The final entries for the European Athletics Team Championships First League in Vaasa are now available to view here.
Finland will be aiming for immediate promotion back to the European Team Championships Super League in 2019 and the hosts will be counting on former world champion Tero Pitkamaki to deliver maximum points in the javelin. Pitkamaki turns 35 this year but he is still in good form with a season’s best of 84.26m to his credit.
The race of the event is expected to be the 400m hurdles which features three of the top six finishers from the Olympic Games: bronze medallist Yasmani Copello from Türkiye, fourth-placer Thomas Barr from Ireland and sixth-placer Rasmus Magi from Estonia.
Former European champion Kariem Hussein from Switzerland and Norway’s Karsten Warholm will also challenge for maximum points while the hosts will be represented by Oskari Moro, who finished fourth at the European Championships in Amsterdam last year.
Norway and Sweden will also be looking to challenge for one of the promotion spots back to the Super League in 2019. European champion Filip Ingebrigtsen has been named in the 1500m while European U20 cross country champion Jakob, 16, steps up to contest the 5000m while Sweden’s Meraf Bahta will face Portugal’s Sara Moreira in the 3000m.
Portugal will also be looking for a double in the triple jump courtesy of Nelson Evora and Patricia Mamona while Türkiye are also expected to challenge for promotion.
Top names on their team include Ramil Guliyev in the 200m, Aras Kaya in the 3000m steeplechase and world-leader Eda Tugsuz in the javelin.