Karsten Warholm Feels Like Home in Paris

Press release With less than 200 days to go until the Opening Ceremony of the 25th European Athletics Championships, the Paris 2020 Organising Committee aims to celebrate European athletics with a colourful, festive and unifying Festival Athle and to leave a major legacy to French athletics. Two stages will be at the heart of the concept: the Charléty stadium, the main stage of the competition, and the Trocadéro fan zone (Athletics Parks) which will host the long jump qualifications, the medal ceremonies and various activations combining sport, music, culture and gastronomy. Last but not least, on Sunday 30 August, the half marathon will be followed by a 10km race open to everyone, with a start and finish at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. The success of the European Championships ticketing confirms the enthusiasm of the public, both French and European. Launched last September, the packages are coming to an end: 90% of the available packages have been sold and several day packages (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) are already sold out. Before the opening of the single tickets sales on Thursday 27 February, Paris Athlé 2020 has already reached half of its target in terms of ticketing revenue. Like the fans, European athletes have crossed Paris 2020 as a must-attend competition after Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Karsten Warholm is one of them, with a challenge in mind: going for the gold on both on 400m-400m hurdles in Charléty. The Organising Committee has therefore adjusted the competition programme to make it possible. The Norwegian two-time world champion and European record holder, who competed in the last two editions of the meeting de Paris, shared his excitement when picturing the blue Parisian track and the European fans: Karsten Warholm, 400m hurdles European champion and two-time world champion “I love challenges and double in Paris will be a tough one. I already tried in Berlin in 2018 and I reached the finale (he finished 8th). I learned that this is tough but possible and I know I can do better in Paris (…) I like running in Paris, the new track is very nice. The stadium is always packed with a crowd giving athletes good vibes. Back from Tokyo, Paris is a perfect place for these European Championships. I am really looking forward to it. The interest for track and field in Norway is huge these days, with many athletes performing very well. Many Norwegian fans will come to support us, I will feel like home”. Karsten Warholm can’t wait to meet with the fans and to see the Eiffel Tower next August. His key dates* Tuesday 25 August, 18h05: 400m series Wednesday, August 26, 9h45: 400 hurdle series Wednesday 26 August, 19h10: 400m semi-finals Thursday 27 August, 11h30: 400m hurdles semi-finals Thursday 27 August, 22h15: 400m final Friday 28 August, 21h00: 400m hurdles final *Time schedule might be subject to change Paris 2020 European Athletics Championships at a glance: • 6 days of competition, from 25 to 30 August 2020; • 46 European titles awarded; • 1,500 athletes expected representing 50 national Federations; • A Team Village hosted in the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris; • 1,400 volunteers; • A 10km-race opened to the public following the Half-Marathon on the same route (first and last 5 kilometres). Full competition schedule and more info about ticketing: www.athle2020.paris. PARIS ATHLÉ 2020 COMMUNICATION TEAM AGENCE BLANCO NEGRO Agence RP | +33 (0)1 47 72 81 41 [email protected] [email protected] .

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