Carolina Klüft leads the competition in Gotzis after day one (© Lorenzo Sampaolo)
World and Olympic Heptathlon champion Carolina Klüft of Sweden is the leading name among 190 of Europe's top combined events athletes who will compete in the three divisions of the European Cup Combined Events on the weekend of 1-2 July. This is the 24th edition of the competition which started as a bi-annual event in 1973 and became an annual contest 20 years later.
The 23-year-old will compete in the Super League in Arles, France, this year after scoring 6688 points to help Sweden gain promotion from the First League in 2005. Klüft already leads the world this year after scoring 6719 in Götzis at the end of May and will be looking to improve on that as she gears up for the European Athletics Championships in her home country in August.
Klüft said: “I am looking forward to the European Cup Combined Events in Arles. It fits in perfectly in my planning and I will do all I can to make the Swedish team results as good as possible.”
Reigning Super League women's champions Belarus include last year's star performer Tatyana Alisevich, making her first outing of the season. Klüft will also be challenged by Great Britain's 20-year-old Commonwealth bronze medallist Jessica Ennis, the reigning European Junior champion, and the 1999 European Under 23 champion Natalya Roshchupkina of Russia.
Super League men's champions Estonia will be seeking to defend the title they won in Bydgoszcz last year, again led by Mikk Pahapill who set his personal best of 8149 points in this competition last year. World bronze medallist Attila Zsivoczky leads the field after helping to lift Hungary out of the First League in 2005 when he matched the Czech Republic's Tomas Dvorak on 8105 points. The home challenge is led by Romain Barras, who scored over 8000 points in six decathlons last season.
Dvorak, the three-time World champion and former World record holder, competes in the First League match at Yalta, Ukraine, where Austria will be hoping to bounce straight back to the top division. Also in the field in Yalta is reigning European Junior champion Andrei Krauchanka of Belarus.
The French women's team only escaped a drop to the Second League this year because of Germany's withdrawal from the Cup. Marie Collonvillé, sixth in last year's World Championships, will be trying to help the French avoid relegation worries this time.
The Second League match takes place in Monzon, Spain, where the Swiss men will be trying to win promotion back to the First League after being relegated in 2005. Spain is likely to vie with Norway and Latvia for the women\'s title.
EAA
