HELSINKI (AP) — French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre won't even try to defend his three titles when the European Championships start Wednesday. That would require too much exertion ahead of the Olympics.

That is what the Europeans have turned into this year — preparation for the London Games.

While athletes in the United States, Jamaica and elsewhere compete in clutch races at national trials a month before the games, their European counterparts will be testing their form against each other in Helsinki.

At the 2010 Europeans in Barcelona, Lemaitre surprised everyone by winning the 100, 200 and 4x100 meters relay to kick-start his international career.

Now he's eyeing one individual Olympic medal, most likely in the 200, but will compete in the 100 and 4x100 at Helsinki.

"Three gold medals was unimaginable at the time," said Lemaitre, who also won bronze in the 200 and silver in the relay at last year's world championships.

The 22-year-old Lemaitre is the favorite for the 100 and France could well add a second relay title, too. If he wins five titles, that would put him in a select group alongside 400-meter runners Roger Black of Britain and Harald Schmid of Germany. The Europeans were held every four years for those two, however.

Helsinki marks the first time the event is staged every two years to coincide with an Olympic year. And for Britain's Mo Farah, that changes his ambitions.

He clinched a 5,000-10,000 double in Barcelona, but his real test will come in the Olympics from Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele and Bernard Lagat of the United States. So Farah has only entered the 5,000 in Helsinki.

Even though many events have been gutted because top stars have declined to take part — including pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva — some still offer competition among the best in the world.

The men's pole vault has the year's top three, with defending champion Renaud Lavillenie of France facing the season's top performer in Malte Mohr and Bjoern Otto, another German.

The Finns have always loved their javelin throwing and they should feast on the clash between two-time Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway against local hero Tero Pitkamaki and the season's top performer, Vitezslav Vesely of the Czech Republic.

Despite going up against Euro 2012, Wimbledon and the Tour de France, the European athletics federation said it had to squeeze in another event to give those who don't make the Olympics a major championship every two years. A dearth of top stars and a lack of ambition from other athletes are the risks they're willing to take.

"We took some risks. It was a challenge but we had to do this," said European Athletics Director General Christian Milz.