Daniel Kipchirchir Komen in Berlin (© Getty Images)
Valencia, Spain Has Kenenisa Bekele any limits? That’s a question which tomorrow’s (10 February) ‘Reunión Internacional de Atletismo Ciudad de Valencia’ - IAAF permit - was hoping to try to answer. But after suffering a minor injury during a recent quality training session at home in Ethiopia, Bekele won’t be able to contest the men’s 1500m in which he was the marquee athlete in the pre-meet build-up all week.
The Valencia meet - the fifth of the nine meeting IAAF indoor permit series in 2007 - will be very much a dress rehearsal for next year’s (5-7 March) 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships in the city. The focus in the men’s programme will primarily rest on the three middle-distance races, the 800m, 1500 and 3000, and the Shot Put.
Assault on El Guerrouj’s WR still the goal
Despite the absence of Bekele the 1500m provides a star-studded field topped by Kenya’s reigning World indoor silver medallist Daniel Kipchirchir Komen. The 22-year-old ranks now fourth on the all-time 1500 indoor list thanks to a 3:33.08 clocking and has asked the organisers pacemakers capable of going through the 1000m point in a brisk 2:20 to threaten Hicham El Guerrouj’s ten-year-old (2 February 1997) World record of 3:31.18.
Komen’s fellow Kenyan Shadrack Korir, who beat him (7:37.35 versus 7:37.47 over 3000m) last Sunday in Stuttgart, will also be on show while some of the Spanish 1500 crème including European outdoor and indoor medallist Juan Carlos Higuero, rising-star Arturo Casado and the promising 19-year-old Álvaro Rodríguez will try to take advantage of the scheduled terrific race pace to manage a time in the 3:35-3:37 region. Other notable entrants are Morocco’s former World junior champion Abdelaati Iguider, Bahrain’s Youssef Saad Kamel and Ali Bilal Mansour and France’s Mounir Yemmouni.
Cantwell and Hoffa to highlight the infield
Americans Christian Cantwell and Reese Hoffa head the cast in the men’s Shot Put. After finishing second at the Boston Indoor Games behind compatriot Dan Taylor a fortnight ago, Cantwell responded with a world leading mark of 21.88m last Friday (2 February) at the Millrose Games in New York, while the reigning World indoor champion Hoffa finished runner-up on that occasion with another impressive heave of 21.75. Taylor (SB of 21.57) will also be in contention along with Andrei Mikhnevich of Belarus and Spain’s Manuel Martínez.
Bungei and España aiming for quick performances
Kenya’s Wilfred Bungei is the star name in the men’s 800m, a discipline which also features the two fastest men in the world this season as Bungei faces the challenge of his fellow Kenyan Ismael Kombich. The 26-year-old current World indoor champion Bungei showed his top shape in Gent where he managed a world’s season best of 1:45.72 while Kombich, still 21, also notched a fine win in Dusseldorf last Tuesday (1:46.56).
Morocco’s Mouhcine Chéhibi is another important entrant while European reigning champion Bram Som of The Netherlands and Latvia’s Dmitrijs Milkevics will clash again after their recent close finish (1:47.16 for Som and 1:47.26 for Milkevics) which put them at the top of the Continent’s list in this indoor championship year. Spain’s big names will also be in contention with the sole exception of the record holder Antonio Reina, who is still not fully recovered from the injury which prevented him to contest last Europeans in Gothenburg.
Reigning European 5000m champion Jesús España will be the man to beat in the men’s 3000m. The 28-year-old Spaniard is fresh from a surprise win over Casado at the latter’s specialist event (1500m) last Saturday in Zaragoza with respective times of 3:42.39 and 3:42.44 over a 180m track. Kenya’s steeplechaser Brimin Kipruto, Morocco’s reigning World 1500m silver medallist Adil Kaouch plus the Spanish pair of Alberto García and Antonio Jiménez complete a classy field at this event.
Russians top the women’s programme
Olympic High Jump champion and World Indoor gold medallist Yelena Slesarenko will be looking for her first victory of the season outside her native Russia as she has cleared ‘only’ 1.95 twice thus far in 2007, in Gothenburg (31 January) and Arnstadt (3 Febrero) having to settle for third and fourth respectively. Slesarenko takes on the challenge of Spain’s World indoor bronze medallist Ruth Beitia who has a season’s best of 1.96 set in Cottbus last month and should be in the hunt for victory supported by her home crowd.
There is also a very interesting 800m competition expected to be on tap thanks to the presence of Morocco’s reigning World and Olympic silver medallist Hasna Benhassi and the Russian duo of Svetlana Cherkasova and the current European outdoor champion Olga Kotlyarova, a former successful 400m athlete. Neither of the Russians have dipped under the 2:00 barrier this indoor season while Benhassi makes her 2007 debut. Bulgaria’s Teodora Kolarova (SB of 2:00.65) will try to make life hard for the favourites.
Earlier this week the Long Jump featured Russia’s multiple global TJ/LJ medallist Tatiana Lebedeva but the organisation confirmed yesterday (8 February) that Lebedeva pulled out of the event due to injury. In her absence all eyes will be set on her compatriot Ludmila Kolchanova, who clinched gold at last year’s Europeans in Gothenburg although the in-form Spaniard Concha Montaner should be a dangerous outsider along with American Grace Upshaw.
Emeterio Valiente for the IAAF
