The 2024 European Athletics Coaching Summit Series concluded at the weekend (15-17) with events in Malmo, Sweden and St. Pölten, Austria, concluding five events in the series that drew hundreds of coaches across multiple disciplines to share best practice and learn from elite performance expertise.
At Malmo’s Friidrottsförbundet, Swedish Athletics co-hosted the European Horizontal Jumps and Sprint Symposium which attracted 154 participants from 30 countries.
World record pedigree
The delegates heard from men’s triple jump world record-holder Jonathan Edwards (GBR), Randy Huntington (USA) – coach of men’s long jump record-holder Mike Powell; Andreas Behm (USA) – coach of Aries Merritt, world 110m hurdles record-holder; Jurdan Mendiguchia (ESP) - Director of ZENTRUM Sport and injury prevention expert; Matthew Wood (GBR) - University of Northampton and an expert in coach development; Sophia Jowett (GBR) - Loughborough University, leadership and communication expert.
"It was an incredibly successful weekend with a good mix of theoretical competence and practical input," says Anders Möller of Swedish Athletics.
Meanwhile in Austria, nearly 100 participants from 19 countries gathered at the Sportzentrum Niederösterreich, St. Pölten under the theme of “Power, explosive strength and speed development of female athletes in sprints and throws.
The main speakers were Laurent Meuwly (SUI), sprints and hurdles Head Coach of the Dutch Athletics Association and personal coach to five-time European outdoor champion and Olympic mixed relay champion Femke Bol; Jarek Skrzyszowski (POL) – coach and father to 2022 European 100m hurdles champion Pia Skrzyszowska; Gregor Högler (AUT) coach of European women’s javelin Victoria Hudson and Philipp Unfried – Austria’s national sprint/hurdles coach and coach to Ivona Dadic, 2018 world indoor pentathlon silver medallist.
"Polish coaches say they have no chance against sprinters from the USA and Jamaica," said Skrzyszowski. "But Laurent has proven that it is possible." He told the Austrian Athletics website, stressing "coaching partnerships" as a possible European counter-recipe to the USA system.
Pictures courtesy of ÖLV/Philipp Unfried