News04 Sep 2009


Five World champions the headliners in Dubnica

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Christian Cantwell spins to a 22.16m blast in Zagreb (© Zagreb organisers)

Dubnica, SlovakiaFive world championships top strong field for Sunday’s 7th Athletics Bridge meeting in Dubnica.

A capacity crowd of 5500 crowd is expected in this city of 30,000 located some 90 minutes east from Bratislava. In all, five recently crowned world champions - Jamaican relay gold medallists Steve Mullings and Aileen Bailey, Steeplechase winner Ezekiel Kemboi, Shot Put winner Christian Cantwell and Slovenia's Hammer Throw champion Primoz Kozmus - will compete along with five other medallists and eight past Olympic champions.

As usual the highlights will be the throwing events. The main star will be home World championships bronze medallist in the hammer throw Martina Hrasnova in her first competition since Berlin. Her rivals will be two other world finalists, Kathrin Klaas of Germany and Italian Cristina Claretti. In an experimental Hammer Throw competition – five men and five women, with the women immediately following the men - the men’s competition will have both top two from Berlin headed by in-form Primoz Kozmus and Szymon Ziolkowski of Poland.

Another throwing highlight will be the clash of the two best putters in the world, Christian Cantwell of the U.S. and Tomasz Majewski of Poland. The current head-to-head figures are in favour of Cantwell, 22 to16; the first-ever 22m throw in Slovakia is a possibility.

Beside the Hammer Throw, the strongest women’s event will be the sprint hurdles. Olympic champion Dawn Harper returns for the third time in a row to this meet and wants again to improve the stadium record (12.83 in 2007 and 12.71 last year). Also in the field also Berlin silver medal winner Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, Olympic Heptathlon silver medallist Hyleas Fountain, Czech record holder Lucie Skrobakova, Olympic finalist Sarah Claxton and former US indoor champion Danielle Carruthers.

Another Slovak All-comers record is the big dream of the organisers. In the men’s 100m Calvin Smith clocked 10.07 in Bratislava on 1988; on Sunday US champion Mike Rodgers, relay World champion Steve Mullings, World semifinalist Rae Edwards and European junior champion Ramil Guliyev will try to better the mark. This quartet will also meet at the 200m.

Another high-class field is the men’s 400m Hurdles with Jamaican champion Isa Phillips, former World and Olympic winner Felix Sanchez, current meet record holder Markino Buckley and American Michael Tinsley; the first sub-49 ever in the stadium might be a possibility.

The top star of the men’s steeplechase will be current world No. 1 Ezekiel Kemboi, the world champion and list leader. The Kenyan promised in his return – he won here in 2007 – the first sub-8:20 at this meeting.

Legendary Allen Johnson of the USA is the star of the men’s 110m Hurdles and in a duel with Czech world finalist Petr Svoboda could attack the fastest ever by a 38-year-old hurdler (13.65 by Shaun Bownes of South Africa this year).

In the men’s Long Jump Chris Tomlinson of Great Britain could offer the public the first ever eight metres jump in the stadium.

In the women’s sprints stadium records at 100 m and 200 m will be the goals for relay world champion Aleen Bailey of Jamaica and world semifinalist Laverne Jones of Virgin Islands. Kenyan World youth champion Cherono Koech could well attack the world junior record at 1000m (2:35.4) with help of solid field headed by American Berlin fifth placer Christine Wurth-Thomas and Poland’s World semifinalist Anna Rostkowska.

Very emotional should be the women’s Pole Vault where the former World record holder Stacy Dragila will have one of her last competitions against Czech Universiade winner Jirina Ptacnikova and Russian European 2006 medallist Tatyana Polnova.

Live results from the meet (starts at 2.30 pm on Sunday with pre-programme at 1 pm) at www.atletikadubnica.sk.

Alfons Juck for the IAAF
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