Havana, Cuba - Cuba’s two reigning World champions, Zulia Calatayud, 800m, and Osleidys Menéndez, Javelin Throw, ended their 2006 season's differently, but both are back training with high goals for the next year, including the defence of their titles in Osaka.

Recently both Helsinki 2005 champions celebrated their 27th birthdays together as they were born only five days apart: the runner on 9 November and the javelin star on the 14th.

Menendez - Recovering well

Menéndez resumed training this week after recovering from a fracture in her left tibia, which forced her to end her competitive year in July after finishing second at the 20th Central American and Caribbean Games in Cartagena. The 2004 Olympic champion and World record holder in the women’s Javelin Throw could not improve her season’s best of 65.02, achieved during her second outing of the year.

“It is an old injury that appeared while training in Europe. It was painful as it affected my final effort and obviously my technique,” and meant she could not try to renew her IAAF World Athletics Final and World Cup victories from previous seasons.

Since August, Menendez has followed a comprehensive recovery process, including rest, ultrasound and laser, hyperbaric and magnetic chambers, as well exercises in a pool.

“I am fully recovered and I feel very motivated to return to the track and do what I like. I want to return to the top of women’s javelin. Recovery took longer than what she expected, but “it gave me time to rest and relax. High performance is very demanding and I feel fresher now after this forced sabbatical period.”

More competitive environment

With two major goals in 2007- the Pan American Games and the World Championships in Osaka - Menéndez admits that the women’s Javelin has become more competitive, with more girls throwing 64-66 metres.

“We see emerging and very talented Europeans. They train like me and can beat me of course. I just have to focus on fulfilling my training and throw far as I am used to. Right now, I will be recovering my form as the season progresses.”

With a training camp scheduled for 10 of the best Cuban throwers in Brazil in January, Menendez will start throwing and also feeling the Pan American Games atmosphere early as the South American country will host the continental Games in Rio de Janeiro.

According to former javelin thrower Dionisio Quintana, her coach since 1994, the main priority is to set a solid physical base. “This is the first time she has been away for so long. For an athlete who has achieved two World titles, broken the World record twice and won the Olympic gold at the age of 26, it is a different motivation to keep going, but she is very enthusiast and we still dream of reaching 75 metres,” he explained.

Pan Am, and Osaka ‘triple’ the targets

In Rio, Menendez will look for redemption as she was only third at the previous Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo 2003, in what she considered her worst year. However, she still holds the Games record from her win in Winnipeg´99.

Four weeks after Rio, Menendez will try to successfully defend her title in Osaka as she aims to become the first Latin American athlete to claim three World athletics.

“I only competed once in Asia, at the 2001 World Student Games in Beijing and Osaka will be a good test one year before the Olympics in China.”
 

Calatayud targets first Pan American crown
 
A year after claiming the World 800m title in Helsinki, Zulia Calatayud continues to run well winning 11 of the 15 two-lap races she entered in 2006, including the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart and the IAAF World Cup in Athens.

Unlike Menéndez, Calatayud has completed her first month of training ahead of what will be a long and demanding season in 2007, “as we have to peak for the Pan American Games and the World Champs.”

Rio de Janeiro will represent a special event for the double Olympic finalist as she emerged on the international scene precisely during the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, where the then 19-year-old claimed the 800m. She missed the 2003 Pan Am Games due to a shin injury.

“The Pan American Games will a good test one month before the Worlds. We have fast runners in the area, like Jamaica’s 2006 World Indoor Championships runner-up Kenia Sinclair, USA´s Hazel Clark, Canada’s Diane Cummins and Colombia’s Iberoamerican champion Rosibel García.

Regarding the World Championships in Osaka, it would be her Asian debut. “All runners will surely arrive there in their best shape as it will be the World Championships before the Olympics. It has been a tough road to get to the top and it is even more difficult to stay in the elite so it will be a great challenge,” she continued.

Fast times ‘welcomed’

The 27-year-old also aims to improve her personal best of 1:56.04, set in 2002. In 2006, she posted her second fastest career time with 1:56.91 when third at the Lausanne meeting, behind Kenya’s Janeth Jepkosgei (1:56.66), and Mozambique’s Maria Mutola (1:56.77).

“There weren’t many fast marks, but yet great rivalry. Fast times are welcomed, but the no. 1 thing is to win the most important races, to peak at the right time.”

Two-time World champion and Olympic medallist Ana Fidelia Quirot also had some words of praise about her heir: “She is doing it quite well, especially in the last two years. I want to congratulate her for her results, her discipline and combativeness.”

With the National Champs scheduled for late May, Calatayud hopes to run some 400m and 1500m races in March-May before concentrating on the two laps.

Training partners

A new addition to her training group, supervised by her coach Faustino Hernández, is 2005 World Youth Championships double medallist Aymée Martínez. Daimí Pernía, the 2006 CAC Games gold medallist and 1999 World champion over 400m Hurdles, and Ana H. Peña (400m-800m) are also her training partners.

Calatayud, who also won the Central American and Caribbean Games in Colombia last summer, is a strong candidate to be selected the best Cuban and Latin American sportswoman of 2006.

Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF