Dramatic jumps steal centre stage - Euro Champs Day 3

Gothenburg, SwedenWith a worldleading 2.36 leap by Andrey Silnov and a dramatic come-from-behind Triple Jump victory by Tatyana Lebedeva, it was the jumps competitions that took centre stage on day three of the European Athletics Championships.

Silnov’s 2.36 shocker

With a pair of Swedish medal contenders in the field, it was the men’s High Jump that got the most vociferous attention from the near-capacity crowd at Ullevi Stadium, but in the end, both Stefan Holm and Linus Thornblad were relegated to role of spectator as well with the evening clearly belonging to 21-year-old Andrey Silnov.

Entering the competition with a 2.32 career best, the Russian national champion surpassed that, and added clearances at 2.34 and a world-leading 2.36, all without a miss to clinch the title and set a new championship record.

“Everything was in place today,” said Silnov, who hails from Rostov na Donu, a mining town near the Black Sea. “My run-up, technique, and speed. I want to prove in the next few years that I belong in the world class.”

He made considerable headway towards that goal this evening. With the title his, he passed at 2.38 and had the bar raised to 2.41, a would-be national record and height that only four men in history have ever topped. After a half dozen flawless jumps, his streak was nearly increased to seven with his first attempt, tantalizingly close, but he gently brushed with his calves on the way down. His follow-ups were solid efforts as well, but by then the bounce, and perhaps the momentum, were finally gone.

“It’s in the future,” he said confidently. “Maybe in my next competition.”

Czech Tomas Janku, fifth four years ago, took advantage of the evening’s electricity to up his personal best by one centimetre with a 2.34 second attempt clearance, topping the crowd favourite Holm, who need a third attempt to negotiate the height that equalled his season’s best. In the deepest competition ever at these championships, Thornblad too topped out at a personal best 2.34, but an earlier miss left him out of the medals.

Under pressure, Lebedeva delivers a champion’s performance

While Silnov’s win was a surprise, so was much of Tatyana Lebedeva’s evening, but not for the same reason. The two-time World champion went through five rounds without a 15-metre jump, chasing Olympic silver medallist Hrisopiyi Devetzi’s first round 15.05. As she prepared for her final effort, she found herself in third after compatriot Anna Pyatykh moved into the runner-up spot with her first career 15-metre club, a 15.02 in the sixth round. Unwavering, Lebedeva simply responded as a champion would, bounding to a 15.15 leap to snatch the win from the Greek, and break a 12-year-old meet record in the process. Smiling prior to the competition’s final jump, Devetzi was clearly beaten, and could manage just 14.43.

“This is a great victory for me because it came in a tough fight,” said Lebedeva, last year’s sole winner of the $1 million IAAF Golden League Jackpot. “With that last jump, I had nothing to lose and it paid off.” With her title, Lebedeva now has a gold medal from every major championships available to her.

Baala joins Cram as successful 1500m defender

Like Silnov and Lebedeva, Mehdi Baala of France executed his outing in impeccable fashion to become only the second man to successfully defend the 1500 metre title.

“A dream has come true,” said Baala after his 3:39.02 win, well ahead of Ukraine’s World Indoor champion Ivan Heshko. “Four years ago my coach told me that winning meant being European champion for four years. Now I will be the champion for eight years.”

Near the back of the pack and well behind the Spanish trio of Arturo Casado, Sergio Gallardo and Juan Carlos Higuero for the sluggish pair of opening laps, Baala moved up to second with two laps remaining, with Heshko following closely. The Frenchman surged ahead midway through the final backstraight and built a sizeable lead on the final bend. Never challenged, he slowed down the homestraight relishing the moment.

Heshko held on for second in 3:39.50, with Higuero (3:39.52) taking the bronze ahead of Casado and Higuero.

One down for Gevaert

Kim Gevaert admirably lived up to her favourite’s billing after her lopsided victory in the 100 metres. The runner-up four years ago, the 27-year-old Belgian double national record holder was never challenged en route to her commanding 11.06 win, a massive 16/100s of a second ahead of Russians Yekaterina Grigoryeva and Irina Khabarova who each clocked 11.22 to finish second and third.

“The pressure was enormous,” said Gevaert, who became the first Belgian woman to race to a continental title. “And I was very nervous but in the race I managed to stay calm.”

But Gevaert will have little time to celebrate as her double dash quest continues with the opening round of the 200 on Thursday (10).

Briton Joice Maduaka was fourth in 11.24, while Olympic champion Yuliya Nesterenko was never in the hunt, finishing sixth in 11.34.

In the semi-finals, Slovenia’s Merlene Ottey came just 3/100s of a second shy in her bid to reach the final in her first appearance at these championships after finishing fifth in 11.44. The 46-year-old sprint legend said she was content with her performances here, considering how little time she had to train following her recovery from surgery last year, and offered no suggestions that she has any plans to retire.

