This is Witness the Wonder, the Preview to the 2023 World Champs in Budapest for Day 35, May 22, 2023; Here’s five European athletes to watch for in Budapest!
For the next 11 days, RunBlogRun will be posting a story a day on the buildup to the World Athletics Outdoor Championships, to be held in Budapest, Hungary, from August 19-August 27, 2023. RunBlogRun has now posted 34 days of stories on the World Outdoor Championships.
Here are my picks on five European athletes to watch as they build toward Budapest!
Watch this Italian Distance runner, Yemaneberhan Crippa. Yemana won gold at the 10,000m and bronze at the 5,000m last summer in Munich at the European Athletics Championships. A fine cross-country runner, Yemaneberham’s family emigrated to Italy when he was a kid, and Crippa has come up in the Italian athletics system. Yamaneberham possesses a strong kick and is unique in Italy, holding NRs at 3,000m, 5,000m, 10,000m, and half marathon. Watch out for this young Italian!
Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy in action during the ATHLETICS – MEN’S 10,000M FINAL at Olympiastadion during the European Championships 2022 on August 21, 2022, in Munich, Germany. Photo: Daniel Kopatsch / Munich2022
Remember Ekaterina Stefanidi? The Greek pole vault star has won Olympic, European, and World Championship gold. Ekaterina has cleared 4.90 meters (back in 2016), but is coming around to shape in 2023. If Katerina is in the thick of it, never underestimate how much her experience can put her in a medal position.
Sandi Morris, Anzehlika Siderova, Ekaterina Stefanidi, photo by Adam Johnson Eder, The Shoe Addicts
Can Pawel Fadjek take a sixth title in Budapest? The veteran hammer thrower is an absolute eccentric in the throws. On the way back from a party in his honor, Pawel lost a major medal in a taxi once; the taxi driver returned it to him. Pawel loves competition, and he and Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki could be 1-2 in the hammer throw for Poland! Watch them!
Hammer superstar Pawel Fadjek
Can Wilhelm Belocian make it on the podium in the 110m hurdles? France’s hurdle corps is well respected, and with a year to go prior to Paris 2024, the Budapest 2023 Champs would be the perfect place for Belocian, who, when the fit is truly on task, could be a spoiler in Budapest! I have watched Belocian impress in European champs, indoors and out.
Wilhelm Belocian, 2021 European Indoor 60m hurdles champion, Torun, photo by European Athletics
Auriol Dongmo is Portugal’s finest women shot putter. Will she move up to the gold medal at World Champs? Auriol now has two golds at European Indoors, one gold at World Indoors, and a silver at the European Championships. Can Auriol move onto the podium in Budapest?
Auriol Dongmo takes 2022 World Indoors in Belgrade, Serbia.
To read all of our earlier stories in Witness the Wonder, numbers 1-34:
The World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, will be held August 19-27, 2023, and tickets are available now! Click here to learn more about ticket sales:https://tickets.wabudapest23.com/
RunBlogRun suggests a wonderful book on Hungary, The Hungarians, A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat, by Paul Lendvai, Translated by Ann Major, Princeton University Press,www.pupress.princeton.edu.
Need tips for Visiting Budapest and the rest of Hungary? Please go here! Visit Hungary-Wellspring of Wonders!https://visithungary.com/
