World and Olympic long jump champion Malaika Mihambo confirmed on Friday she will defend her European championship title next week on German home ground in Munich despite a recent coronavirus infection.
Mihambo caught the Sars-Cov-2 virus shortly after winning back-to-back world titles late last month in Eugene, Oregon, and only returned to light training this week.
"We managed to have two good training sessions yesterday and today. I definitely want to take my chance in qualifying on Tuesday," Mihambo was quoted as saying in a statement from her management.
Mihambo had said earlier "I believe I can be able to have a good jump" as she will first aim to make Thursday's final and then another top spot.
Mihambo is one of Germany's best medal hopes at the August 15-21 event which is part of the multisport Euros in Munich and where the team wants to go better than in Eugene where Mihambo's gold and the women's 4x100 metres relay were their only medals.
Her planned presence is good news for the home team which is already missing other contenders in steeplechaser Gesa Krause and javelin throwers Johannes Vetter and Christin Hussong.
But decathlete Niklas Kaul and marathon runner Amanal Petros have high ambitions and to deliver.
Kaul failed to defend his surprise 2019 decathlon title in the US by coming sixth but says he is in perfect shape now for the Euros which are his season highlight because they are in Germany.
"Objectively a world championship is obviously worth more, but a Euros in my own country is more valuable to me personally," Kaul told German Sports Aid magazine published on Friday.
"My goal is to sit in the starting block of the first discipline in Munich, the 100 metres, be in a better physical condition than ever before."
The decathlon in Munich is Monday and Tuesday, with the marathon of Petros also on Monday.
The Eritrea-born runner told the Münchner Merkur and tz papers that "my personal best makes me the third best starter in Munich" and that he therefore is "going to the start to win" Monday's marathon.
"First of all I see myself running in mid-field. But of course not too far back. If the pace is too slow I will move up front and attack," he vowed.
