x-bionic® sphere opens its doors once again to the prestigious Pravda – Televízia – Slovnaft athletics meeting. We are set to welcome elite athletes from around the world to the 54th year of this athletics meet and its rich tradition. The event enjoys tremendous fan popularity on an annual basis, and we believe that this year will be no different!

Rematch of the Battle in Belgrade between Kilty and Volko at the 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships set for P-T-S

Didn’t get a chance to watch Ján Volko and Richard Kilty go head to head at 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, with the Briton defending his title and Volko taking home a sensational silver medal? No worries. Come to Šamorín on the 15th of June to the 54th annual edition of the P-T-S athletics meet where they are scheduled to square off at the x-bionic® sphere sports complex.

Kilty, the former world indoor champion in the 60 m, has confirmed his start at P-T-S and will run the 100 m against Volko and against last year’s winner, Sydney Siame of Zambia as well as Cejhae Greene of Antigua, who has a 10 second flat personal best. The 29-year-old Briton has a personal record of 10.01 seconds.

Slovak runners in the 400 m are led by the improving Daniela Ledecká and can look forward to quality competition at P-T-S. The organisers have confirmed that two runners from South Africa will race. Wenda Nel (with a personal record time of 54.37) is a two-time African champion (2014, 2016) and took home a bronze medal at last year’s Commonwealth Games, and she is joined by 19-year-old Zeney van der Walt (personal best 55.05), a two-time world junior champion in the 400 m in 2018, in Tampere, and at the U18 level from Nairobi 2017.

The favourite in the standard 400 m event at x-bionic® will be the surprise European vice-champion from Berlin Maria Belimpasaki from Greece with a personal record of 50.45.

The 2012 world indoor champion Dimitrios Chondrokoukis (with a personal best 233 cm) has just joined the quality starting field in one of the traditional disciplines at the Šamorín edition of the P-T-S, men’s high jump; he previously represented Greece but has represented Cyprus since 2013 and is joined by Trevor Barry from the Bahamas, who himself is a regular participant in the Banská Bystrica Latka high jump event. This 36-year-old veteran has a bronze medal from the 2011 World Championships and a personal best of 232 cm.

P-T-S regularly includes the 3000 m walk event. The women’s starting group includes Slovakia’s current number one, Mária Katerinka Czaková, and who will be joined by a former world and European junior champion, and two-time European championship medallist (bronze in 2014 and silver in 2018) Anežka Drahotová from the Czech Republic. Poland’s Dawid Tomala will be looking to defend his victory last year in the men’s event.

American triple jumper Christian Taylor is one of the brightest starts at the 54th annual P-T-S, whose start was announced by the organisers last week; he made a tremendous improvement to 17.47 m at the IAAF World Challenge event in Nanjing, China on Tuesday, besting this year’s leader in the world rankings, his fellow countryman Omar Craddock by 5 cm.

The P-T-S meet will once again be broadcast live by RTVS on its Dvojka station. The fact that the P-T-S meet is now an official European Athletics Classic (EA Classic) even is another factor attracting leading athletes and has had a tremendously positive impact on the number of points awarded for the IAAF’s world rankings, a critical part of the qualification system for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The main program of the event, organised by the Slovak Athletics Association, begins on 15 June at 8:00 pm with 14 disciplines, 8 for men (100 m, 1000 m, 3000 m hurdles, 400 m hurdles, high jump, triple jump, javelin, and 3000 m walk) and 6 for women (400 m, 800 m, 100 m hurdles, 400 m hurdles, long-distance/E. Šuranová memorial, 3000 m walk). The x-bionic® sphere athletics stadium will also host a traditional national program, with the new inter-district meet between youth athletes added this year and the smallest athletes also competing in the finale of the 3rd annual Kids P-T-S. Entrance to the 54th annual meeting is free of charge.

CONFIRMED ELITE ATHLETES ATTENDING THE 54TH ANNUAL P-T-S MEET

MEN

100 m: Ján Volko (Slovakia, personal record 10.13), Richard Kilty (Great Britain, 10.01), Sydney Siame (Zambia, 10.06), Cejhae Greene (Antigua, 10.00), Zdeňek Stromšík (Czech Republic, 10.16)

1000 m: Nicholas Kipkoech (Kenya, 2:16.17/1:43.37 – 800 m), Jamie Webb (Great Britain, 1:45.73 – 800 m), Kyle Langford (Great Britain, 1:45.16 – 800 m)

3000 m hurdles: Tafese Soboka (Ethiopia, 8:13.22), Getnet Wale (Ethiopia, 8:12.28), Tesfaye Deriba (Ethiopia, 8:13.33), Lawrence Kemboi (Kenya, 8:13.59)

400 m hurdles: Lindsay Hanekom (South Africa, 48.81), Juander Santos (Dominican Republic, 48.59), Quincy Downing (USA, 48.13)

high jump: Majd Edin Ghazal (Syria, 236), Edgar Rivera (Mexico, 230), Matúš Bubeník (Slovakia, 231), Lukáš Beer (Slovakia, 228), Dimitrios Chondrokoukis (Cyprus, 233), Trevor Barry (Bahamas, 232)

triple jump: Christian Taylor (USA, 18.21), Khotso Mokoena (South Africa, 17,35), Tomáš Veszelka (Slovakia, 16,78 – and 16.86 with wind over 2 m/s)

3000 m walk: Dawid Tomala (Poland, 10:56.98)

WOMEN

400 m: Maria Belimpasaki (Greece, 50.45)

800 m: Mahlet Muluget (Ethiopia, 1:59.84), Elgay Nalyany (Kenya, 2:00.28), Gabriela Gajanová (Slovakia, 2:01.90), Iveta Putalová (Slovakia, 2:06.95), Alexandra Štuková (SR, 2:02.91)

100 m hurdles: Devynne Charlton (Bah., 12.70), Rikenette Steenkamp (South Africa, 12.81) Luca Kozák (Hungary, 12.86), Stanislava Lajčáková (Slovakia, 13.35)

3000 m walk: Anežka Drahotová (Czech Republic, 11:52.38), Mária Katerinka Czaková (Slovakia, 12:34.54)

History

Certain sporting events are like comets, they flash and then go out. They disappear and no one misses them. But there are others that are missed as the years go on. They remain fixed in the sports sky. The fascinated fans both at home, and around the world, for decades.

This is true of the Bratislava athletics meet, which was a part of the elite IAAF Grand Prix series in its heyday and renowned experts in this queen of sports flatteringly called it “Zürich of the East” for years. It was known for strong international competition, excellent performances, including world and European records, and full stands.

During preparations for the 51st edition, it fell back on partners associated with the most beautiful era of the meeting. It selected a combination of a successful multinational company (Slovnaft as a member of the MOL Group) and renowned Slovak media: the public television and radio broadcaster (RTVS) and an influential, opinion-making newspaper (Pravda). Under the logo from its most famous period, which is the work of academic painter Miroslav Cipár, the meeting successfully returned to the stage of world athletics on 4 June 2016.