Over 80 Irish athletes looking for success on Munich's newest, but wildly historic stage 

CATCHING AIR: Ryan Henderson of Ireland, right, practices on the BMX Track at Olympiaberg before the European Championships 2022 in Munich, Germany. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Nine European Championships. In one city. Over eleven days. What’s not to like? Thing is, this concept is still new. Vulnerable. It’s a fragile seed planted in uncertain soil. Glasgow in 2018 – but with the athletics held at arm’s length in Berlin – was the first iteration of this idea but that was pre-pandemic. A different world.

Munich 2022 gets underway today with action across five of the nine sports but it was impossible not to think of what has already passed and what may still be to come even as the crowds took in the quirky (and free) opening ceremony at the historic Olympiapark yesterday evening.