Ottavio Castellini for the IAAF
Desenzano del Garda (Italy) – One would have undoubtedly bet on Chris Huffins’
victory in the decathlon and then comes Ukrainian Aleksandr Yurkov and wins. Statistics
were in favour of Anzhela Atroshchenko and after all victory goes to a young and talented
Italian girl who speaks better German than Italian coming from Lana in the region of Alto
Adige (Austrian border).
This is how edition number 12 of the Multistars Combined events Meeting ends out with
surprises that revive the interest in the IAAF 1999 World Combined Events Challenge.
24 year-old Yurkov had already won the Italian meeting in 1998 with a score of 8034
points, his personal best at that time. At the European Championships in Budapest, last
year, he finished with a practically identical result (8030 points).
But this year, he has improved his PB by almost 200 points finishing the two-days meeting
with a total of 8215 points thanks to an excellent second day during which he threw the
discus at 50.44m and jumped 5m in the pole vault.
Not only has Yurkov improved his personal best, but he has also defeated 1998 world number
one in the decathlon Chris Huffins, the American having lost of his determination in the
second day and finishing with a total well behind his expectations (8116).
The story was different in the women’s heptathlon where Belarus’ Atroshchenko
was diminished by an injured ankle. Italy’s Gertrud Bacher has therefore taken the
lead establishing a new national record of 6185 (previous mark 6135) and at the same time
the world’s best performance of the year.
21 year-old Yelena Prokhorova (RUS) impressively bettered her personal best by 422 points
to finish second with a total of 6132.
Another national record was beaten in the 1999 edition of the Multistars, with Maralize
Visser improving South Africa’s best mark by more than 100 points finishing fifth
with a total of 5963 points.
Next stage of the 1999 IAAF World Combined Events Challenge the classic Hypo-Meeting in
Götzis (Austria) on 29 and 30 May.
Final Results
Men
1 1 YURKOV Aleksandr (75) UKR 8215 10.95 7.32 14.98 2.06 50.76 14.99 50.44 5.00
59.52 4:44.43
2 8 HUFFINS Chris (70) USA 8116 10.40 7.29 14.97 2.06 49.32 14.02 46.92 4.70 51.82
5:05.54
3 4 RYBA Jiri (76) CZE 8015 11.20 6.93 14.28 2.03 48.77 14.54 41.78 4.70 57.51
4:17.72
4 2 KASEORG Indrek (67) EST 7983
6 14 ZUBER Mattew (66) USA 7463
7 17 FRITEYRE Pierre (77) FRA 7243
8 19 CASARSA Paolo (75) ITA 7235
9 12 KENNEDY Ross (74) USA 7063
10 16 UTH Niels (74) DEN 6914
11 6 MICHAILENKO Vladimir (73) UKR 6856
Women
1. BACHER Gertrud (71) ITA 6185 13.65 1.73 13.43 24.23 5.94 43.83 2:09.04
2. PROKHOROVA Yelena (78) RUS 6132 14.29 1.79 13.21 24.46 6.30 40.80 2:12.77
3. ATROSHCHENKO Anzhela (70) BLR 6050 13.66 1.76 13.09 24.44 6.15 39.21 2:16.26
4. LOTT Tiffany (75) USA 5986
5. VISSER Maralize (74) RSA 5963
6. DOBROVITSKAYA Taisia (67) BLR 5887
7. BALINT Zita (71) HUN 5776
8. RACZKA Elzbieta (70) POL 5734
9. OBLEKOWSKA Izabela (72) POL 5723
10. BERANKOVA Sarka (78) CZE 5630
11. DALLA PIANA Silvia (75) ITA 5589
12. VINAROVA Helena (74) CZE 5554
13. WOLOWIEC Monika (76) POL 5485
14. DE MEESTER Annelies (76) BEL 5407
15. BOFFELLI Valentina (78) ITA 5078
16. PANE Anna (77) ITA 4810
17. PERIGINELLI Karin (70) ITA 4788
18. NEKOLNA Katerina (75) CZE 4662
19. DOLEZELOVA Hana (79) CZE 4507
20. IOSSI Francesca (77) ITA 4428
21. FRIGERIO Nicoletta (72) ITA 4205
See IAAF World Combined Events Challenge standing as at 10 May.
