The focus of attention at the 63rd Janusz Kusocinski Memorial, a European Athletics Classic Permit Meeting, in Chorzow on 8 June will be the pole vault as European indoor champion Piotr Lisek goes head-to-head with world indoor champion Renaud Lavillenie.
Lisek joined the six metre club last winter, clearing a national record of 6.00m in Potsdam, Germany before winning the European indoor title in Belgrade. Lavillenie was unable to defend his title in Belgrade due to injury but the world record-holder is back in excellent shape again, winning his third world indoor title in Birmingham ahead of world outdoor champion Sam Kendricks while Lisek added to his medal collection with bronze.
'We are good friends but when it comes to competition everybody has his own goals,” said Lisek on his rivalry with Lavillenie. “I think the competition at the Slaski Stadium will be big; we will try so that the spectators will be very satisfied.”
Lisek contributed to Poland’s record haul of eight medals at the IAAF World Championships in London last summer and the world outdoor silver medallist is one of a host of leading Polish athletes to commit to the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial which will be staged in the newly renovated 45,000 seater stadium in Chorzow.
Poland won a double in the hammer at the 2017 World Championships - and at the 2016 European Championships in Amsterdam - courtesy of Anita Wlodarczyk and Pawel Fajdek. They will headline their respective events while reigning European champion Piotr Malachowski is confirmed for the discus.
On the track, recently crowned world indoor champion Adam Kszczot will contest the 800m on the road to the European Championships in Berlin where he will look to become the first athlete in history to win three successive titles at the distance.