Season starts

New best time in sight – Rome as a mammoth task!

Niklas Strohmayer-Dangl starts the outdoor season in Graz.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The outdoor season for track and field athletes is just around the corner, and for Niklas Strohmayer-Dangl it starts on Sunday at the Horst Mandl Memorial in Graz. In just 14 days, the Neufeld athlete will be competing in four meetings. The qualifying deadline for the European Championships in Rome in June is already on May 26. 

"I'm trying not to put any pressure on myself." Preparation for the season is in its final stages, after training camps in Tenerife (Spain) and Belek (Turkey), the "competition seriousness" over the 400 meter hurdles starts on Sunday. If Niklas Strohmayer-Dangl wants to qualify for the European Championships in Rome, he has to deliver in ALL four races. "Normally you need five results, I have half a result from the previous season. So now I need four really good races," says the 22-year-old.

The hurdles specialist from Neufeld will compete twice in Austria, Spain and Turkey.(Bild: GEPA)

"Now comes the sprightliness"
It is clear that many factors, including the weather, play a role here. "I want to run around my best time in Graz," says Niklas, hoping for a good start to the season. After the last outdoor season, he had a lot of changes - new coach, new environment. "That fits well, but of course it was a big change." The times from the preparation compared to last year are good, Strohmayer-Dangl sees himself on the right track. "In the last few days, it's all about sprinting."

Niklas ran at the 2023 European Games in Poland.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

"Looking from race to race"
After Graz, the competitions in St. Pölten (17.5.), Nerja (Sp/22.5.) and Izmir (Turkey/25.5) await Niklas. One day later, on May 26, is the limit for the European Championships in Rome from June 7. "I'm not looking at the ranking now, but from race to race. And the goal is definitely a best performance." The current figure is 50.62 from June 2022, and after the less than ideal 2023 outdoor season, the aim is to beat it!