150 athletes from more than 35 countries will participate in the Continental World Tour in Tatabánya

The pre-race press conference was held just a few steps from the stadium where the first stop of the Hungarian Grand Prix series will take place. Péter Deutsch, chairman of the organizing committee, Attila Spiriev sporting director, Botond Sámuel, chairman of Tatabánya Sport Club and Diana Lesti, long jumper of the local sport club participated.

Botond Sámuel emphasized that it is a big honour for the city to host such a prestigious event. Tatabánya also hosted the Hopp Parade in 2019. Due to the pandemic, the city did not host any athletic events in 2020, but will be home to the Jumping Gala on June 29 in the Grosics Gyula Stadium. Supporters will be able to attend these events due to the favourable vaccination numbers.

Péter Deutsch, chairman of the organizing committee started his speech by mentioned the #iamanathlete campaign, the influence of which goes far beyond this competition, as the Hungarian Athletics Association won the bid to host the World Championships in 2023-

– The most important thing is to prepare for the Hungarian athletes to be successful at the World Championships in 2023. The World Championships is an important part of the country’s Athletics Program, which is the first program designed for the advancement of athletics.

The chairman also said that World Athletics not only changed its name, but also made decisions regarding systems which define athletics. It reformed its one-day competition strategy and started the World Continental Tour series that has three levels and Hungary can host two bronze-level competitions (one in Tatabánya and one in Budapest at the Lantos Mihály Sports Centre).

– It is very important for us to provide an opportunity for our athletes to compete against an international field in front of home crowds.

Sporting director Attila Spiriev said that 150 athletes from 34 countries will take part in the competition. Some of the best Hungarian athletes will compete and we will see some world class athletes as well. Athletes from exotic countries such as Barbados and Saint Lucia will travel to Hungary. The director also mentioned that it is great that some of the best athletes travel to Hungary regularly.

Diana Lesti, long jumper of Tatabánya Sport Club said that she hopes to perform well and mentioned that since the Hungarian field is very strong in this event, they can help push each other to better results.