The image that remains is the Velino Grandstand packed during every competition session. The red shirts of the volunteers making their way to the stadium every morning, ready to contribute both on and off the field. The constant flow of buses and shuttle services. The European Athletics U18 Championships in Rieti have come to an end after four days of competition, preceded by many more days of preparation and months of meetings, planning, budgeting and decision-making that ultimately shaped the event Rieti presented to Europe and the world.
Behind this achievement was a large, highly skilled and enthusiastic team led by Eusebio Haliti, former Italian international hurdler and Event Supervisor, supported by a group of experts from the Italian Athletics Federation (FIDAL) and many dedicated collaborators, both local and from across Italy, who successfully delivered the championships.
"The Championships," Haliti explains, "were held in a stadium that underwent major redevelopment—not only from an aesthetic point of view but, above all, structurally. The Raul Guidobaldi Stadium benefited from significant improvements and a great deal of new equipment. Athletes were able to compete here under ideal conditions, producing outstanding performances, including European records and championship records”.
"More than any compliment, those performances validate our work. We received congratulations from teams and federations across Europe for the way the event was organised. You don't receive praise if athletes are not welcomed properly, transported efficiently or accommodated comfortably. If they are not in the right conditions, they simply cannot perform at this level. Their results prove that everything behind the scenes worked exactly as it should. Rieti was ready and gave its very best, allowing athletes to perform at the highest level while also enjoying the experience. For that, I can only thank the entire team and our President, Riccardo Guerci”.
According to the modern principles of event management, success is measured not only by what happens during the competition but also by the long-term benefits it leaves behind. Haliti believes Rieti 2026 has achieved exactly that.
"First and foremost, these Championships leave an important infrastructure legacy," he says. "The improvements made have transformed this venue into a facility capable of hosting major international events—not just one-day meetings lasting a few hours, but championships that span several days. Then there is the investment in sports equipment and, perhaps most importantly, in people”.
"More than 450 volunteers, many of them from Rieti, have gained first-hand experience of how an international sporting event operates. Thanks to this, if another major event comes to Rieti or elsewhere in Lazio, we won't need to train people from scratch. That knowledge, that expertise, is the true legacy and the greatest asset these Championships leave behind”.
Looking beyond the finish line, Haliti sees even greater opportunities ahead. All this work contributes to the continued growth of Italian athletics. It builds on the success of Rome 2024, whose European Championships were widely praised, and reinforces the image of an Italy capable of organising world-class sporting events. It shows that our country is ready to welcome and successfully deliver any international challenge”.