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December 2009
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Marta Domínguez to make steeplechase debut on Friday |
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09.06.2008 |
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Marta Dominguez debuting in the 3,000m
Steeplechase on Friday.
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Spain's Marta Domínguez, the
2002 and 2006 European 5,000m Champion, will make her debut in the 3,000m
steeplechase at the Meeting Iberoamericano in Huelva this coming Friday.
"I've
decided to try the steeplechase because I have been running 5,000m since 1998
and training every day to improve on, or at least equal, what you've done
before becomes very hard. I've tried the 10,000m but that's very boring so, in
the end, I thought I'd try something that gave me a new sensation, new
motivation and less pressure," said the 32-year-old Domínguez, who also
won the 2007 SPAR European Cross Country Championships title on home soil in
Toro.
"I
have always wanted to give the steeplechase a try ever since 2004 but I've had
problems with my feet and calf muscles and I have had several operations. Now,
I think I'm ready though.
"I'm
courageous and getting over the obstacles doesn't worry me. Since I started
training seriously I have always been a versatile athlete in terms of work that
my coach has put in my programme.
"We
do a lot of gym work, general physical preparation, games, and run on all sorts
of surfaces. This has helped me adapt to any situation even if it appears that
the only thing that runners do in their workouts is to run," added
Domínguez.
She
has not decided on any other steeplechase races just yet but the event probably
forms part of her long term plans.
"Let's
just see how things go in Huelva.
The hardest part will be clearing the barriers with other runners around me and
also getting over the barriers when I am tired at the end of the race."
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Spain's Ruth Beita will be hoping for a confidence
booster ahead of the SPAR European Cup in Annecy
one week later.
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Domínguez's
target on Friday is the far-from-soft Spanish record of 9:26.23 set by Rose
Morató last year and her compatriot, the fourth fastest European in 2007, is
also in the field.
The
meeting in the Southern Spanish city of Huelva,
just a few kilometres from the Portuguese border, can boast an impressive line
up in many other events.
The
women's 100m Hurdles sees the new Spanish record holder Josephine Onyia, fresh
from her recent triumphs at the ÅF IAAF Golden League meetings in Berlin and Oslo,
up against her friend and training partner Glory Alozie, the former Spanish
record holder and 2002 European champion in her specialist event.
Spain's Ruth Beitia contests
the high jump and is up against the Ukraine's Vita Styopina, a former
European junior champion and the 2004 Olympic Games bronze medallist.
The
women's Discus also promises to be a top quality affair with Russia's 2006 European Athletics Championships gold
medallist Darya Pishchalnikova up against Belarus'
Irina Yatchenko, the 2004 Olympic Games bronze medallist, and the Ukraine's
former European Junior and European Under 23 champion Natalya Semenova.
On
the men's side, the 5,000m sees 2006 European Athletics Championships gold
medallist Jesús España up against his fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Higuero, the
bronze medallist over the distance in Goteborg
two years ago, with Ethiopia's
Sileshi Sihine also in the field.
Spain dominates the entries
for the men's 1,500m with Reyes Estévez, Arturo
Casado, Sergio Gallardo, Diego Ruiz, Álvaro Fernández and Álvaro Rodríguez all set to be on the start
line while the men's 3,000m Steeplechase reunites Finland's Jukka Keskitalo and
Spain's José Luis Blanco, the gold and silver medallists respectively from the
2006 European Athletics Championships.
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