A WEEK IN ATHLETICS JULY 2013/4

In a weekly round-up, European Athletics looks at a big issue in the sport, sets the scene for the week ahead and reviews the past few days.

Europe’s athletes keep the legacy rolling on

On Friday night in London, the Olympic Stadium will open its door to athletics again, and when it does so, 80,000 people will fill every seat. Less than 24 hours later, the same will happen again and once more the arena will be full to capacity.

Twelve months on from the spectacular events of 2012, the Sainsbury’s Annversary Games, the official title for the IAAF Diamond League meeting, has caused quite a stir.

It took only 75 minutes for all the tickets to sell out, an example of what an Olympic legacy can do and by Sunday, it will be full again when the paralympians take centre stage.

It is tradition that the Diamond League meeting in London is a two-day event and this year’s competition will have even more status now that the tax law in the United Kingdom has changed which means the public will see Usain Bolt run there again in a international event.

But it is beyond these two nights where the legacy for track and field has to work, and as one of Britain’s greatest stars from 2012 has revealed, that is now happening.
Read more..

THE WEEK JUST GONE
Twenty-seven member federations made the medal table at the European Athletics Junior Championships in Rieti. Remember the dates: July 18-21, 2013. They are likely to be mentioned a fair bit in the years ahead as the four days when stars of that future were born.

THE WEEK AHEAD
It is the final IAAF Diamond League meeting before the World Championships, with London the venue on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, and then it is full steam ahead to Russia for that opening day on August 10.

EUROPEAN LEADERS – pole vault
Men
1.   Renaud Lavillenie (FRA) 5.96m, Monaco
2.   Raphael Holzdeppe (GER) 5.91m, Rome
3.   Bjorn Otto (GER) 5.90m, Eugene

Women
1.   Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS) 4.78m, Ostrava
2.   Anastasiya Savchenko (RUS) 4.73m, Yerino
3. Carolin Hingst (GER), 4.71m, Göteborg

BIRTHDAYS
22.07.13 - Lorenzo Perini (ITA) - the 110m hurdles silver medallist at the European Athletics Junior Championships in Rieti turns 19.
23.07.13 - Yelena Sokolova (RUS) - London 2012 long jump silver medallist turns 27
29.07.2013 - Grit Å adeiko (EST) - Former European under-23 heptathlon champion turns 24

TOP TWEETS 
Emelia Gorecka ‏@emeliagorecka
Fab weekend! Now excited to be gearing up for my second ever Diamond League this Friday at the Sainsburys Anniversary Games

Nafi Thiam ‏@NafiThiam
EUROPEAN CHAMPION ! Thank's everybody for all the messages !! #Europeangold #Rieti2013 #Blessed

Anne Luijten Ã¢€@anneluijten199423h
#Rieti2013 was an amazing experience, enjoyed every second!