Athletes involved in the imminent European Athletics Championships marathons have called for them to start earlier ©Athleten Deutschland

A total of 51 athletes involved in the marathons at this month’s European Athletics Championships in Munich have called for organisers to change the timing of the events to avoid "severe risks" of excessive temperatures.

The athletes, who include Israel’s current European 10,000m champion and world marathon bronze medallist Lonah Salpeter, note that the topic has been "unsuccessfully" raised with European Athletics by its Athletes Committee.

They add: "At this point we do not feel that the organisers will change their mind which is why we make our demand public.

"We fully support the intention to boost our sport through TV exposure during the day and making it more accessible for spectators.

"Yet, these considerations should never take precedence over our health."

The letter, written under the umbrella of Athleten Deustchland, begins: "Protecting the health of participating athletes should always be the priority when organising any type of sport event.

"Prolonged exposure to extreme heat can cause heat-stress disorders such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion or heat strokes.

Israel's world marathon bronze medallist Lonah Salpeter is among the athletes who have signed a letter calling for the European Athletics Championships marathons to start in cooler, earlier conditions ©Getty Images
Israel's world marathon bronze medallist Lonah Salpeter is among the athletes who have signed a letter calling for the European Athletics Championships marathons to start in cooler, earlier conditions ©Getty Images

"The marathon races of the European Championships are set to start on August 15, 2022 at 10:30 am (women) and 11:30 am (men).

"The weather forecast projects temperatures of up to 37 degrees Celsius for this day.

"Considering the severe risks these conditions pose to our health, we - more than 50 runners set to compete in the races - urge the organisers to move the start to an earlier time."

Other signatories to the letter include Italy’s fifth-ranked women’s runner in the marathon, Giovanna Epis and Germany’s Katharina Steinruck.

"European Athletics and Munich 2022 Local Organising Committee are constantly monitoring the evolving situation as the Munich 2022 preparations reach their final stages and are taking account of all the relevant factors including any change to the risk assessment relating to the health of the runners," European Athletics told insidethegames in a statement.

"We will certainly not hesitate to implement any decisions by the Medical Delegate and Technical Delegate on such matters if changes are required to ensure the health of the participants and we can assure all athletes that European Athletics and the Munich 2022 Local Organising Committee are ready to make changes, including the start times, should circumstances dictate that this is an appropriate course of action.

"If changes to the marathon start times are thought to be necessary, that decision will be made no later than Friday 12 August."