47 countries and over 1,670 athletes took part in the 2023 European Athletics Team Championships in Silesia, Poland from June 20 – 25. The event, one of the largest and most important athletics events in Europe this year, was proudly sponsored by SPAR. The Italians finished on 426.50 points, 24 points clear of the hosts, Poland, who finished in second. Germany rounded off the top 3, placing in third. Hungary, Ukraine and Lithuania were promoted to the First Division, with Ireland, Austria and Israel promoted to the Second Division.

For the first time, three divisions came together in one location to compete in the Team Championships, creating six days of non-stop action. In the past, each division took place in the same weekend over different locations.

Italian delight

With a total of 15 medals and 426.50 points, Italy topped the First Division table to win their first European Athletics Team Championships title in Silesia, Poland. Olympic high-jump Champion Gianmarco Tamberi put on a captain’s performance, with a season-best result to secure the maximum 2.29 points for the winners. With the 2024 European Athletics Championships taking place in Rome in June 2024, the Italians will be entering the competition full of confidence.

Record breakers

There were records achieved across the Championships. The Dutch athlete Femke Bol set the first sub-50 second time at the Team Championships in the women’s 400m, with a time of 49.82 seconds. Poland’s Ewa Swoboda ran a championship record 11.09 seconds in the women’s 100m. Meanwhile, Kristjan Ceh set a championship record of 69.94m in the discus for Slovenia in division 2. In the men’s 1500m, Spain’s Mohamed Katir needed a championship record of 3:36.95 to gain victory.

Team Championships spirit

The Team Championships is a truly unique event in the European Athletics calendar, where the characteristics of team sport are added to a usually individual sport. The sense of togetherness was on full show throughout the competition, with athletes focusing on getting every point for their team. Italian captain Gianmarco Tamberi summed up the feeling of the Team Championships well: “These championships are about team spirit, not individual achievements,” Tamberi said. “What we have to achieve here is to win the trophy for Italy. Being the captain of our Italian squad, I would like to see every single athlete and every single coach on the tribune to support each other.“

More ways to follow

There was great interest in the Team Championships, with numerous ways of following the coverage over the six days. As well as through local broadcasters in participating countries, fans could follow the action through various digital outlets supplied by European Athletics. This included streaming services and, for the first time, live audio with AI-generated summaries, to bring an instant reaction of events and races.

Long-term partnership

As a principal sponsor since 1996, SPAR continues to support European Athletics, promoting healthy lifestyles from the grass-roots upwards. SPAR had a strong brand presence with the SPAR athletes’ number bibs branding, dedicated signage in the stadium, and overall event branding providing great exposure for the SPAR brand across the entire six days of the competition.

With the 2024 Olympics taking place next year, the event will return in 2025 with the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands from 6 – 9 March.

Source: European Athletics