A prime difference of opinion as far as the two candidates were concerned was over the question of whether European Athletics was better in or out of the quadrennial multi-sport European Championships it had been a part of in 2018 and 2022.

Karamarinov, a 65-year-old Bulgarian who took over the Presidency on an interim basis after Norway’s Svein Arne Hansen suffered a fatal stroke in March 2020 and was elected unopposed in October 2021, referenced the issue in his manifesto:

"The most recent edition, the European Athletics Championships Munich 2022, were hugely successful on the track.

"But - and it’s a very serious reservation - the price we paid under the present model was an unacceptable loss of control over our own sport and our own Championships.

"For this reason, I have suspended European Athletics' participation in the next edition of the multisport European Championships, scheduled for 2026, until we hear the final report of the Task Force created for this very purpose.

"This does not mean that I deny the advantages of our Championships forming part of a multisport event.

Varhanik, a 57-year-old Czech, had a differing view. "The short-sighted decision to delay the implementation of a new organisational model for the multi-sport concept, and to return to a stand-alone European championship in 2026, shows a reluctance to find creative new solutions for present and future challenges," he said.

"It simply means that, for our sport, those advantages are outweighed by the loss of identity, ownership, rights and independence that are implicit in the present model."

"It also endangers our all-important relationship with the European Broadcasting Union and the long-term the value of our flagship event to other commercial partners."

In a video promoting his campaign, Varhanik, who had chair of the board responsible for delivering Munich 2022, added: "We need to counter the impression that European Athletics works for itself and that the needs of others don’t matter.

"A key step would be offering financial incentives to attract the best athletes."

Speaking to Karamarinov in the wake of his victory, the vexed and complex issue of multi-sport championships was one of the obvious topics of enquiry.

In his reply he hinted at new alternative arrangements in which European Athletics might play a more central role.

"First of all, in general, I am in favour of the idea of the multi-sport concept," he told insidethegames.

"But the benefit of this has to go to the sport. I don’t want to say has to go to athletics, but it has to go to the sport.

"Because what I said is that we lost control - the timetable for all the sports really was not in our control and we faced some issues and also with some other sports who would make a clash. It was not in our hands.”

Did he think, then, that European Athletics was not getting a fair share of the proceeds?

"I cannot say about the others but I can say for athletics that we really are not happy with this," he replied. "Because TV figures for athletics are bigger than all the others together.

"I am really in favour of a multi-sport concept where all the benefits have to be shared between sports organisations. I consider that we are the main Olympic sport so we can co-ordinate the TV programme. And for 2026 we are in negotiations with some Federations who want to be with us - not in the same place, not on the same day, but to coordinate the TV.

“For 2026 we have secured the sport and we have already allocated Birmingham for the European Athletics Championships and we are safe. We are ready to co-ordinate with the other main Olympic sports just to share the revenue of this - but we have to be really on the safe side to make sure that athletics gets what it really deserves.”

One possible scenario here might be that if, say other European sports ran their Championships at the same general time as the European Athletics Championships, there could be cooperation over timetabling and TV schedules.

Immediately after Munich 2022 European Athletics put together a Task Force group to look into the question of involvement in a multi-sports model and the final report is expected at the next European Athletics Council meeting in June.

Asked whether he would review his policy if the Task Force returned with a positive view of the European Championships Management concept, Karamarinov responded: "The door is open. It depends.  It will not be my decision. I have just an opinion but it will be the Council decision. I will go strictly by the vote over this. 

"We have to forget the election when we were divided - now we have to be united.

"If the Task Force comes to the Council with a positive view everything is possible. But we have to keep our interests. This is my duty, and the duty of the Council to act in favour of our sport. That’s it.

"Anything is possible. It all depends on conditions and negotiations whether there is a return to the ECM or not.

"I’m talking about cooperation with the ECM but not in the same model. It’s possible to cooperate there but not in the same model.

"For 2026 it’s over. Birmingham will have the European Athletics Championships. 

"This is 100 per cent.

