Malachowski spins out a winner in Warsaw (© Adam Nurkiewicz / Mediasport)
The 56th edition of the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Warsaw took place in warm and sunny weather, allowing Poland’s top athletes and some good international fields to achieve many quality results.
Anita Wlodarczyk, competing fresh off her world record performance in Bydgoszcz, reached 75.77m in the hammer. There were also noteworthy results in the men’s discus and the shot put, as well as women’s triple jump.
The meet featured several fast races as well. Some of the most notable of those were 12.82 by Yevheniya Snihur in the 100m hurdles and the winning performances of Anna Mishchenko and Nicholas Kemboi in the 1500m.
All eyes were on Anita Wlodarczyk, as many fans hoped she would once again challenge the world record she set just two days before. While these hopes remained unfulfilled this time, the World champion did not disappoint. In five of her six attempts she sent the hammer flying beyond 72.50, with a best of 75.77, the second best performance of the year. None of the others in a quality field came within five metres of that. Kathrin Klaas of Germany took second place with 70.58, as previous world record holder Tatyana Lysenko was relegated to third with 69.47.
In her post-competition comments, Wlodarczyk appeared satisfied with her result, quoting the slow circle in the Orzel stadium as the reason for which she was unable to come close to her best.
Majewski can’t match Armstrong
In the men’s Shot Put, Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski once again confronted Dylan Armstrong. The Canadian reached 21.03 with his first put, a distance that neither he nor anyone else was able to match. The Pole had a consistent series with four attempts over 20.60, but the best he could do was 20.87 in the second round, as he fouled out on his final put, which was significantly over 21 metres. Pavel Lyzhyn of Belarus placed third with 20.36.
Consistent Malachowski
In the Discus Throw, there was no much doubt about the winner. Piotr Malachowski had another consistent series of throws with a best of 67.10m in the fifth round. Robert Fazekas of Hungary showed good form, but his 65.22 was no match for the World Championships silver medallist.
In a closely fought men’s Hammer Throw, world season leader Libor Charfreitag achieved 78.0m1 to beat Dilshod Nazarov of Tajikistan by 37cm. The current World Championship silver medallist Szymon Ziolkowski finished down in sixth place with 74.14. It is likely that the six-time individual European Cup winner will thus miss a place in the national team for the European Team Championships to Wojciech Kondratowicz, who finished just behind Ziolkowski in Warsaw, but had beaten his more famous compatriot two days prior in Bydgoszcz with 76.51.
Another surprise in the battle for places on the national team for the European Team Championships was the result in the women’s discus throw. World Championship fourth placer Zaneta Glanc could only manage 59.59 and finished behind 38-year old Joanna Wisniewska’s 59.88.
Good sprinting conditions
The favourable conditions in Warsaw allowed for good performances in the sprints. The men’s 100 metre dash was won by Jamaica’s Michael Frater in 10.18, with the Qatari Samuel Francis the runner-up in 10.25.
In the women’s 100m Hurdles race, there was not much of a battle for the win. The Ukrainian Yevheniya Snihur ran smoothly all the way to finish in 12.82sec into a slight headwind, winning by some 3 metres and missing her personal best by just 1/100th of a second.
Poland vs Britain – 1500m
The women’s 1500 metres was expected to be a battle between the top Poles and the Brits Stephanie Twell and Hannah England. For most of the race, England and Sylwia Ejdys were the most prominent. The Briton attacked on the final lap and looked to be heading for the win, but on the last curve, she was challenged by Olympic finalist Anna Mishchenko of Ukraine. Mishchenko proceeded to overtake England coming into the final straight, and went away to take the race in 4:04.37. Behind her, Ejdys finished strongly to pass England on the finish line, 4:05.52 to 4:05.53. Twell disappointed somewhat, finishing fifth, beaten also by another Pole, Renata Plis.
There were no major surprises in men’s race over the same distance, which ended in a Kenyan 1-2. Nicholas Kemboi finished with a time of 3:35.77 prevailing over Cornelius Ndiwa, who crossed the line 0.32 later. Poland’s Mateusz Demczyszak set a personal best of 3:38.82 to finish third.
Mercy Njoroge scored another victory for Kenya in the women’s 3000m Steeplechase. She finished with a new personal best of 9:39.51, nearly six seconds ahead of second-placed Natalya Medvedeva of Russia.
Saladuha’s 14.50m first round kills of opponents’ hopes
After the exploits of Snihur and Mishchenko, there was another smooth victory for a Ukrainian athlete in the women’s Triple Jump competition. Olha Saladuha, number two in the world list this year, started with 14.50 in the first round, which effectively put an end to her rivals’ hopes of winning. Saladuha had no more valid jumps, but there was an interesting battle for second place between two Polish athletes. Joanna Skibinska took that position with 14.20, a personal best just 4 cm off the national record. The holder of that record, Malgorzata Trybanska, put up a good fight, but had to content herself with third place with a best of 14.16.
Torro triumphs
World Championship medalist Sylwester Bednarek was the clear favourite in the High Jump, having already won at the IAAF Diamond League meet in Shanghai this year. This time, however, the Polish hopes were disappointed. Bednarek went into the lead after clearing 2.23 in the first round, as Osku Torro was the only other man left in the contest. At the next height of 2.26, though, it was the Finn who went clear on his second attempt, ending the competition.
Pawel Gazeta for the IAAF
