
Italian athletics federation would use
these championships to further develop
their new training facilities based in Chia.
Following a proposal by the French
Athletics Federation, the 2015 SPAR
European Cross Country Championships
will be relocated to Toulon-Hyères
subject to all conditions of the organisation
being met.
The Council also approved the proposal
for Mersin, Turkey, to host the European
Champion Clubs Cup Senior Group A for
the next three years, as long as the quality
standards for this event are upheld. The
Junior Group A event will also be held in
Turkey in 2015 as Istanbul will stage the
competition.
Czech Athletics Federation President
Libor Varhanik gave a well-received report
on the Prague 2015 European Athletics
Indoor Championships, which will take
place from 6-8 March.
2015 Education
Programme
The Council has approved the following
education measures for delivery in 2015.
Conferences
• Clubs Conference
• Youth Conference
Seminars
• Technical Officials Management System
Seminar
• Doping Control Officer Refresher
Seminar
• Communications Managers Seminar
• Women in World Athletics (WIWA)
• Coaches Management System Seminar
Courses
• Technology (VDM/EDM) Course
The dates, venues and other details are
currently being finalised and information
will be posted on the European Athletics
website as it becomes available. Invitations
to participate in the measures will be sent
to the Member Federations.
Members of the European Athletics Council.
14
www.european-athletics.org
Newsletter of European Athletics 2|14 INSIDE TRACK
DIRECTOR GENERAL'S STATE OF THE SPORT
A year of “firsts” for
European Athletics
We are able to look back on a very special year for European
Athletics that saw a number of milestones for the organisation.
By Christian Milz,
Director
General of
European
Athletics
We are proudly able to look back on a
very special year for European Athletics
that saw a number of milestones for the
organisation.
As usual, each year has two big "peaks"
for our athletes, and this year it was the
four leagues of the European Athletics
Team Championships in June and the
European Athletics Championships in
August. The European championships
were held for only the second time in the
“home” country of European Athletics,
with Zurich playing host to our
flagship event.
million; Barcelona 2010: 0.48 million),
27.4 million page views (Helsinki 2012:
0.76 million; Barcelona 2010: 1.05
million).
The website was viewed 57% of times
from computers and 43% from mobile
devices (26% smartphone, 17% tablets),
confirming the trend of a shift of
website user browsing from computers
to smartphones and tablet devices. This
shift was also facilitated by the mobile
experience being optimised as the
new European Athletics website is fully
responsive. The official European Athletics
Facebook page had a weekly total reach
during the championships of 3.6 million
– the number of people who saw any
content associated with the page. (As an
aside, our Facebook page has seen huge
growth in the number of permanent fans
in 2014 with more than 130,000 now
liking our page.)
INSIDE TRACK 2|14 Newsletter of European Athletics
There were four “firsts” at the Baku 2014
Convention as well. It was the first time
we were able to host a paperless Calendar
Convention with each organiser able to
enter their data directly into the system.
This proved efficient and a great success.
We also hosted for the first time the
Golden Tracks – a new name, a new brand,
a new trophy to celebrate the European
athletes of the year and rising stars. It was
a fantastic evening with all four winners
present and the gala once again shown
on national television, streamed live
across the continent and distributed to
Eurosport, France Televisions and NOS via
Eurovision.
A pilot Coach Management System
Seminar was staged in early November
to find ways to better support our
coaches who play a fundamental role in
the development of our sport. We will
monitor the changes implemented by the
participating Member Federations over the
coming year to assess the impact of the
seminar. European Athletics also took an
important step this year in its strategy to
ensure that athletics is at the forefront of
promoting healthy lifestyles to Europeans
through sport by staging the inaugural
European Athletics Health and Well-Being
Conference in Marseille, France.
Another milestone for 2014 has
been the purchase of a piece of
land in the centre of Lausanne
– the first step in building a
permanent “home” for European
Athletics. If all goes to plan, we
hope to be able to move into our
new headquarters in 2016.
