Harting now healthy and ready for Helsinki

Reigning world and European discus champion Robert Harting of Germany will defend his title at the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki.

Germany's Robert Harting had understandably been hedging his bets about the 2012 European Athletics Championships until now, following knee surgery last autumn when his recovery initially didn't progress as well as expected.

However, his spate good results this month have lead him to put a trip to Helsinki definitely in his diary.

'The European Athletics Championships are now in his plans,' his agent Vera Michallek confirmed to European Athletics.

'It's Helsinki and then London for him,' she added.

Harting will almost certainly go to the Finnish capital, which will be the host of the European Athletics Championships from 27 June to 1 July, as the favourite despite the phenomenal depth of European discus throwing at the moment.

European throwers occupy eight of the top 10 places in the 2012 world rankings at the moment but Harting is now undefeated in 25 competitions, a streak which extends back to August 2010.

His latest victory - his fourth in just over two weeks since he made his 2012 debut earlier this month - came at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games in the Dutch town of Hengelo on Sunday with a throw of 68.13m.

Harting has also demonstrated his great shape by going over 70 metres twice in little more than a week.

He went over 70 metres for the first time in his career when he threw 70.31m at the famous Hallesche Werfertage throwing meeting in the German city of Halle on 19 May and improved his world-leading mark three days later to 70.66m in the Czech town of Turnov at the Ludvik Danek Memorial meeting.

Harting went undefeated in 16 competitions in 2011, including wins at the SPAR European Team Championships and then the World Championships, and despite having to cope with a painful knee injury from late July.

'He's OK for now but with athletics, you never know what will happen in the future,' added Michallek, answering queries about Harting's current health status.

Harting won at the 2009 and 2011 World Championships but he is currently missing a continental title from his collection.

He didn't get beyond the qualifying rounds at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Göteborg, Harting's first major international championship as a senior after having won at the European Athletics U23 Championships the year before.

Two years ago, in Barcelona, he had to settle for second place behind Poland's Piotr Malachowski.