Again, Thorkildsen over Pitkamaki

While Norway’s Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen and Finn Tero Pitkamaki have already claimed the mantle as the world’s top javelin throwers, their dominance of the event was made “official” as the pair defeated the event’s legend, World record holder Jan Zelezny.

It was Zelezny, the three-time Olympic and three-time World champion, who set the tone, reaching 85.92 in the first round, showing that his hope to end his career with an elusive European title under his belt was very real. Pitkamaki, at 23 years of age 17 years Zelezny’s junior, responded with an 86.44 throw in the first round, an effort that would hold up as his best. After an opening 82.84 throw, Thorkildsen reached 87.37 in the second to seal the win, before capping the competition with an 88.78 effort.

“What I loved about the competition was that I was already the winner before my last throw,” said Thorkildsen, who still trails the Finn 11 to nine in career meetings. “So in my last throw I was very relaxed.”

Perhaps tiring from his opening effort, Zelezny couldn’t come close to duplicating his opening throw, and purposely stepped over the line after each of his remaining five attempts. He nontheless capped his retirement tour with the bronze, equalling his 1994 finish.

In dramatic finish, Isakova over Halkia

Ten metres from the finish, it appeared as though Olympic champion Fani Halkia would cap her comeback season from injury as the European champion. But for the second time this evening, a Russian would turn Greek gold to silver. With a dramatic surge as she cleared the final barrier, Yevgeniya Isakova took the title in 53.93, the 27-year-old national champion’s first trip to sub-54 territory.

“I believed in myself and in my finish,” said Isakova, who reached two personal bests in Gothenburg.

Ukraine’s Tetyana Tereshchuk-Antipova, the runner-up in 1998, finished third this time around, clocking 54.55.

Racquil claims second French gold of the night

Coming into the competition, Frenchman Marc Racquil was the fastest man in Europe over the full lap, and after the only sub-45 second performance in the opening rounds, he solidified his role as the favourite. But it didn’t come easily. Trailing as he approached the final straight, he didn’t pass the surprisingly powerful Vladislav Frolov until the race’s final few strides, reaching the line in 45.02. Frolov, the runner-up for Russia at June’s European Cup, held on for second in 45.09, a marked improvement over his 45.21 from yesterday’s semi-finals. Leslie Djhone was a distant third in 45.40 to complete a 1-3 for France.

“I knew that winning today would not be easy,” said Racquil, whose win was the first for France in the event at the European Championships.

Commanding win on the roads for Turava

Ryta Turava of Belarus took a commanding win in the women’s 20Km Race Walk, winning in 1:27:08, more than a minute ahead of Russian Olga Kaniskina (1:28:35) and Italy’s Elisa Rigaudo, who took the bronze in 1:28:35. At one point, the 25-year-old, who this year notched wins at the World Cup and the IAAF Race Walk Challenge in Sesto San Giovanni, had built a solid two-minute margin on the field.

Compelling finals in store

After a comfortable, unpressed and fast 49.69 win in her semi-final, Vanya Stambolova of Bulgaria underscored her position as the continent’s finest 400 metre specialist. Russian Olga Zaytseva was equally unchallenged in her 50.49 win in the second heat, though Ilona Usovich notched a 50.74 national record for Belorus to emerge as a medal contender.

Likewise, no pre-meet favourites made an early exit from the semis in the men’s 400 metre Hurdles, with Poland’s Marek Plawgo the fastest in 49.13. All but one who advanced to the final ran under 50 seconds.

Yesterday’s 100 metre winner Francis Obikwelu led all qualifiers in the quarterfinals of the 200, running a relaxed 20.58. Briton Marlon Devonish (20.67), Frenchman David Alerte (20.68), Anastasios Gousis (20.68) of Greece, and Swede Johan Wissman (20.68) looked the strongest.

Defending champion Antonio Jiménez of Spain led all qualifiers in the steeplechase after his 8:24.12 win in the second semi, with Frenchman Bob Tahri the next fastest in 8:24.38. European record holder and 2002 runner-up Simon Vroemen of the Netherlands won the first heat in 8:29.62.

With his 79.00m throw, Olli-Pekka Karjalainen of Finland led all qualifiers in an otherwise lackluster opening round in the men’s Hammer Throw. German Karten Kobs, the 1999 World champion, was the next farthest (77.52), with just the pair able to top the 77.50 automatic qualifying performance. There were no notable non-qualifiers, with 74.69 enough to advance to Friday’s final.

In the preface to one of the week’s expected highlights, all but three of the 13 to advance to the final in the women’s Pole Vault cleared the automatic qualifier of 4.40.

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

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