European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov encouraged runners to give their best and show that their sport is "untouchable" at the opening ceremony of the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships that will take place in Ljubljana-Kamnik, Slovenia from 5-7 June.
During the opening ceremony, Karamarinov said: "The European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships are a big occasion – for the city of Kamnik, for the Athletic Federation of Slovenia, for European Athletics and most importantly for you, the athletes. Everything we do at European Athletics is because of you. The championships are a challenge and an opportunity. Not only an opportunity to win a medal, but to show one more time that we are an untouchable sport."
Karamarinov also emphasised the historic nature of the championships, alluding to the fact the championships will be held under a different auspices from 2029 onwards.
"These are the last ones under that name. In two years time we will continue as the Trail Running Championships in Switzerland. With 600 athletes, the third edition is the biggest. And we are going to continue to develop the sport through competition. Our main goal at European Athletics is competition, and mountain and trail running is one of the most important non-stadia competitions, because athletics is not only track and field," he said.
Finally, Karamarinov thanked the volunteers for their tireless work around the championships. "I understand that there are almost 500 volunteers helping to make this event happen. Without them we could not deliver anything," he added.
For Primož Feguš, President of the Athletic Federation of Slovenia, staging the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships in his country is something of a professional dream come true.
"When I became president almost four years ago, my hope was to host one of the biggest European athletics championships and my exact first hopes were the off-road championships. It will be another boost for mountain running in Slovenia. I expect that in the future many young athletes, who are now running on track, will try to compete in mountain races," he said.
This will be the third time in 16 years that Kamnik will be the focus of attention in the off-road running world having previously hosted the 2010 World Mountain Running Championships and 2017 European Mountain Running Championships.
Live streaming of the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships begins at 8.30am local time (CEST) on the European Athletics YouTube channel on Friday (5) morning. All three days will be streamed live without any geoblocking restrictions and will be accompanied by expert English-language commentary.
