Final entries for the European Athletics Team Championships 3rd Division in Maribor, Slovenia on 24-25 June have been published and are available to view.
The top three teams will gain promotion into the 2nd Division of the European Athletics Team Championships in 2027.
Among the favourites for promotion this year are Moldova who were relegated out of the 2nd Division at the 2023 European Athletics Team Championships in Silesia along with Luxembourg and Iceland.
As is customary, Moldova will be especially strong in the men’s and women’s throwing events. Former world and European U18 and U20 champion Alexandra Emilianov has been entered for both the shot put and discus while Serghei Marghiev is expected to deliver maximum points in the men’s hammer.
Olympic and world javelin finalist Andrian Mardare is another of Moldova’s most successful athletes in recent years although he will face opposition from Sindri Hrafn Gudmundsson from Iceland, another country with the potential to top the group standings in Maribor.
Both athletes have broken the 80 metre-line this year with Gudmundsson just slightly ahead of his Moldovan rival based on season’s best performances - 81.39m to 80.51m.
Gega on the cusp of history
And while Albania aren’t tipped for promotion, 2022 European champion Luiza Gega could still become the most successful athlete in the history of the European Athletics Team Championships in Maribor.
After tying Bulgarian sprinter Ivet Lalova-Collio’s record for most victories - 11 - in European Athletics Team Championships history in 2023, Gega could claim this record outright if she wins the 3000m steeplechase.
Other recent major medal winners who are due to compete at the European Athletics Team Championships 3rd Division include two-time world outdoor medallist Amel Tuka from Bosnia & Herzegovina who has entered the 400m and 800m and 2022 European outdoor silver medallist Marija Vukovic from Montenegro in the high jump.
But by far the most distinguished athlete to appear on the entry-list is three-time world hammer champion and 2008 Olympic champion Yipsi Moreno who is due to make her international debut for Albania at the European Athletics Team Championships.
Now 44, Moreno’s transfer of allegiance from Cuba to Albania was approved in May and she already has ownership of the Albanian hammer record with 66.59m.