Former Olympic High Jump champion Heike Henkel. (Picture Alliance File)

Heike Henkel, Germany's 1992 Olympic gold medallist in the High Jump, has confirmed that she will give the opening address at the 4th European Pole Vault and High Jump Conference, to be held at the German Sport University in Cologne, March 19-21.

"It's an honour to have a great champion like Heike speak and it highlights the growing importance of the High Jump section of the conference," says organiser Wolfgang Ritzdorf.

"Two years ago, Pole Vault great Sergey Bubka was the opening speaker and the career insights that performers like him and Heike can give are extremely valuable for coaches trying to take their athletes to the top."

The biennial conference, the first in the 2010 European Athletics Coaching Summit Series, will feature appearances by the American Dan Pfaff, who has coached more than 40 Olympians across a range of disciplines and currently runs Great Britain's Lee Valley Olympic Training Centre near London, and Günther Eisinger, who coaches European indoor High Jump champion Ariane Friedrich, also a bronze medallists at last year's IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin.

The programme will also include practical demonstrations with top athletes, workshop discussions and opportunities for one-on-one communication with the conference speakers.

The 2008 edition of the conference attracted 250 participants from 31 countries.

The compete programme and registration information can be found at www.dshs-koeln.de/polevault2010.

Information on the European Athletics Coaching Summit Series and scholarships for Member Federation coaches can be found at www.european-athletics.org.