First Stage of the 1999 IAAF
World Combined events Challenge this week-end in Desenzano
Ottavio Castellini for the IAAF
7 May 1999 - Desenzano del Garda (Italy) – USA’s Chris Huffins is likely to be
the star of the twelfth edition of the "Multistars" combined events meeting,
which will take place at the "Tre Stelle" stadium in Desenzano, on the shores of
the Lago di Garda near Brescia (Italy). It is interesting to note the name of the
organising club: Club 10+7 where 10 stands for the ten events of the Decathlon and 7 those
of the heptathlon.
The American, who arrived in Desenzano a few days ago, says that he is aiming for a score
close to 8500 points, which would better the meeting’s best performance of 8297
established by Robert Zmelik back in 1991. Before coming to Italy, Huffins launched his
1999 outdoor season by clearing 4.55m in the pole vault contest in Athens, Georgia just
over a week ago.
But Multistars is also and above all
the first stage of the IAAF World Combined Events Challenge which is made up of 14
competitions this year, including the meetings of Götzis (29-30 May), Ratingen (17-18
July) and Talence (18-19 September) but also the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in
Seville (21-29 August).
Huffins, who looked to be in the running for a medal in the IAAF World Indoor
Championships in Maebashi in March after clocking 6.67 in the 60m, decided to withdraw
after some rather mediocre results in the other disciplines.
He had an excellent 1998 outdoor season, with two world class performances at the US
Championships in New Orleans - where he established the 12th best performance
all time with 8694 points - and at the Goodwill Games in Uniondale, where he finished
second to Dan O’Brien with 8576 points.
His main rivals – who all have personal bests over 8000 points - will be Asian
Champion Veretelnikov (UZB), 1995 Multistars winner Indrek Kaseorg (EST), 1998 winner
Aleksandr Yurkov (UKR), Hungary’s Munkacsi who won the Multistars in 1994, the Czech
Republic’s Ryba and American twins Dan and Darrin Steele.
In the heptathlon, Belarussia’s Anzhela Atroshchenko and Taisia Dobrovitskaya whose
personal bests exceed 6300 points look likely to be contesting the title in Desenzano,
with Tiffany Lott (6211) as the outsider.
Italians Gertrud Bacher and Karin Periginelli will try and gain a spot on the podium in
front of the home crowd, the first having declared her intention of breaking the national
record of 6135 points.
World Combined Events Challenge 1999
Technical Rules
General Principles
The IAAF World Combined Events Challenge is an annual event for Decathlon (Men) and
Heptathlon (Women).
The scoring opportunities will be:
IAAF World Championships Sevilla, 20-29 August
Individual Meetings Desenzano (ITA), 8-9 May - IAAF Permit Hypo-Meeting in Götzis (AUT), 29/30 May - IAAF Permit German Trials (open) in Ratingen, 17-18 July - IAAF Permit Decastar in Talence (FRA), 18/19 September - IAAF Permit
Other international competitions Australian Open in Hobart, 26-28 February US Trials in Eugene, 25-27 June European Cup Combined Events, in Prague, Huddinge and Herentals, 3-4 July Universiade '99 in Palma, 9-13 July Pan American Games in Winnipeg, 24-31 July South East Asian Games in Bandar, 8-13 August All Africa Games in Johannesburg, 15-19 September
Ranking will be based on the addition of the best totals achieved by one athlete in any
three of the competitions listed above.
Prize money will be awarded as follows:-
Place Award
1st US$ 30,000
2nd US$ 20,000
3rd US$ 15,000
4th US$ 10,000
5th US$ 8,000
6th US$ 7,000
7th US$ 6,000
8th US$ 5,000
