South Africa's Godfrey Mokoena on his way to the Long Jump silver medal in the Berlin Olympic Stadium (© Getty Images)
The 45th edition of the Palio della Quercia in Rovereto on Tuesday 1 September will be peppered with silver and bronze medallists medallists from the recent 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Berlin and by some Beijing Olympic medallists too.
The Palio della Quercia in Rovereto 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.
Four Berlin silver medallists infield
Godfrey Khotso Mokoena from South Africa has enjoyed a great season during which he has improved the African record leaping to 8.50m in Madrid and has taken the World silver in Berlin with 8.47 which matched his finish at last year’s Beijing Games. Leevan Sands from the Bahamas, Olympic bronze medallist in Beijing and fourth in Berlin in the Triple Jump, will compete at the Long Jump and will be the South African’s main opponent in Rovereto.
Tatyana Lebedeva from Russia, who took the silver medal in Berlin when attempting to defend her 2007 World Long Jump title, has won the Triple Jump in the last two editions of the Palio della Quercia. In 2007 she narrowly missed the Palio meeting record held by Sarka Kasparkova by just one cm.
A further World silver medallist from Berlin will be USA 110m Hurdler Terrence Trammell, who will be the favourite in a sprint hurdles line-up which also features 1996 Olympic champion and four-time World champion Allen Johnson. After his berlin runners-up spot Trammell now has three World outdoor champs silvers and two from the Olympics to his credit.
Cuba’s 28-Year-old Guillermo Martinez took the silver medal in the men’s Javelin Throw at the World Championships in Berlin with 86.41m, not far off his PB of 87.17m and he will be the stand-out name in Rovereto’s competition.
Another highlight on Tuesday should be provided by the women’s Javelin Throw where reigning Olympic silver and World bronze medallist Mariya Abakumova from Russia will face former World champion and world record holder Osleydis Menendez from Cuba who set the Palio della Quercia meeting record with 66.28 in 2005.
Cusma, Rodriguez and Lagat at 800m
A brand-new eight-lane Mondo track will be inaugurated in the Stadio Quercia in Rovereto for this the 45th jubilee edition of the meeting, and Italian interest will be focused on 800 metres World Championships finalist Elisa Cusma who has enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2009. Cusma took the European Indoor bronze medal in Turin last March and in the World Championships final in Berlin she finished sixth in her seasonal best of 1:58.81, the second best performance of her career behind her 1:58.63 (2007).
Cusma who has finished second in two Golden League meetings this season in Rome and Paris is still in good form as shown by her win on Sunday evening (30) in Padua. The Italian will face Spaniard Natalya Rodriguez, disqualified at 1500m after crossing the line first in the final in Berlin and Olympic 1500m champion Nancy Lagat from Kenya.
Berlin bronze medallists Wude and Kwalia bring quality to longer distances
The other race of great local interest will be the women’s 3000 metres where Italian Silvia Weissteiner, after her excellent seventh place over 5000m in the World Championships in Berlin, will face Ethiopian Aylew Wude who won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres in Berlin. Dorcus Inzikuru from Uganda, 2005 World 3000m Steeplechase champion also runs the flat race, her last race in her comeback from injury and illness was a ‘DNF’ over the barriers in Barcelona on 25 July.
James Kwalia from Qatar, World 5000m bronze medallist will start as the outstanding favourite in the men’s 5000 metres which will be the final competition of the meeting.
A slew of Olympic and world medallists will feature in the sprints in Rovereto including in the men’s events Jamaicans Steve Mullings, fifth in the 200 metres in 19.98 in Berlin, and Lerone Clarke who won the 100 metres B race in 9.98 in Zürich last Friday; in the women’s Jamaican Sherone Simpson, Olympic 100m silver medallist, after her 11.15sec win in Padua on Sunday will face World 100 metres finalist Allen Bailey from Jamaica and Kelly Ann Baptiste from Trinidad and Tobago who has clocked 10.94 this year.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