There were a huge amount of positives
to take from Zurich: the excellent
conditions for all stakeholders, the
brilliant performances of the athletes,
the atmosphere at the City Festival
and the overwhelmingly positive
feedback from the International
Broadcasters on the back of
cumulative television audience of
358 million.
Our new website was the focal point
for all communications surrounding
Zurich 2014 – bringing together
for the first time live streaming,
live results, live blogging, news, video
interviews and photos on the homepage.
Indeed, the website saw a huge, recordbreaking increase in global traffic during
Zurich 2014 compared to the previous two
editions of the event. The website through
the week of August 10-17 generated the
following traffic metrics: 1.07 million
unique users (Helsinki 2012: 0.16 million;
Barcelona 2010: 0.23 million), 2.7 million
sessions - unique users may account for
multiple sessions - (Helsinki 2012: 0.33
Azerbaijan not only once but twice in
2014, firstly for a sporting event (the
European Youth Olympic Trials) and
then for our main corporate event (the
European Athletics Convention) – with
both proving very successful.
Our new event management system
ARENA came to reality in Zurich, and
we received positive feedback on its
capabilities from important stakeholders.
It is proving to be a very solid system that
acts as the unique source of information
for anything related to our events and
activities.
For the first time ever, as part of a strategic
long-term plan with the National Azeri
Federation, European Athletics visited
A milestone for next year will be
the introduction of our Safety
and Quality Standards for Road
Races in Europe. The criteria for
the standards have now been
agreed and we are in the process
of developing an online platform
and promotional tools that will enable
Member Federations to manage the
spread of the standards in their country.
The standards are divided into three levels
– 1-star, 3-star and 5-star – to encompass
all types and sizes of races. The online
platform will facilitate race organisers
applying for certification that will then be
monitored by European Athletics and the
relevant Member Federation.
www.european-athletics.org
15
WOMEN IN ATHLETICS FORUM
Women's forum highlights
progress and challenges
It is now a custom for the European Athletics Convention to feature half-day forums where
leaders from the Member Federations and others from the Athletics Family can come together
to consider issues impacting them and the future of the sport.
Rahda Balani
gave the
forum's keynote
presentation.
16
At this year’s edition in Baku, Azerbaijan,
the tradition continued as 62 participants
from 34 federations gathered for the
first-ever European Athletics Women in
Athletics Forum at Baku’s Marriott Hotel
on Friday 10 October.
www.european-athletics.org
The aim of the forum was to discuss issues
related to how federations can benefit
from the abilities and ideas of women in
athletics to increase participation and the
popularity of the sport.
The forum’s keynote presentation,
entitled “It’s not about women, it’s about
athletics”, was given by Rahda Balani, the
Head of Insight and Innovation at Britain’s
Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation.
After congratulating European Athletics
for its long-term efforts to promote
women leaders in the sport, Ms Balani
shared evidence from the business world
Newsletter of European Athletics 2|14 INSIDE TRACK
COACHING AWARDS
showing that organisations with women
directors tend to be more successful than
those with male-only leadership.
She said, “at the WSFF we encourage
sport organisations to aim for a target of
30% women on their executive boards,
committees and other bodies, but how
they reach that figure is a matter for them
to decide.”
“The 30% figure has been shown in
research to be the point where the
women are no longer seen as simply
representatives of their gender but instead
begin to contribute to the decision making
on all aspects of the organisation.”
Council member Sylvia Barlag followed
with a presentation that outlined the
various efforts European Athletics has
made since 2007 to help federations
understand the case for bringing more
women
into
leadership
positions,
including the creation of the biennial
European Athletics Women’s Leadership
Awards.
She explained that 40 Member Federations
had recognised a total 80 women in the
three editions of the awards and called
on the leaders present to make sure their
federations used the tool in 2015.
A booklet containing short profiles of 31
of the winners was distributed to all the
forum participants.
