Defending champions Kariem Hussein and Martyn Rooney will have good reasons for smiling - with just four weeks to go until the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam.
Hussein will never forget the August evening in Zurich when his performance alone saw the Letzigrund Stadium rock with delight as he brought home gold for Switzerland in the 400m hurdles.
It was one of the great nights in the history of the championships and Hussein is timing his run-in to Amsterdam brilliantly as he showed in Bellinzona on Monday.
His victory at the Gala dei Castelli meeting came in 48.98, the best by a European this year and the first European to break 49 seconds as he replaced Poland’s Patryk Dobek (49.01) at the top of the rankings.
Hussein had been fifth on the list with 49.44 but he moved his season on with this superb time as he beat Estonia’s Rasmus Magi (49.69).
West Germany’s Harald Schmid is the only man to retain the 400m hurdles crown at the European Athletics Championships, winning the title three times in a row between 1978 and 1986, so Hussein could find himself in legendary company if he triumphs again in Amsterdam.
Good news!
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) June 7, 2016
Martyn Rooney will be in Amsterdam to defend his European 400m title next month. pic.twitter.com/SEox8hHFSb
Great Britain’s Rooney is the European 400m champion after finally landing a major gold as he beat teammate Matthew Hudson-Smith in Zurich.
The British Olympic trials are not until the end of this month but Rooney, who was also part of the gold medal-winning 400m relay team in Zurich, will be allowed to be in Amsterdam.
For now, he has a best of 45.78 having finished the last two seasons as Europe’s quickest man, with his 2014 time of 44.71 from the championships and his 44.45 from last year.
British Athletics Performance Director Neil Black said: “As will be the case with selection for all track disciplines at the European Championships, we believe for some athletes, as with Martyn, running in Amsterdam will benefit their performance in Rio.”