Poland will be the epicentre of athletics this week with Femke Bol, Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Miltos Tentóglou among those in action

All eyes will be on the Slaski Stadium in Chorzów, Poland, this week with the venue playing host to the European Team Championships. Altogether there are 47 nations battling for honours in three divisions of the competition. For athletics enthusiasts it will provide a six-day feast of track and field.

The event takes place in conjunction with the third edition of the European Games and divisions two and three of the athletics action will unfold on June 20-22 with the division one match on June 23-25. Here are the teams:

First division: Poland, Great Britain, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, Finland, Belgium, Turkey, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, Sweden, Norway, Portugal

Second division: Denmark, Ukraine, Romania, Estonia, Hungary, Slovenia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Latvia, Croatia, Iceland, Serbia, Cyprus, Moldova, Luxembourg

Third division: Ireland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Malta, Montenegro, Georgia, Armenia, Andorra, North Macedonia, San Marino, Albania, AASSE (Athletic Association of Small States of Europe), Azerbaijan, Kosovo, Austria, Israel

How to watch

The action will be streamed live on the European Athletics website but look out for news, interviews and updates on the AW website and social media channels, especially the progress of the British team in the division one match.

You can view the timetable and results here.

History

The event has a rich heritage and its forerunner – the European, or Europa, Cup – dates back to 1965 with Britain winning the men’s “Super League” title at Gateshead in 1989 and 2000, Munich in 1997, St Petersburg in 1998 and Annecy in 2002 and 2008.

At the 1989 event in Gateshead, for example, many of Britain’s top stars at the time competed and the winners included Linford Christie, Colin Jackson, John Regis, Tom McKean, Steve Backley, Kriss Akabusi and Dalton Grant, with the reward of qualification for the IAAF World Cup.

In 2009 the meeting was reinvented as the “European Team Championships” with male and female athletes now in the same squad and competing at the same venue. There were also controversial rules such as field eventers only being allowed a limited number of attempts and an elimination (or devil-takes-the-hindmost) element in distance races, but the ideas were criticised and subsequently dropped). Originally the new European Team Champs was in the form of four leagues, too, but there are now just three divisions.

The most recent three editions of the event have been held in Poland – in Bydgoszcz in 2019 and Chorzów in 2021 and now 2023 – with the host nation taking advantage of home support by winning twice on the trot and now going for a hat-trick this week if they can triumph in the first division match.

Athletes in action

Femke Bol has been in brilliant form this summer already and represents the newly-promoted top division team, the Netherlands.

Miltiadis Tentoglou is another European champion in action and the Greek long jumper will be up against Italy’s Mattia Furlani and Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer this week.

Hosts Poland have two of their individual European champions from Munich last year in action in the shape of sprint hurdler Pia Skrzyszowska and hammer thrower Wojciech Nowicki.

Germany is traditionally strong in the throws and has won the overall title five times since 2009. Their squad includes, for example, javelin thrower Julian Weber.

Yeman Crippa will be looking for maximum points for Italy and is likely to go in the 5000m.

There are some big names in the lower divisions too with high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh and long/triple jumper Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk in the Ukraine team in division two.

Triple jumper Pedro Pichardo, the Olympic, world and European gold medallist, is part of the Portuguese squad.

Since the event transformed from the European Cup to the European Team Championships, British Athletics has used the meeting as more of an opportunity to blood up and coming talent. The 2023 squad has 11 athletes making their GB & Northern Ireland international senior debut, for example.

In comparison, defending champions Poland have named a full-strength team. However there are some experienced campaigners in the GB team such as throwers Scott Lincoln, Jade Lally and Lawrence Okoye, plus sprinter Richard Kilty in the relay squad.

Great Britain & Northern Ireland squad

Men: 100m: Jeremiah Azu; 200m: Adam Clayton; 400m: Alex Haydock-Wilson; 800m: Ben Pattison; 1500m: George Mills; 5000m: Jonathan Davies; 110m hurdles: Josh Zeller; 400m Hurdles: Seamus Derbyshire; 3000m steeplechase: Zak Seddon; Long jump: Jack Roach; Triple jump: Jude Bright-Davies; High jump: William Grimsey; Pole vault: Adam Hague; Shot: Scott Lincoln; Discus: Lawrence Okoye; Hammer: Jake Norris; Javelin: Joe Dunderdale; 4x100m: Jeremiah Azu, Oliver Bromby, Adam Clayton, Richard Kilty and Tommy Ramdhan

Women: 100/200m: Bianca Williams; 400m: Ama Pipi; 800m: Issy Boffey; 1500m: Ellie Baker; 5000m: Hannah Nuttall; 100m hurdles: Abigail Pawlett; 400m hurdles: Lina Nielsen; 3000m steeplechase: Maisie Grice; Long jump: Lucy Hadaway; Triple jump: Georgina Forde-Wells; High jump: Laura Zialor; Pole vault: Jade Ive; Shot: Sarah Omoregie; Discus: Jade Lally; Hammer: Charlotte Payne; Javelin: Bekah Walton; 4x100m: Alyson Bell, Amy Hunt, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Cassie-Ann Pemberton, Aleeya Sibbons and Bianca Williams

Mixed 4x400m: Charlie Dobson, Alex Haydock-Wilson, Carys McAulay (Nick Dakin, Trafford), Laviai Nielsen, Lina Nielsen, Ama Pipi and Brodie Young