At the end of the day, Ms Balani and Dr
Barlag took part in a panel discussion
chaired by well-known presenter Andy
Kay from Great Britain that also included
European Athletics President Hansjörg
Wirz and Konul Nurullayeva, who is one
of the leading sport administrators in
Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan's Maharram Sultanzade and Zeynep Batar of Turkey receive their coaching
awards from Council member Frank Hensel.
51 receive
Coaching Award
Zeynep Batar of Turkey and Azerbaijan’s Maharram
Sultanzade were presented the first of 2014’s European
Athletics Coaching Awards by President Hansjörg Wirz and
Council member Frank Hensel at the Golden Tracks night
in Baku on 11 October.
The two were representing 49 other
coaches who will be given their awards
in national ceremonies organised by
their federations in the coming weeks.
“Congratulations to Zeynep and
Maharram and to all of this year’s
winners,” said President Wirz. “They
are examples of how coaches make a
difference and it is important that we
recognise them.”
The awards consist of a certificate and a
European Athletics silver pin.
year for the award based on the criteria
“excellence in coaching”.
Twenty-two federations nominated
coaches this year, the second highest
figure in the history of the awards,
which began in 2010.
In addition to the nominations, coaches
whose athletics win a gold medal in a
senior European Athletics championship
automatically receive the award.
To date a total of 259 coaches have
received the award.
Each Member Federation can nominate
one male and one female coach per
INSIDE TRACK 2|14 Newsletter of European Athletics
www.european-athletics.org
17
YOUNG LEADERS FORUM
Young Leaders enjoy a unique
Zurich experience
The city of Zurich and the 22nd European Athletics
Championships provided a spectacular backdrop for the 4th
European Athletics-UNESCO Young Leaders Forum, which
attracted 65 participants representing 44 countries from the
10th to 14th of August.
Lord Coe addresses the Young Leaders in Zurich.
Young Leaders involved in a group discussion.
One of the main activities of the European
Athletics Young Leaders Community, the
biennial Forum was staged in cooperation
with the United Nations Education,
Scientific and Cultural Organization
with support from the Zurich 2014
local organising committee and Erdgas,
the LOC’s partner for volunteering and
sustainability.
Spain who ran workshops explaining the
successful projects they have delivered in
the last two years.
The Forum programme focused on
practical aspects of the design and
delivery of youth-led voluntary projects
in athletics. Much of the content
was delivered by members of the
Community, including teams from Bosnia
& Herzegovina, Norway, Slovenia and
Presentations were also given by Steve
Tharakan of UNESCO, Penny van der
Kaars of European Atheltics’ partner SPAR
and Stephen Reynard of the international
non-government organisation Sport and
Development.org.
Sara Massini of ENGSO Youth (the
youth section of the European NonGovernmental Sport Organisation) gave
a presentation and workshop on project
funding through the European Union.
After checking in at the youth hostel
hosting the Forum, the participants set up
displays of their own work, which they had
prepared in the weeks prior to the event.
Their vote on the best display was won
by Stine Haugum and Helge Rosfjord of
Norway, with Damiao Freitas of Portugal
winning the “most interesting project”
category. The winners each received an
iPad mini in recognition of their efforts.
“Seeing the mix of young people of so
many nationalities who share a passion
for athletics and a commitment to
making a contribution to the sport in their
communities has been inspiring,” said
Miikka Neuvonen, also of ENGSO Youth,
who was one of the Forum facilitators.
“You could tell they were ready to work
hard, and I really enjoyed the discussions
we had in the different sessions.”
At the end of each day’s programme, the
young leaders were able to enjoy being
in the host city of the championships,
attending the Opening Ceremony and
the first three evening sessions of the
18
www.european-athletics.org
Newsletter of European Athletics 2|14 INSIDE TRACK
YOUNG LEADERS FORUM
competition in the Letzigrund Stadium.
They were also invited to a reception with
European Athletics Council Members,
which took place at the House of
Switzerland in the Market Square at the
Sechseläutenplatz in the centre of Zurich.
For many of the participants, the highlight
of the Forum was the final day appearance
by guest speaker Lord Sebastian Coe,
which included an autograph and
“selfies” session.
