Tatyana Lebedeva leads a Russian sweep in the women's Long Jump (© Getty Images)
Tatyana Lebedeva was one of three World champions from Osaka who highlighted the 43rd edition of the Palio della Quercia EAA Permit meeting in Rovereto.
The Rovereto Palio della Quercia 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 22-23 September in Stuttgart.
Lebedeva close to 15 metres
The reigning Olympic and World champion in the Long Jump and former Triple Jump World champion leapt to 14.97m in the sixth round missing the meeting record held by Sarka Kasparkova by just one centimetre.
Lebedeva backed up her 14.97m with a solid series: 14.53-14.73-foul-14.70-14.59-14.97. Olga Rypakova from Kazakhstan finished second with 14.39m beating Brazilian Keila Costa (14.33m), Olga Saladukha from the Ukraine (14.32m) and Italian record holder Magdelin Martinez (14.31m) in a close fight for podium places.
"In Rieti I felt empty and I jumped without emotion and I had some problems with my technique. Today emotion has come back. The crowd was very warm and supported me a lot during the competition," said Lebedeva.
Lebedeva won the Long Jump World title but lost in the Triple Jump which she considers as her favourite event.
"The long jump was more interesting this year because this event is very competitive in Russia which scored a hat-trick. After my win in the long jump final I told me not to relax for the triple jump but my head was tired. It is difficult to combine triple and long jump because the technique is very different. I don't know if I will double triple and long jump next year in Beijing. It depends on the timetable," continued Lebedeva.
Vili over Ostapchuk – repeat of Osaka results
The women's Shot Put featured many of the best specialists in the world looking for points to qualify for the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart.
Osaka's World champion Valerie Vili from New Zealand produced another impressive performance winning with a best release of 19.65m beating Nadzeya Ostapchuk from Belarus (19.40m), who finished second exactly as in Osaka. Petra Lammert took third place with 18.69m ahead of Italian record holder Chiara Rosa (18.41m).
"I am pretty happy. I was tired after a long journey but it was all right. I have not celebrated my gold medal in Osaka because I have not returned home yet. I have come to Europe directly from Osaka. My final goal for the final part of the season is Stuttgart," said Vili.
Yego defeated while Plawgo wins again
The third World champion from Osaka Alfred Kirwa Yego was surprisingly defeated in a tactical men's 800 metres race by Dmitrijs Milkeviks who held off Geoffrey Rono in 1:46.28.
Poland’s 400 metres Hurdles specialists Anna Jesien and Marek Plawgo, both bronze medallists at the World Championships in Osaka, continued their seasons on a high note in Rovereto just three days after winning in the Rieti IAAF Grand Prix.
Jesien ran 54.80 beating again Briton Natasha Danvers Smith (55.38). Plawgo won easily the men's race in 49.14 over 2005 World silver medallist James Carter (49.70).
Cusma wins 800m to delight home crowd
Italian fans had plenty to cheer about another outstanding performance of World Championships semi-finalist Elisa Cusma who ran a PB of 1:58.63 in the semi-finals which was not enough to qualify for the decisive race in Osaka.
Cusma, daughter of former boxing European champion Lucio Cusma, won a hard-fought two-lap race in 2:00.93 ahead of Briton Jemma Simpson (2:01.16) and Ewelina Setowska (2:01.30) which followed an outstanding third place in Zürich and a solid 1:59.36 in Rieti.
"This win is a confidence-booster for me. I came here to score points for Stuttgart. Third place in Zürich was a big result for me, as I received the invitation to compete there only on the eve of the race. My dream for the final part of the season is to qualify for the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart. Before I hope to run in Berlin on Sunday," said Cusma.
Another Italian middle distance running hope Silvia Weissteiner (3000 metres European indoor bronze medal in Birmingham and 5000 metres World Championships finalist in Osaka) delighted the local crowd of Rovereto improving again her 3000 metres outdoor PB to 8:48.63 finishing second to Kenyan Sylvia Kibet after a close battle in the final lap.
"It was a long and very positive season for me. It is not over. I will run in Berlin on Sunday," said Weissteiner.
Elsewhere...
Kenya totally dominated the men's 5000 metres which ended the meeting. Victory went to Shadrack Kosgei in 13:15.23 over Mark Kosgei Kiptoo (13:15.54) and Wilfred Taragon (13:15.91). The first non-Kenyan was Juan Luis Barrios in 13:17.00.
Jamaican sprinter Michael Frater, training partner of World record holder Asafa Powell, took the victory in the men's 100 metres in 10.18 which followed his SB of 10.03 in Rieti. The sprint was a Jamaican affair in the women's department with 4x100 Olympic champion Aleen Bailey winning in 11.47 in a close finish with Bahamas' Golden Girl Debbie Ferguson.
Tyler Christopher, World Championships finalist in Osaka and winner in Rieti on Sunday, took a comfortable win over World indoor champion Alleyne Francique 45.59 to 46.05.
US veteran Jeff Hartwig won the men's Pole Vault with 5.60m on count-back over Richard Spiegelburg from Germany.
Central American record holder Guillermo Martinez was the only javelin thrower to break the 80 metres barrier to win with 81.64m. Brazilian Rogerio Bispo won a low-key men's long jump competition with 7.79m.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
