Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo is ready to fit the missing piece of her long jump puzzle with a return to the European Championship stage.

A horror hamstring injury meant the 30-year-old was unable to defend her world title last season, but she is finally back on the international scene for Rome 2024.

Mihambo suffered a tear at the 2023 German National Championships and made her return to competition early this year, rocketing back to 6.93m standard.

But Mihambo admitted that her return to the domestic scene has missed the excitement of major international competition and is more than ready to step out once more at the Stadio Olimpico.

“I feel good, I am looking forward to it and I feel in good shape," she said. "I hope I can prove it.

"The season so far has been quite good but there is something missing, now I am excited for what comes next."

The European Athletics Championships will take place from 7-12 June in Rome as Mihambo returns to the stadium where she first broke the seven metre distance in 2019.

The reigning Olympic champion clinched silver at her last European outing behind Serbia's Ivana Vuleta but she revealed that she's managing expectations this time round, not wanting her status as a consistent medal contender to get in the way of a safe return to the big stage.

“I do my mental training as usual so I feel well prepared," she said.

"I am taking this very seriously – after Paris, this is the most important competition of the year.

"For me, the mental aspect of the competition is very important so I have been very focused on that as well.

“It is a strong line-up in long jump, it will put pressure on all of us.

"We will compete better than we would without this pressure.

"It is important to focus on yourself and give your best. For me, all I do is focus on myself rather than expectations of others.

"This is how I handle the pressure and it works fine."

The long jump platform at Rome 2024 has caused quite the stir among athletes due to its placement above the rest of the field.

The event will be placed on a unique three metre platform to bring the action closer to the crowd.

But Mihambo is unflustered by the change of scenery and admits the 'one-of-a-kind' structure will not get in the way of her journey to the podium.

“I trained in the stadium, I’m not used to it and it’s the first time I’ve seen something like this," she added.

"It will be stable and we will be fine on it."

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