News24 May 2009


Nizhegorodov’s 3:42 win over 50km highlights in Metz

FacebookTwitterEmail

Denis Nizhegorodov taking the 50K victory at the European Cup Race Walking in Metz (© Paul Warburton)

Metz, FranceIt was good news for walking when only one of five favourites rose highest on the podium at the eighth European Cup Race Walking in Metz this afternoon, Sunday 24.

Things didn’t go according to plan for a number of walkers with afternoon temperatures soaring into the mid 30s.

It’s one of the few reasons to walk 50km.

Everybody toes the line for an early 8am start and there is an awful lot of 2km laps – but at least the heat isn’t at its worst until the end.

Not that it made any difference to Denis Nizhegorodov.

The Russian World record holder was never going to let this race slip once he took the lead on 30k. The only one to go with last year’s IAAF World Race Walking Cup winner was Oleksiy Kazanin (UKR) but when he succumbed to the Russian’s relentless pace it was all over as a contest.

Jesus Angel Garcia will be 40 in October but it hardly shows.

More than a minute back at 20k, the 1993 World champion and the World Race Walking Cup gold medallist as far back as 1997, steadily passed the sufferers to record a time two minutes down on his fourth at the Olympics in Beijing – but two places better.

He said: “At nearly 40 – it’s getting tougher, but I will continue to walk for as long as possible.”

Andronov limped across the line for bronze, and the team gold was sealed when Bakulin made fourth spot together with the knowledge that an extra 15k can demote you from contender to casualty very quickly.

The men’s 20km was a turn up for the book.

Italy’s Giorgio Rubinho won the race to go with his PB posted only a month ago, and won it because he was smart enough to play a waiting game in the heat.

Three ahead of him were passed at 16km, after home-grown Yohann Diniz set off at a suicide pace.

Once Rubino commanded a winning lead, there was a cat-and-mouse game between Ivano Brugnetti, Pyotr Trofimov and Robert Heffernan for the places.

The 2004 Olympic gold medallist moved into second, quickly followed by Irishman Heffernan – but a third Italian had the last laugh.

Jean-Jacques Nkouloukidi, born of an Italian mother and a Congolese father, had other ideas. His last lap charge for third left Heffernan in despair. He was beaten for the same spot in exactly the same way two years ago at the last edition.

In the women’s 20km, Maria Vasco finally made it to a gold medal in her 18th year of walking.

Three major thirds became a gold in a slowish time as the heat rose. But the Spaniard was also canny enough to wait until others had wilted, and as DQs took their toll, both Anisa Kirdyapkina (Russia, second) and Kristina Saltanovic moved on to the podium. The latter’s bronze was Lithuania’s first walking medal of any sort in modern times.

Russia were predictable winners of the two junior races – but not the favourites.

Once again, the DQ board played a part in the women’s race to allow Tatayana Mineeva to beat her more illustrious team-mates.

And Stanislav Emelyanov showed his PB in February was no flash in the pan performance, when he streaked ahead to win the junior men’s race.

Paul Warburton for the IAAF

RESULTS

MEN

50km
1 NIZHEGORODOV Denis  RUS 03:42:47
2 GARCIA Jesus Angel ESP 03:46:27
3 ANDRONOV Yuriy RUS 03:49:09
4 BAKULIN Sergey RUS 03:52:38
5 ODRIOZOLA Mikel ESP 03:53:13
6 CAMBIL Jose Alejandro ESP 03:53:31
7 SKARNULIS Donatas LTU 03:53:43
8 DE LUCA Marco ITA 03:54:35

20km
1 RUBINO Giorgio ITA 1:24:06
2 BRUGNETTI Ivano ITA 1:24:54
3 NKOULOUKIDI Jean-Jacques ITA 1:25:07
4 HEFFERNAN Robert IRL 1:25:21
5 TROFIMOV Pyotr RUS 1:25:50
6 MOLINA Juan Manuel ESP 1:25:58
7 AUGUSTYN Rafal POL 1:26:06
8 DINIZ Yohann FRA 1:26:59


WOMEN

20km
1 VASCO Maria ESP 1:32:53
2 KIRDYAPKINA Anisya RUS 1:33:28
3 SALTANOVIC Kristina LTU 1:34:17
4 LOUGHNANE Olive IRL 1:34:51
5 YEMELYANOVA Larisa RUS 1:35:16
6 PASCUAL Beatriz ESP 1:35:28
7 SHUMKINA Elena RUS 1:35:51
8 YURCHANKA Sniazhana BLR 1:36:14

Pages related to this article
Disciplines
Loading...