The Senior Group B of the European Champion Clubs Cup returns to Dubnica nad Vahom in Slovakia on Saturday with AK Sparak, the local team in the town, again representing the host country in the men’s and the women’s events.
In the competition last year, Sparak finished fifth in both sections as France’s Entente Franconville Cesame Val d’Oise won the men's and USK Praha, of the Czech Republic, were the women’s champions.
But without question the biggest duel of the day will be in the men’s shot put where the field is headed by two of the leading performers this winter.
In March, at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Göteborg, shot putter Asmir Kolasinac, who competes for Serbian club Partizan Beograd, won the first major gold medal of his career with 20.62m.
But only 33 centimetres adrift in third place was Ladislav Prasil, of the Czech Republic, who will be in Slovakia representing TJ Dukla Praha.
Prasil was actually leading the competition in Sweden after his third round effort of 20.29m but in the next round, Kolasinac secured the distance which brought him gold.
Since Prasil has moved to the top of the European Athletics rankings for the summer with 21.47m, in the altitude of Potchefstroom just over a month ago, which spices up the expectation a little bit more ahead of their meeting here.
In the women’s competition, Switzerland’s Michelle Cueni, from LC Zurich, with a 100m personal best of 11.60, and Jelena Subotic, of Serbia’s AC Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, whose quickest is 11.62, should be the top two in the 100m.
Subotic’s teammate Tatjana Jelaca returns to defend her javelin title having won last year with 55.30m while Andrea Holleyova is back in the host team’s 4 x 400m relay side which won the final event 12 months ago.
TEAMS
Men: TJ Dukla Praha (Czech Republic), Macabi Tel Aviv (Israel), Phanos Amsterdam (Netherlands), AD MASS Ljubljana (Slovenia), Partizan Beograd (Serbia), LC Zurich (Switzerland) and AK Sparak Dubnica nad Vahom (Slovakia).
Women: Sparta AM (Denmark), Macabi Reshon Lazion (Israel), Phanos Amsterdam (Netherlands), Kladivar (Slovenia), AC Crvena Zvezda Belgrade (Serbia), LC Zurich (Switzerland), AK Spartak Dubnica nad Vahom (Slovakia).