"In the meantime we will continue to lead and explore possible alternative models for participation in future multisport events, with long-term goal of sharing in the benefits of participation in multisport events [with partners of our own choosing], while maintaining our control over the sport we love."

Karamarinov has already backed up his words about being open to the idea of a multi-sports model in terms of action. This summer the third edition of the European Games, which will be held in Kraków-Malopolska in Poland, will have as its athletics element the European Athletics Team Championships involving the Third, Second and First Divisions together.

Karamarinov believes that, in the inaugural Baku 2015 edition of the Games, and at the Minsk staging in 2019, athletics was "not presented in the proper way,", adding: "In the first edition in Baku it was just a Third League, more less nothing. The second edition in Minsk it was DNA - Dynamic New Athletics - something new, but not exactly what athletics deserved.

"And now for the third edition of the European Games this year it will be the biggest athletics gathering with more than 2,200 athletes in the same place in Silesia. 

"This will put athletics in the proper place in the European Games.

"And of course it will bring a big financial revenue to European Athletics.

"This new vision for our European Team Championships as part of the European Games is a big plus.

"It will be not one shot. For sure during the next European Games it will be continued, we have agreed with the leadership of European Games that we will have the same concept, with all divisions involved.

"Meanwhile we have the European Teams Championships every two years and we have already negotiated with the Spanish federation over the 2025 staging.

"Now we prepare that in two years’ time in Madrid it will be the same format but the final decision will be in July when the Madrid city council has to approve this concept.

Returning to the much-debated question of Dynamic New Athletics, a shortened, head-to-head version of the sport, Karamarinov commented: “I think the future of DNA is exactly at the grass roots level - for junior and club level. For elite athletics I don’t think it is so attractive.

“But DNA is really exciting and motivating for the young athletes to take up the sport, because we have to attract the youngest to come to our sport in order to stay in our sport. DNA is one of the innovations that can do this.”

"In 2025 all divisions will be in the one place, like in Silesia. My vision is that we will go for this format every two years."

Returning to the much-debated question of Dynamic New Athletics, a shortened, head-to-head version of the sport, Karamarinov commented: "I think the future of DNA is exactly at the grass roots level - for junior and club level. For elite athletics I don’t think it is so attractive.

"But DNA is really exciting and motivating for the young athletes to take up the sport, because we have to attract the youngest to come to our sport in order to stay in our sport. DNA is one of the innovations that can do this."

Born in Bulgaria in 1958, Karamarinov was first elected to the European Athletics Council in 2007. After serving two terms as a Council member he was elected as first vice president in 2015 before serving as interim president from March 2020 when Hansen suffered a stroke from which he eventually died in June.

Karamarinov was formerly an athletics coach and has a postgraduate degree in sports management. He is also the President of the Bulgarian Athletic Federation, as well as the Association of the Balkan Athletic Federations.

Asked if he had expected the Presidential vote to be so close, he replied: "To be honest I expected it to be close and I’ll tell you why. This is a tradition in Presidential elections I remember during the last 30 years when I have been a member of the European Athletics.  I remember In 1999 Hansjörg Wirz against Philippe Lamblin - the result was more or less similar.

"After that I remember Svein Arne Hansen against Hansjörg. It was a similar result again.

"When we have two candidates, it’s always the same, more or less.

“Also if someone is ready to run for the Presidency it means he is prepared, so I more or less expected the 21 votes that Libor collected. 

"But to be honest it’s not the same - let us say, it’s easy to reach from 16 to 20, 21. But from 21 to 23, 24, it gets harder.

"It’s like, for example, in the long jump. Until, let’s say, 8.30 metres, it’s much easier but then it gets very much harder when you try to get 8.40m.

"But I thank my opponent for his campaign."

Karamarinov was confident he would be re-elected.

"I know what I did for European Athletics," he said. "I believe that’s why I was a candidate again for re-election. I really believed that I would be re-elected, that more than 50 per cent of the federations would trust me.

"I think they noted how European Athletics was handled during the pandemic times. During the crisis it was really unpredictable, it was an incredible time that no one in the world expected.

"It was a big challenge for our association, how to get through this time, but it was really successful and we managed to deliver our messages and our Championships.

“At the convention a few months before Torun, it was October 2020, it was a little bit brave or maybe very risky, but I declared there would be no more postponements and that we would deliver the Championship in Torun.

“We were also able to bring new commercial partners to European Athletics. That’s why, for what I did for European Athletics, I really believed that the people trust me and I had no doubt I would win this election.”

Karamarinov is unequivocal about the pre-eminence in his thinking of the Member Federations.

"In all my three years - because I had around 18 months as an interim President and then another period as President my main goal was the Member Federations. 

Because my understanding was that European Athletics - this is not the offices in Lausanne, this is not the European Athletics President or the European Athletics Council leadership, this is the Member Federations.

“And all that time I tried to listen to them, to help them.

“We created a Focus Federations Programme to bring member federations closer to European Athletics, and to bring European Athletics closer to the member federations. 

"The Focus Federations programme means those federations that do not have a representative on the Council visit our office in Lausanne at our expense.

“They stay for two or three days and see how our different departments work. After that we find a way how to solve their problems. It is useful for the Member Federations but also useful for European Athletics to be close to our members.

"We also launched last year an Onboarding Programme for newly-elected leaders of our Member Federations. 

"We immediately invite them to our office in Lausanne, at our expense, and they spend three days at our office. 

"It is not the same as speaking on the phone or sending a email as to have this physical contact it is always better."

Another big factor in Karamarinov's election success, he believes, has been his ability to attract new commercial partners, three of whom - Conica, Polanik  and EUROHOLD – are recent.

"In difficult times, to bring three new partners - we always need more, but these three are down to my relationship with them - is a plus," 

“All of these you can see at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul - they are already on board. It is my understanding that this is one of the duties of the European Athletics President to take care with regard to the financial situation and to bring in new partners.”

With the next European Athletics Championships due to be held in Rome in 2024, at Birmingham in 2026 and in Silesia in 2028, does Karamarinov believe that Budapest could then enter the picture in terms of hosting an event it last held in 1998?

"I was in Budapest at the 1998 Championships as a team leader and I have very warm memories of it,” he said.  "As you know Budapest was candidate for 2026 but they withdrew in the last days.

After the World Championships and with this new stadium and this big sporting ambition they have then yes, of course, I see a potential for a Championships in Budapest.

"It’s really great that we have secured our next three editions. But after that - why not?  I have already spoken to the people in Hungary and, as I say, why not?

"But first of course they have to deliver these World Championships - l am really looking forward to them."

In his manifesto, Karamarinov put the proposed European Running Championships top of his list in terms of what he would be offering Member Federations.

Asked why, he responded: "After the Congress approval, because this a new idea, 2025 would be the first edition.

"It’s a quite new format, with all the mass racers and elite athletes being together. It also brings financial revenue to European Athletics.

"This is something even I think we do it a little bit late. But better late than never. We have two or three very strong candidates to host the first edition. This will be a new opportunity for all runners in Europe and also for the Member Federations.

"Our concept is different to the World Athletics model because we include a marathon and the longest distance in the World Athletics event is the half marathon. I think it will be a very successful new project.

"We plan to announce the hosts of the first event by the end of October."

Asked for his view on financial incentives for athletes, Karamarinov said: "It will not be my view but the view of the newly-elected Council. From time to time this proposal for prize money at championships comes up, but at the moment our philosophy is that this is not necessary.

"But I am not saying no.

"I always have said we will take all the ideas into account and we will see. 

"We have to see this proposal from many angles because it also has a financial impact on the governing body.

"It’s easy to say we will give prize money but we have to have the money coming to European Athletics. 

"We could put this on the shoulders of the local organising committees, but that would be not so nice because they have a lot of responsibilities.

"But everything is possible. We will discuss. I cannot say no. When ideas come we have to know how to realise them."