With memories still fresh of a sun-soaked Glasgow hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2014, the city is once again preparing to host a major sporting showcase. And this time age-group triathletes could be invited to join the party.<\/p>\n
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Announced in March 2015, the inaugural European Sport Championships have been created by the continental governing bodies of athletics, cycling, rowing and swimming, plus the European Triathlon Union.<\/p>\n
The aim of the new four-yearly event (not to be confused with the rival European Games) is to \u2018bring together the existing individual European Championships into one co-ordinated multisport concept\u2019, with Berlin (athletics) and Glasgow (triathlon, cycling, rowing, gymnastics, aquatics and golf) announced as the co-hosts for the
1-12 August 2018 showcase.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a really exciting step forwards for our sport,\u201d said ETU President Renato Bertrandi. \u201cWe can anticipate having not only a domestic European audience but viewers from around the world. Our European athletes will have the chance to compete on a challenging course and to be seen globally. Instead of a standalone event, we\u2019ll be part of an engaging programme of sports, which will enable greater media coverage than ever before.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Commonwealth Games triathlon received a significantly larger worldwide TV audience than that year\u2019s ITU World Champs, even though major triathlon nations such as Spain, the USA and Germany were absent from Glasgow.<\/p>\n
Where triathlon differs from the other elite European Championships is that age-group athletes race over the same weekend and on the same course as the elites. So the 2018 Glasgow games could represent a break between the pro and age-group triathletes for one of the rare occasions in the European Championship\u2019s 30-year history\u2026 or it could offer the tantalising prospect of the finest age-group triathletes being the only amateurs racing at the Games.<\/p>\n
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A decision on any age-group involvement in Glasgow is due to be made imminently. If the amateurs are not to be included, the ETU will need to find a host for its age-grouper Euros in 2018. This year\u2019s Euros are in Lisbon, with Austria hosting the 2017 edition.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n