The European Athletics Team Championships were held from 21-22 June 2014, here is the first part of interesting facts from that weekend.
A...is for A weekend to remember on June 21-22 when once more individual success went out the window as athletes thrived on the team ethic of a competition which took place across Europe, with the Super League in Braunschweig, the First League in Tallinn, the Second League in Riga and the Third League in Tbilisi.
B...is for Barbora and baby. The Super League in Braunschweig was one of the first events which saw the Czech Republic’s javelin world record-holder return to the sport after becoming a mum to son Janek and she won the contest with a throw of 65.57m.
C...is for Championship records as seven were broken during the weekend in the Super League. They came in the men's 1500m (3:37.74), 3000m (7:50.99), 3000m steeplechase (8:25.50), 110m hurdles (13.20), women's 3000m (8:45.24), 100m hurdles (12.66) and long jump (6.90m).
D...is for the Daugava Stadium in Riga where the Second League took place, a venue that finds itself in the Guinness World Records after the events of 19 October 2008 for the most people - 3,807- running 100m in a 24-hour relay.
E…is for the Eintracht-Stadion, home of the soccer team Eintracht Braunschweig, venue for the Super League in this city in the Lower Saxony region of Germany.
F...is for foundation, and the one set by Meraf Bahta, of Sweden, who won the 5000m in Braunschweig, a victory she then took with her to Zurich where triumphed again.
G...is for Germany, whose team combined to produce a brilliant performance to win the Super League for the first time since the opening European Athletics Team Championships in 2009 as they scored 371 to beat defending champions Russia with 359.5 and France with 295.
H...is for hurdles and one of the best 110m hurdles races of the summer in Braunschweig as Russia's Sergey Shubenkov won in 13.20, with one of those championship records, as he beat William Sharman, of Great Britain, in 13.21 and Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, of France, in 13.35. At the European Athletics Championships two months later in Zurich, it was the same outcome.
I...is for Ivana Spanovic, who had a busy two days for Serbia in the Second League in Riga. The long jump world bronze medallist won her specialist event, she also triumphed in the triple jump and finished third in the 100m.
J...is for Jaysuma Saidy Ndure, the Norwegian sprinter who had a superb weekend in the First League in Tallinn where he won the 100m in 10.12 and the 200m in 20.70.
K...is for Mariya Kuchina, who had shared high jump gold with Poland’s Kamila Licwinko at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in March but then beat her into third as she won in Braunschweig with 1.95m.
L...is for Luiza Gega, of Albania, who, in the Third League in Tbilisi, improved her national 800m record on the Saturday with 2:01.31 before winning the 1500m in 4:08.58 the following day. It was the best time across all four divisions.
M...is for Malaika Mihambo as her Championship record of 6.90m won the long jump which meant, with Russian Olga Kucherenko in sixth with 6.31m, that Germany were the Super League champions.