Tbilisi hosts European athletes for inaugural Athletics Youth Championships

Hundreds of young European athletes and officials are in Tbilisi as Georgia's capital prepares to make history by hosting the first ever European Athletics Youth Championships.

Starting this Thursday, the four-day competition will bring together more than 900 competitors from 47 countries under the assessment of 150 local and international judges.

Male and female participants will compete in more than 20 disciplines including medley relay, pole vault and distance running.

The July 14-17 competition will involve morning and afternoon contests at the Tbilisi Athletics Arena, which can host up to 3000 sports fans.

Most of the athletes are staying at the Olympic village near Tbilisi Sea. Photo from the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs of Georgia.

The athletes will also have the Tbilisi Palace of Athletics hall at their disposal for training sessions, while the majority of athletes will stay at the recently completed Olympic village near Tbilisi Sea or at hotels across the capital city.

Georgia will have 12 male and female competitors participating in the Youth Championships, a record number for the country's appearances in athletics tournaments.

The Georgian team will feature a strong representation of female athletes, reflecting their recent rise through the ranks, Georgian Athletics Federation Vice President Vaso Berishvili told reporters ahead of the contest.  

A team of over 300 young volunteers is assisting the tournament's competitors and organisers to make the competition a reality. Photo from the European Athletics Youth Championships.

Berishvili also thanked the 300 young volunteers who will work alongside participants and organisers to help make the first ever Youth Championships a reality.

Georgia was awarded the right to host the athletics event in 2014 after being selected ahead of six other countries to host the inaugural tournament.

In the final shortlist Georgia was selected ahead of Slovakia and Italy as the host country for the competition, with the final decision made at a European Athletics Congress in Frankfurt, Germany in 2014.

The full program of the European Athletics Youth Championships can be viewed here.