Ariane Friedrich roars with delight after clearing 2.01m (© Getty Images)
Reigning European indoor champions Ariane Friedrich of Germany and Russian Ivan Ukhov will kick off their seasons in Hustopece, Czech Republic, on Saturday (23) at the opening leg of the 6th Moravian High Jump Tour.
Both Freidrich and Ukhov will not only start as the favourites, but as the meet record holders as well, Friedrich with 2.00m from last year and Ukhov at 2.36m from 2008.
Challenging Friedrich, who took bronze at last summer’s World Championships, will be 2005 World medallist Chaunte Howard-Lowe of the U.S., Berlin finalist Svetlana Shkolina of Russia, top Pole Kamila Stepaniuk and Laverne Spencer, the national record holder of St. Lucia. Also on the slate are rising stars Natalya Mamlina of Russia and Turkish bronze winner Burcu Ayhan of Turkey, the gold and bronze medallists from last year’s European junior championships. For Ayhan, it will be her first-ever indoor competition.
The 10-jumper field is rounded out by the leading Czech trio of Iva Strakova, Barbora Lalakova and Oldriska Maresova.
In the men’s competition, spectators will be hoping that Ukhov’s main challenger will be top Czech jumper Jaroslav Baba, a 2004 Olympic medallist, who has reportedly had solid training this winter and returns injury-free.
But on current form charts, Ukrainian Dmytro Demyanyuk and American Dusty Jonas are the leading contenders. Demyanyuk is the early season world leader at 2.31m. European junior champion Sergey Mudrov of Russia, who improved to 2.30m in November, will also start.
Among the most fascinating aspects of the 11th edition will be the return of 2003 World champion Jacques Freitag of South Africa who has resumed serious training.
The second of the two-meet series takes place in Trinec on Tuesday (26) where reigning World indoor and outdoor champion Blanka Vlasic will be making her 2010 debut.
Alfons Juck for the IAAF
Both Freidrich and Ukhov will not only start as the favourites, but as the meet record holders as well, Friedrich with 2.00m from last year and Ukhov at 2.36m from 2008.
Challenging Friedrich, who took bronze at last summer’s World Championships, will be 2005 World medallist Chaunte Howard-Lowe of the U.S., Berlin finalist Svetlana Shkolina of Russia, top Pole Kamila Stepaniuk and Laverne Spencer, the national record holder of St. Lucia. Also on the slate are rising stars Natalya Mamlina of Russia and Turkish bronze winner Burcu Ayhan of Turkey, the gold and bronze medallists from last year’s European junior championships. For Ayhan, it will be her first-ever indoor competition.
The 10-jumper field is rounded out by the leading Czech trio of Iva Strakova, Barbora Lalakova and Oldriska Maresova.
In the men’s competition, spectators will be hoping that Ukhov’s main challenger will be top Czech jumper Jaroslav Baba, a 2004 Olympic medallist, who has reportedly had solid training this winter and returns injury-free.
But on current form charts, Ukrainian Dmytro Demyanyuk and American Dusty Jonas are the leading contenders. Demyanyuk is the early season world leader at 2.31m. European junior champion Sergey Mudrov of Russia, who improved to 2.30m in November, will also start.
Among the most fascinating aspects of the 11th edition will be the return of 2003 World champion Jacques Freitag of South Africa who has resumed serious training.
The second of the two-meet series takes place in Trinec on Tuesday (26) where reigning World indoor and outdoor champion Blanka Vlasic will be making her 2010 debut.
Alfons Juck for the IAAF
