Ivan Pedoso at the 1997 IAAF Grand Prix final (© Getty Images)
The undisputed star of the Turin International Athletics Meeting, which took place on Wednesday 24 June, was Cuba's Ivan Pedroso who clinched victory in a long jump marked by an impressive series of no-jumps, with a respectable 8.30m. Second place was taken by Senegal's Cheick Tidiane Touré with 8.23m.
World record holder Emma George (AUS), dominated the pole vault with a winning vault of 4.40m, ahead of Tatyana Grigoryeva with 4.30m. George cleared the height on her third attempt and made one attempt at 4.50m.
Much to the delight of the crowd watching the meeting in the oppressive heat of a Turin summer afternoon (temperatures reached 28°C and 50+% humidity), Italy's sweetheart Fiona May won the long jump with 6.83m, ahead of Heli Koivula from Finland, who marked a personal best of 6.59m to take second place. Ukrainian stalwart, 37-year-old Larisa Berezhnaya, who would probably have represented the strongest competition for May, withdrew with a thigh muscle injury after failing to mark.
Happy return to competition for Bahamian Troy Kemp. The 1995 world champion high jumper cleared 2.31m to equal the 3rd best performance of the season and take the podium ahead of Italian Igor Cavalleri with 2.18. Kemp had two disappointing season's in 96 and 97, following a heel injury, but looks to be returning to past form - but cautiously: he declined to attempt a greater height after his victorious jump.
In a closely matched hammer throw competition, the 1993 and 1995 world champion, Andrey Abduvalyiev (UZB) threw 80.70m on his fifth try to snatch victory from Hungarians Balazs Kiss (80.53) and Tibor Gecsek (79.64).
Ellina Zvereva of Belarus won the women's discus throw with her final throw of 66.14m. Second was Rumanian Nicolata Grasu (64.96m), while the reigning world champion, Beatrice Faumuina (NZL), took third place with 63.28m.
Following a decision taken by the IAAF Council meeting in Seville on 22 June, these last two events attract IAAF Grand Prix points, despite the Turin meeting being an IAAF Permit Meeting. The decision has been taken to award points exceptionally, retroactive to the beginning of the season, following the cancellation of the Cologne and Moscow Grand Prix, so as to satisfy the requirement for 10 Grand Prix scoring opportunities laid down in the IAAF Grand Prix Rule 10.3.
The permit meetings concerned by this decision are:
Sydney Track Classic, Sydney (AUS), February 28
Meeting di Atletica Leggera, Torino (ITA), June 24
International Meeting, Budapest (HUN), July 5
adidas - Ciutat de Barcelona, Barcelona (ESP), July 25
