14th February 2014 01:32
The Prague Indoor Permit Meeting on 25 February, a test event for next year’s European Athletics Indoor Championships at the 02 Arena, has made a few changes to its programme.
And it means the people of the Czech Republic will be able to see one of their leading stars running for a little longer than they might have been expected - and it could be a record occasion.
Pavel Maslak, the European 400m champion, indoors and out, was due to compete in the 300m as he prepares for the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Sopot in March.
But the distance has now been changed from 300m to 500m, with Maslak in brilliant form this winter at that longer event, which will be run at 8.15pm.
Already this year in Prague, Maslak has been rewriting records at 500m.
At the open meeting at the Strahov Hall, he ran the Czech record time and second fastest ever by a European when he won in 1:01.15.
The leading European Athletics time he will be chasing was also set last month when Israel’s Donald Sanford won the BU John Thomas Terrier International in Boston in 1:00.86.
Maslak is fourth in the 400m world rankings this year with his 45.66 in Stockholm last week, just 0.49 behind Lalonde Gordon, of Trinidad & Tobago, who tops the list.
The Prague meeting will be another important race for him on the road to Sopot where Maslak, who was fifth at the World Championships in Moscow last summer, will be looking to further enhance his reputation.
The 500m is one of four changes on the programme.
There is now a high jump competition for men added, which will start at 5.37pm, along with the women’s event, while the women’s long jump will begin at 3.55pm and the men’s triple jump at 6.50pm.
Ticket sales are available from tomorrow, Saturday 15 February, and details can be found here: www.sazkaticket.cz.