Antyukh targets world record | 25.09.2012
 |
| Natalya Antyukh of Russia. |
The existing world record of 52.34, held by fellow-Russian Yulia Pechonkina was set nine years ago.
"I've already won everything," said the 31-year-old who has multiple world and European medals to her name in an international career spreading over 11-years.
Winning the 400m hurdles gold at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona and a bronze at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu are among the highlights of her career. She was also a part of the gold medal winning Russian 4x400m relay team at the 2005 IAAF World Championships in Helsinki.
Jensen changes coach
The Nordic long jump record holder, Morten Jensen of Denmark, has decided to change his coach after he failed to make it to the Olympic Games in London. Jensen, whose lifetime best of 8.25m was set in 2005, will return to his former coach, Sweden's Leif Dahlberg, who advised him between 2007 and 2010.
In the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships held in Paris, Jensen captured bronze with a leap of 8.00m. This season he jumped 8.05m in the qualifying round of the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, but did not manage to achieve the Olympic minimum of 8.10m to qualify for London: "I just thought I needed something different to go on to Rio 2016," said Jensen.
"And if it was necessary to change coaches, then now was the perfect time to do that so that we have four years to work towards that goal."
Martinez hangs up her spikes
At the age of 36, Spain's Mayte Martinez has announced her retirement. The middle distance runner from Valladolid took European 800m silver at Munich 2002 and went on to collect two world 800m bronzes indoors and outdoors. Because of a long-standing thyroid problem, Martinez was never able to run more than 50km weekly, concentrating instead on quality rather than quantity in training.
