News14 Jul 2009


Kanter set to extend win streak in Luzern

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Gerd Kanter continues his show of excellent form (© Getty Images)

Estonian Gerd Kanter, Olympic and World champion in the men’s Discus Throw, Australian Sally McLellan, Olympic silver medallist in the women’s 100m Hurdles, and 2005 World 100m champion Lauryn Wiliams from the USA are the stand-out names of the Spitzenleichtathletik EA meeting in Luzern scheduled for 15 July.

The Spitzenleichtathletik in Luzern is is one of a select group of Area meetings at which points can be acquired by athletes to qualify for the IAAF / VTB Bank World Athletics Final, to be held on 12-13 September in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Gerd Kanter has continued in great form this year as shown by the world seasonal list where the Estonian holds the seven best throws of the year with a best performance of 71.64 set in Kohila on 25 June.

He also produced another throw over the 70 metres barrier with 70.84 in Chula Vista (California) in April. Kanter, who is third in the world all-time list with 73.88, won the last two major global Discus Throw titles at the World Championships in Osaka 2007 and at the Olympic Games in Bejing 2008.

Kanter, who has remained unbeaten in 19 competitions since July 2008, will face Hungary’s Zoltan Kovago (67.64 this year), Olympic silver medallist in Athens 2004 and Swiss discus hope Daniel Schärer, who recently threw to 63.55.

The hurdles events have always had a good tradition in Luzern and this year’s meeting will certainly live up to it. Olympic silver medallist Sally McLellan won last year in 12.58, a time she lowered again in the following weeks in Monaco where she set the Oceanian record with 12.53 before the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Last week McLellan won at the Athletissima Super Grand Prix meeting in Lausanne in an impressive 12.60 on a rainy night beating the best world hurdlers. McLellan returns to Luzern this year where she will be the favourite against a high-quality line-up which features Lolo Jones who who was so unlucky to be eliminated in the US Championships semifinals and will miss the World Championships in Berlin. After a season start plagued by an injury problem, Jones, the fastest 100 metres hurdler in the world in 2008 with 12.43, clocked 12.87 in Lausanne and won in 12.92 in Lignano Sabbiadoro last weekend.

The top-class line-up field also includes Jamaican Laceena Golding Clarke (seasonal best 12.78) and US Danielle Carruthers (seasonal best 12.73).

Isa Phillips from Jamaica, now second in the world seasonal list with 48.05 set at the Jamaican Championships in Kingston, will look to continue his solid season in the men’s 400 metres hurdles after winning in Madrid, Lausanne and Athens and finishing second in Rome (just 0.02 sec off winner Kerron Clement). Phillips will be challenged by Portorico’ s revelation Javier Culson who ran 48.42 in Kingston in May.

Dexter Faulk, who clocked 13.13 in Ostrava and won the first leg of the Golden League in Berlin in 13.18 but did not make the US team for Berlin. US Champs fourth placer Eric Mitchum (13.24) and Barbados’ Ryan Braithwaite (13.30 this year) are the other top names to join Faulk in the men’s 110m Hurdles.

In the women’s 400m Hurdles reigning World champion Jana Pittman Rawlinson will continue on her comeback trail from a 2008 season ravaged by injury problems. This year the Australian so far has a seasonal best of 55.67.

Lawryn Williams, 2005 World champion and 2007 World silver medallist in the 100 metres, will start her European campaign after finishing third at the US National Championships in Eugene in windy 10.96 which secured her the spot for the World Championships in Berlin. Williams will clash against compatriot Shalonda Solomon who clocked 11.04 this year in New York.

Wallace Spearmon, World bronze medallist in Osaka in the 200 metres and fifth best performer in history with 19.65 set in Daegu in 2006, knows the fast track of Luzern where he won in 2006 in 20.30 missing the 200 metres meeting record by 0.01 sec. His main rivals on the track of the Allmend Stadium will be US Rodney Martin (19.99 PB in 2008) and Swiss Marc Schneeberger who recently qualified for the World Championships in Berlin with 20.46 in La Chaux de Fonds. 

Jamaican Steve Mullings, one of the revelations in the world of sprinting this summer with his 10.01 seasonal best set in Rome last week, will be the top favourite in the men’s 100 metres against Alonso Edwards from Panama (PB 10.09 this year). 

The women’s Long Jump is expected to be an all-time US affair between Funmi Jimoh (second in the world seasonal list with 6.96), Grace Upshaw (6.80) and Olympic Heptathlon silver medallist Hyleas Fountain, who will return to competitions after her unlucky Heptathlon competition at the US Champs where she was forced to withdraw due to physical problems after jumping a 6.95m (windy) in the Long Jump phase.

US champion Nick Symmonds and Brazil’s Fabiano Pecanha (this year 1:44.63) are the top names in the men’s 800m. US World Championships qualifier Chelsea Johnson (4.60) and Swiss record holder Nicole Büchler (this year 4.50) will highlight the women’s Pole Vault.
        
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF

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