50 years after the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, today's top international athletes are returning to the sports venues of yesteryear. On the occasion of the European Championships Munich 2022 from August 11 to 21, the city center of Munich and the surrounding area will also become the venue for the nine sports.
The venues for four of the sports are located in the immediate vicinity of the TUM Campus in the Olympic Park, where some athletes also have their training facilities.
In the Olympic Hall, the gymnasts will compete for medals on eight different apparatuses. While the women show their skills on uneven bars and balance beam, the men compete on parallel bars, high bar, pommel horse and rings. The disciplines floor and vault are completed by both.
The triathlon will take place outdoors, starting with swimming in Lake Olympia and then cycling and running across the entire park.
BMX and mountain bikers also use the area around the Olympic Hill for their competitions. A BMX park has been created on the lawn of the Olympic Hill, where the best tricks are performed. The mountain bikers compete on a specially designed, four-kilometer-long course with various obstacles.
The Olympic Stadium will be used by the track and field athletes. Medals will be awarded in 22 disciplines. Among others, in the discus throw, hurdles and relay and in the high jump and long jump. Only the marathon and walking (20 and 35 km) will take place in the city center against the backdrop of Odeonsplatz as the starting and finishing point.
One kilometer further on, spectators can join in the sports of beach volleyball and climbing at Königsplatz. In beach volleyball, 32 teams will try to play their way from the group phase to the final. In climbing, everyone fights for the title individually. While bouldering is about mastering predefined routes, the winner in lead is the one who reaches the highest point. In speed climbing, it's all about speed in direct one-on-one competition. The new competition form Bouldering & Lead, which will also be held for the first time at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, has its premiere.
In the Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle (Audi Dome), the table tennis players will compete with fast rallies for the medals in singles, doubles and mixed.
Eleven variations of track cycling will take place on the temporary cycling track in the Munich Trade Fair Center, divided into sprint and endurance competitions. These include the pursuit, whether individual or team, the time trial over 500 and 1,000 meters, and the elimination race.
Outside of Munich, at the Olympic regatta course in Oberschleissheim, the competitions around canoe racing and rowing take place. These two disciplines will also host the only Para competitions of the European Championships Munich 2022. In canoeing, the competitors will start in a sitting position (kayak) or in a kneeling position (canoe). In addition, in para-canoe there is the boat class Va'a, in which the boat is supported sideways. While distances of 200, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 meters are covered in canoeing, rowing only covers a distance of 2,000 meters.
The road cyclists will also start outside Munich. The men's race starts in Murnau at lake Staffelsee and ends after about 210 kilometers at Odeonsplatz. This is also where the women finish their almost 130-kilometer race, which starts in Landsberg am Lech. The time trial for both will take place on a 24-kilometer route in and around Fürstenfeldbruck.
Text: Laura Kimpfbeck
Photo: European Championships Munich 2022