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Hejnova to renew her rivalry with Slott Petersen in Copenhagen

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Organisers of the Copenhagen Athletics Games have brought together long-standing rivals Zuzana Hejnova and local star Sara Slott Petersen for a head-to-head duel at the European Athletics Classic Permit Meeting in the Danish capital on Tuesday (26).

The Czech hurdler, the world champion in 2013 and 2015, has been battling with Denmark’s reigning European champion all the way back to when they were teenagers at the 2003 IAAF World U18 Championships.

On that occasion, Hejnova won and Slott Petersen was just out of the medals in fourth place. The same result was repeated at the 2005 European juniors and world championships in Beijing three years ago, but the tide finally turned in the Dane’s favour when she won the 2016 continental crown in Amsterdam and followed it up with a superb silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games when Hejnova herself was just out of the medals in fourth.

Hejnova has finished in front in their last five encounters during the second half of last season but it goes without saying that Slott Petersen – who has yet to race over the barriers so far this year in a steady build up to defending her title at the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships – will be motivated to do well in front of her home fans and come home ahead in their first duel on Danish soil.

Adding lustre to the women’s 400m hurdles field is South Africa’s Wanda Nel and the two-time African champion has already run under 55 seconds twice this year.

The Copenhagen Athletics Games in the Osterbro Stadion will also be a showcase for Danish talent ahead of Berlin 2018, where they will be looking to improve on the three top eight places achieved in Amsterdam.

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Last year’s European U23 3000m steeplechase champion Anna Emilie Møller drops down distance to test her speed over 1500m while Danish hurdler Andreas Martinsen returns to the meeting where he set a national 110m hurdles record of 13.50 12 months ago and faces Polish record holder and former world U20 champion Artur Noga.

One of the other potential highlights is the men’s long jump.

Benjamin Gabrielsen leapt a personal best of 7.87m to win at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Oslo earlier this month, his last outing, and will have the chance to improve further against a field that includes his compatriots and 2012 IAAF World U20 Championships silver medallist Andreas Trajkovski as well as Finland’s 2013 European U20 silver medallist Kristian Pulli, who leapt a personal best of 8.07m in 2017.

The meeting is also being streamed by Atletik TV here.




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