Having reached 8,462 points in Götz on May 19, Johannes Erm is currently in third place in Europe in the men's standings for this season. The Estonian is behind only Germany's Leo Neugebauer, who hit 8,961 points at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon last week, and Sven Roosen of the Netherlands (8,517 points), who finished ahead of Erm in Götz. However, neither of them are competing in Rome.

Erm is joined among the medal contenders by men's decathlon world record holder Kevin Mayer of France. Mayer however, is yet to qualify for this summer's Paris Olympics. Niklas Kaul (Germany) and the Norwegian pair of Sander Skotheim and Markus Rooth will also be looking to make the podium.

"I can see that in the long jump the bar has been raised a bit. The results I saw in the long jump also looked very strong. I'm looking forward to the long jump the most. I think I'm excited about the whole competition. I will be able to wear the Estonian national team's jersey in a major competition and that gives me a proud feeling," Johannes Erm told ERR ahead of the European Championships.

"It's a pretty good feeling. I did the last run in the morning and so I'm more or less ready for the start," said Risto Lillemets, who is aiming to break his personal best of 8,156 points

In the run-up to the event, Janek Õiglane said that he has been focusing his preparations on running in particular. "I've been able to improve in that area quite a bit over the last month," he said.

Later in the day, Rasmus Mägi will be looking for success in the men's 400 m hurdles, while Ann Marii Kivikas takes part in the women's 200 m sprint. Gedly Tugi is also representing Estonia in the women's javelin.

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