Lord Coe, the IAAF vice president and
London 2012 Olympic Games organising
committee chairman, thanked the
participants for their commitment to
athletics and their voluntary work in
the sport, saying that “athletics must
constantly find how young people want
to be engaged in sport and then innovate
to meet the challenges.”
Speaking for many of the participants,
Marilyn Grech, who volunteers as a youth
coach in Malta, said “this Forum was a
really great experience. It has motivated
me to be more involved in athletics. I
suggest anyone who takes athletics
seriously to be a part of the Young Leaders
Community and perhaps join the Forum
next time around.”
Germany’s Katrin Heyers, who leads an
anti-doping education project, added,
“we’ve made new friends and got
connections all over Europe but the most
important lesson we learned is that WE
CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!”
The next European Athletics-UNESCO
Young Leaders Forum will be held on the
occasion of the 2016 European Athletics
Championships in Amsterdam.
Young leaders say
goodbye to Zurich.
The European Athletics Young Leaders
Community was established in 2011
to promote volunteering and youthled projects in athletics. Since then, its
more than 1900 members have shared
information about 250 local projects and
have registered close to 60,000 hours of
volunteer work.
For a video of the 2014 Young Leaders
Forum visit www.athleticscommunity.
org. For more information on the Young
Leaders Community and its activities see
www.facebook.com/AthleticsCommunity.
“I can think of no better group for this
work than young leaders like yourselves
who have already demonstrated your
passion for athletics by the work you do.”
After describing how he got his start as an
athlete (“from a young age I really liked
the physical sensation of running and
I still run several days a week”) and the
importance of volunteers at various points
in his career, including the success of the
2012 Olympic Games in London, Lord
Coe encouraged the participants along
their own paths.
“It is important that you are creative with
your projects, that you help move the
sport in the ways that young people want
it to go, and then use the various media
options available to you to communicate
your ideas and successes,” he said.
INSIDE TRACK 2|14 Newsletter of European Athletics
www.european-athletics.org
19
COACH MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SEMINAR
Exploring how federations can
best support coaches
Recognising that coaches play a key role at all levels of athletics and that support provided to
coaches is important for the sport and its development, European Athletics staged its first-ever
coach management system seminar in Reykjavik, Iceland, from 4-6 November.
Thirteen
participants
from
five
Member Federations, among them
general secretaries, administrators and
leading coaches, examined the coach
management and support systems in
their countries and developed plans for
addressing identified weaknesses and
improving effectiveness.
Among the system elements studied
over the intense three days of lectures,
workshops and group presentations were
the recruitment of new coaches, coach
education and continuing development,
communication, quality control, recognition
and rewards for good work.
On the first day of the seminar, the
participants were welcomed by Einar
Vilhjálmsson, the President of Iceland’s
athletic federation, which co-hosted the
event together with Reykjavik University.
Mr Vilhjálmsson also attended parts of the
second and third days of the seminar.
The seminar lectures included two
presentations by Julian North, PhD, of
Leeds Beckett University in Great Britain,
who introduced a framework for analysing
coach management systems and shared
findings from research projects in this
area that have been conducted in Britain,
Ireland and South Africa.
Also presenting was Malek El-Hebil, the
Director of the IAAF Development and
Member Relations Department, who
spoke about development strategy in
athletics before focusing on the IAAF
Coach Education and Certification System
(CECS).
On their return home, the participants are
expected to continue detailed planning of
change projects for their systems working
together with the leadership in their
federations.
For its part, European Athletics will follow
up by monitoring changes implemented
in the participating federations’ systems
over the coming year in order to assess the
impact of the seminar and by providing
advice and other assistance where
appropriate.
European Athletics met with five Member Federations in Reykjavik from 4-6 November
20
www.european-athletics.org
European Athletics will also review
the seminar contents and participants’
feedback to see how the concept can
be developed and rolled out to other
federations starting in 2015.
Participants presenting their findings to the rest of the group.
Newsletter of European Athletics 2|14 INSIDE TRACK