News14 Aug 2006


Athletes ready to compete in Beijing

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German Chiaraviglio of Argentina at the IAAF Press Conference (© Getty Images)

Athletes' quotes at the IAAF Press Conference

Ebony Collins (USA)
400m Hurdles
Reigning World Youth champion, 2005 USATF Youth Athlete of the Year


You have dominated your event as a youth athlete but as a 17-year-old you are one of the youngest junior athletes here in Beijing. So will this championships be more about gaining experience and getting to the final or do you believe you have real hopes of a medal?

I am confident I can do well at these championships. I will do my very best and I hope I’ll improve my personal best. I don’t know what it will take to win gold here but I’ll certainly give all my best.


You are best known as a 400m Hurdler and will compete at this event here but what is your favourite event?

I think I have more ability at 400m Hurdles but I also like running at 400m flat because I don’t have to worry about the hurdles!

You have been running since you were four years old, what do you like about being an athlete?

I like travelling the world, I like the competition and I like being successful at something! I also appreciate the long term relationships that we make.
        
Hao Shuai (CHN)
Hammer Throw
Third in the World Junior lists


I understand that you have been training in Russia for the last 6 months, and you also stayed there last year, and won their junior championships in Tula. Has that period of training helped your development as a thrower?

Regarding this matter, I would like to take this opportunity to really thank the Chinese authorities who have made it possible for me to go to Russia. It was a very valuable experience, I have learnt new techniques and made a lot of new friends. I am now looking forward to showing everyone in China the skills that I’ve learnt.

Your personal best is 65.72m, a performance which makes you the third best junior athlete in the world. Do you hope to win a medal here?

My dream is obviously to win a medal but it will all depend on the level of the competition. I will do my very best but again, winning a medal will depend on many factors.      

Huang Haiqiang (CHN) 
High Jump
Reigning World Youth champion, second in the World Junior lists
 
Are you looking forward to competing in front of Chinese spectators?

I believe that there will be so many spectators at the stadium that it will be a special occasion. I am very excited but I have also a lot of pressure, more pressure than I would have if I was competing in other countries. I will hope I can do the best in front of my own people and I hope I can be a very hospitable host for all my competitors.

You have competed in Europe this year, and last year, as well as your World Youth title you became champion at the East Asian Games and you were third at the prestigious Chinese National Games. By contrast most of your opponents at this week’s World Junior championships will have had little or no international or senior competition experience. Does this give you an advantage?

Yes, I do believe this gives me an advantage however I also feel that it gives me more pressure. I will try and keep calm, concentrate on myself instead of on other athletes. I know that if I don’t keep calm and if I don’t handle the pressure I will not compete well.

You jumped 2.27m to take the World Youth title last year, and this season you have improved to 2.28m. How high do you think you can jump at these championships?

Personally, for 2006 my goal is to jump 2.30 metres. This is my motivation, my driving engine but again, it will depend on the situation. If one puts too much pressure on oneself, one might get injured. I will keep my calm and try and improve my result.

Tonight at the IAAF Dinner we will honour the three-time World record breaker in the High Jump Jianhua Zhu. Do you know or have you ever met this great Chinese athlete?

I have never met him personally. He is my idol and I admire what he has achieved. I don’t think I can never achieve his heights but I will try and do my best based on his very good example especially at the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008. He jumped 2.39 if I can achieve 2.34 I would be satisfied.

German Chiaraviglio (ARG)
Pole Vault
2003 World Youth champion, 2004 World Junior silver medallist, Current World leader


You are a very experienced competitor. In fact you were silver medallist in these championships two years ago in Grosseto. Are you looking forward to these championships and are you confident that you can win gold this time?

Yes I have the experience of Sherbrooke 2003 and Grosseto 2005 where I won silver but Pole Vault is always a very difficult event. Anything can happen in a Pole Vault contest and usually finals are very hard fought. I will do my best to try and get a medal.

You are a pupil of the great Ukrainian coach Vitaliy Petrov and you train for some of the year in Formia, Italy. So my question is perhaps obvious, do you hope to be as great an athlete in your career as Sergey Bubka, Yelena Isinbayeva, Monika Pyrek, and Guiseppe Gibilisco to name just a few of Petrov’s star athletes?

I would like to make it clear that I also train with my father who is my main coach but since 2003 I have been also advised by Vitaly Petrov in Formia, Italy. It is a very good experience. I have learnt a lot by training with the likes of Gibilisco, Isinbayeva and Pyrek and it is always a pleasure to go to training.

I hope one day I will have the same career as them. I am improving step by step and I hope I will increase my personal best slowly but steadily.

I have been a good youth and a good junior athlete; I hope I will be a good senior athlete as well.

You vaulted a national record and Area Junior record by clearing 5.70m when winning the IberoAmerican championships in May but since then you have jumped at a much lower level. Are you in good shape? Have you been concentrating your season on these championships?

After the Ibero-American championships I have been training in Formia and also taken part in a few competitions but I wasn’t in the best conditions yet. Now I feel good and ready for the challenge. My first big competition at the Golden League meeting in Rome was a very valuable experience and I now have a lot of hopes. I just want to jump!

John Robert Oosthuizen (RSA)
Javelin Throw
2003 World Youth silver medallist, Second in the World Junior lists 


Do you enjoy the travelling, the experience of different cultures, is this one of the aspects of being an athlete which interests you, or is your motivation just about competition for you?

My main focus is the competition but I also enjoy meeting other people and learning about other cultures.

As a South African you are following a fine Javelin Throwing tradition at these championships. Marius Corbett won this title in 1994 and went straight on to take the World senior title in 1997, while in 2000 Hardus Pienaar also took the junior crown, and he has also twice gone on to be African senior champion. Are these men an inspiration to you as an athlete?

I have actually had the privilege of meeting both of them and they have given me extra motivation.


You are competing against Finland’s Ari Mannio who leads the world junior list for this season. At your best you are both approximately 4 metres ahead of your nearest opponents, so do you consider the champs a two-way duel?

No, I think that on the day everyone is equal. The guy who has the guts, the one who throws further will take it on the day! Training is going well so I hope I can throw a PB at these championships.

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