France's Marie-Amélie Le Fur will be among the big names taking part in the European Para Athletics Championships that start in Poland tomorrow ©Getty Images

Nearly 700 competitors from 44 teams are expected to be involved in the seventh edition of the European Para Athletics Championships which start tomorrow in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz and conclude on Saturday (June 5).

The Bydgoszcz meeting was initially scheduled to take place last year but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will be the seventh edition of the Europeans and the first to take place in Poland.

The hosts will be the team to beat after topping the medals tally at the last European Championships in German capital Berlin in 2018 with 26 gold medals, six ahead of second-place Britain.

Alicja Jeromin and Michal Derus in the T47 category, Krzysztof Ciuksza in T36, Michal Kotkowski in T37, Maciej Sochal in F32 and Barbara Bieganowska in T20 were some of the Polish stars in Berlin who will be defending European titles.

Britain’s Stef Reid and Sophie Kamish, The Netherlands’ Fleur Jong, Kimberly Alkemade and Marlene van Gansewinkel, Spain’s Sara Andres Barrio and France’s Marie-Amélie Le Fur are among the high-profile performers who will be seeking more more medals to their collection.

Among the 44 teams there will be 43 countries and the Refugee Para Athlete team represented by Alia Issa.

Germany's Rio 2016 T44 long jump champion Markus Rehm will be in action in the European Para Athletics Championships which start tomorrow in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz ©Getty Images
Germany's Rio 2016 T44 long jump champion Markus Rehm will be in action in the European Para Athletics Championships which start tomorrow in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz ©Getty Images

Born in Greece to a family of Syrian refugees, she is a Paralympic hopeful who will try to become the first female refugee athlete to compete in the Games at Tokyo 2020.

Issa will compete in the women’s F32 club throw event.

Bydgoszcz 2021 will mark the return to a major event for France’s Jean-Baptiste Alaize, one of the featured Para athletes in last year’s Netflix documentary Rising Phoenix about the story of the Paralympic Movement.

Bronze medallist at Berlin 2018 in the men’s T64 long jump, Alaize will compete in the same event on day one facing Germany’s three-time Paralympic champion Markus Rehm in what will be his first international competition since 2019.

The 2021 European Championships will be live streamed on the World Para Athletics website and Facebook page - although not in Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.