Perseus Karlström will aim to complete a golden hat-trick in Poděbrady as part of the European Race Walking Team Championship. He triumphed in 2019 and 2021. In addition, two years ago in Poděbrady, he reigned in a very high-quality time of 1:18:54. The Spa Colonnade is one of his most popular courses. Already in 2016, he won here at the Poděbrady Walking meeting. A year later, he won bronze at the European Race Walking Team Championships, and then, he also ruled the Poděbrady Walking 2020 and at the already mentioned European Team Championships 2021. Last year, he finished second at the race walking meeting in this Central Bohemian spa town.

For this season, the two-time world championships bronze medalist from Eugene and silver medalist from the European Championships in Munich has been preparing in Australia again, where he has his training base and so far has the two fastest European times this year. He leads the continental tables with a performance of 1:19:27.

The Greek race walker Antigoni Ntrismpiotti began to achieve the greatest success only at a veteran age. It was in Poděbrady that she made herself known for the first time when she won the 35km race two years ago as part of the European Team Championships. Last year, she completely dominated the European Championships in Munich, where she won the 20km and 35km titles at the age of 38. Now, she will return to Poděbrady and is in a great shape again. This year, she already managed to push the level of her country's national record to 1:28:12 on the 20km, and among European women, only the Spaniard Maria Peréz is faster this year.

Together with other European champions Alvaro Martin and Miguel Angel Lopez, she leads a strong Spanish line-up that will defend the position of the most successful team in Poděbrady. This should also be helped by Marc Tur, the winner of the 50km from the previous European Team Championships, or Raquel Gonzáles, the European vice-champion at 35km from Munich.

Of course, the Czech team led by the face of this championship and the seventh from the European Championships in Munich, Eliška Martínková, will not be missing. Two years ago in Poděbrady, she completely dominated the junior women's 10km race and thus started a successful season, in which she subsequently won a silver medal at the European U20 Championships and bronze at the World Championship in the same age category. This year, of course, she will start at the women's 20km race.