For the third time ever in Italy and 50 years after the 1974 edition of the European Championships, when Italian sprinter Pietro Mennea won the gold medal in the 200 meters in front of a home crowd, Europe’s best athletes return to compete in Rome, on the track and platforms of the Olympic Stadium, in the Foro Italico Park and in some of the city’s most picturesque streets.

Organized by Fondazione EuroRoma 2024 (a foundation participated by the Sport Department of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Lazio Region, Roma Capitale, CONI, Sport e Salute and FIDAL) and European Athletics, the European Athletics Championships in Rome represent an important test case for all the stars of great athletics ahead of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The event program includes six consecutive days of competition, from 7 to 12 June, and 11 total sessions, five in the morning and six in the evening. As many as 24 disciplines are competing, with 141 medals up for grabs. As of today, nearly 1,600 athletes from 47 European federations make up the preliminary list of competition entries, to be completed by 30 May.

The Roma 2024 Half Marathon will start from Fori Imperiali at 9 a.m. for men, while the women's race will get underway at 9.30 a.m.. The course will touch some of the capital's most iconic sites and monuments, running alongside the “Altare della Patria” in Piazza Venezia, then crossing the main road Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and Piazza Navona, heading for “Castel Sant'Angelo” and St. Peter's Square, before moving towards Piazza Mazzini and reaching Lungotevere Guglielmo Oberdan (the main road of the city along the Tevere river). After running for about 6 km, the athletes will enter a circuit 4.1km long, to be repeated three times, passing the “Ponte della Musica” bridge and crossing the river on “Ponte Duca D'Aosta” bridge.

The final part of the half marathon will be run inside the Foro Italico Park, with the finish line inside the Olympic Stadium in front of the fans. An exciting revival of what happened in the Marathons held at the Roma 1974 European Athletics Championships and at the Roma 1987 World Athletics Championships, both concluded inside the stadium.

Find out more:

Disciplines within athletics
Rules, techniques, materials and more, a quick practical guide to the 24 disciplines.

Meet the athletes
Here are the files of the most anticipated athletes at the Rome 2024 European Athletics Championships.