December 2009
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European Athletics Indoor Championships - Women's Track Events Preview |
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03.03.2009 |
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Italian Elisa Cusma will carry much of the medal
hopes for the host nation as she starts the 800m
as the favourite for the title
Photo by Picture Alliance
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The 30th European Athletics Indoor Championships commence in Torino, Italy on Friday.Here follows a preview of the women's track events.
Women:
60m: The Russians have picked Europe's evenly matched top-two, Anna Geflikh (7.18) and Russian champion Natalya Murinovich (7.19). Looking to reach the final and go under 7.20 for the first time is Germany's European Under-23 champion Verena Sailer (7.22) while Bulgaria's European Junior silver medallist Inna Eftimova is another new name to be reckoned with, improving her best to 7.24 in Athens last week.
Austria's Bettina Műller-Weissina (7.26) has a win from Paris under her belt and is approaching her 2003 best of 7.25, while Norway's new sprint hope, Ezinne Ekparaebo, set a new national record of 7.26 this winter. Belarussian Aksana Drahun has a best of 7.26 so far in 2009, but has a far superior clocking of 7.20 from last winter. French indoor champion, Ayodele Ikuesan, has improved to 7.32 this winter and will be looking to make the final.
400m: All eyes will be fixed on Antonina Krivoshapka who dominates the rankings with the three quickest times in the world this year. Krivoshapka has advanced her personal best indoor time by almost three-and-a-half seconds this winter and her 50.55 clocking to land the National Championships marks her out as the women to beat.
Russia, predictably, dominate the European lists in this event and Darya Safonova (52.05) and the experienced Natalya Antyukh, the 2002 European Indoor champion, could help complete a clean sweep of the podium.
Olympic 200m semi-finalist Nataliya Pyhyda ran a noteworthy 52.72 to win the Ukrainian Championships and may also prove a medal threat.
Turkey's US-based Pinar Saka has posted a useful 53.04 this year while Italian champion Daniela Reina (53.19) will not be found lacking for local support.
UK champion Donna Fraser, 36, may not have registered her quickest time this winter - 53.32 - but having finished fourth in the 400m final of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games she is vastly experienced athlete and should not be discounted.
800m: With her national record of 1:59.25 this winter, Elisa Cusma is one of the host country's best gold-medal shots. In Stockholm she disposed of Europe's second fastest, Britain's Marilyn Okoro (1:59.27) with the minimum of fuss. But the Russians, as usual, might upset with a powerful duo, reigning champion, Oksana Zbrozhek and national champion Mariya Savinova (1:59.45). But everyone will have to watch Ukraine's Birmingham silver medallist, Tatyana Petlyuk (1:59.63) who also snatched World indoor silver last year. Britain's second-string, Jennifer Meadows, should make the final.
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Poland's Lidia Chojecka will be looking to reign
supreme over the middle distances
Photo by Picture Alliance
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1500m: On paper this could be one of the most fascinating events in the Championships. Poland's defending champion Lidia Chojecka is expected to concentrate on the 3000m but the likes of Russia's Anna Alminova, Spain's Nuria Fernández and Ireland's Mary Cullen could all be on the start line. However, all three women are also among the entries for the 3000m and who eventually contests this event will depend, to a certain extent, on whether the longer distance will be run as a straight final or require a heat.
"My focus is on the 3000m but if I only have to run one race then I'll consider doubling," said Fernández, who is the fastest women in the world this year after running a national record of 4:01.77 in Valencia on February 14. Alminova is just behind her in the global rankings with the 4:02.33 she ran in Athens last week. With the uncertainty surrounding who will actually be running the 1500m, there may be chances of a medal for Russia's second and third ranked runners Yevgenia Zolotova and Anna Yevdokimova or the likes of Slovenia's Sonja Roman and Spain's Natalia Rodríguez.
3000m: This event could all be about Anna Alminova, one of the breakout performers of the winter season. The Russian athlete made a huge progression to run 8:28.49 in Stuttgart in early February to become the fourth fastest women in history for the distance. Alminova, however, could face a demanding schedule of up to four races in three days in Turin as she plans to emulate the achievements of Poland's Lidia Chojecka, who landed the 1500m and 3000m double at the 2007 European Indoor Championships.
Chojecka, seeking a hat-trick of titles, is also entered, however, the Polish athlete, has struggled to produce her best form this season.
The hosts are also optimistic of success as Italian champion Elena Romagnolo (8:54.14) is joined by Silvia Weissteiner (8:56.21).
Mary Cullen smashed Sonia O'Sullivan's Irish national record with 8:43.74 in Boston earlier this month and also presents a big danger as do the Portuguese duo - Jessica Augusto (8:44.81) and Sara Moreira (8:53.27) - and Spain's Nuria Fernandez - a 4:01 1500m athlete
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Spain's Jospehine Onyia is the strong favourite for
the 60m Hurdles
Photo by Picture Alliance
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60m Hurdles: Spain's Josephine Onyia will start as the favourite thanks not only to having run 7.95, the fastest time by a European this winter, but also her improved competitive mentality over the last 12 months which has included two wins in the IAAF Golden League and the World Athletics Final last summer. "Torino will, hopefully, be redemption for me as things didn't go the way I would have liked at the World Indoor Championships last year, which were held in my home city of Valencia. I was fighting for a medal but hit the last hurdle and fell," commented Onyia.
However, it will not be a one-woman affair in Torino. Belgium's Eline Berrings has twice run under eight seconds this winter, including a national record 7.97 in Prague last Thursday and Ireland's 2006 World indoor champion Derval O'Rourke returned to form in the same race with 7.99, her best time in three years. Norway's Christina Vukicevic, the partner of the current Waterford Crystal European Athlete of the Year Andreas Thorkildsen, could also be in contention for a medal after having run a national record 8.00 recently.
4x400m relay: Belarus caused a huge surprise two years ago when they beat Russia but this time around the tables could be turned as the 2005 champions can boast of the top seven fastest European 400m women this winter. The squad of Natalia Antyukh, Tatyana Veshkurova, Yelena Voynova, Antonina Krivoshapka and Daria Safonova is so strong that Antyukh is the slowest of the five and may be left on the sidelines despite being a former European Indoor 400m champion and having won relay gold medals at the 2005 IAAF World Championships and three IAAF World Indoor Championships.
With Russia being the overwhelming favourites, Belarus, without any of the quartet who won gold in 2007, and Great Britain should be the main contenders for the other medals. The latter has won the bronze medal at the last two editions of the European Athletics Indoor Championships. Ireland, Lithuania and Turkey are the other invited teams but appear unlikely to be able to challenge the leading three nations.
Click here for final entries
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