World Champions Inger Miller and Ivan Pedroso to compete in Madrid
15 February 2000 - The USA’s Inger Miller will be one of the top stars participating in the IAAF Indoor Permit Meeting in Madrid.
The 200m World Champion and 60m World Indoor bronze medallist will have to be in great form if she wants to cross the line first in tomorrow’s 60m. She will face a strong field of opponents including World Indoor Champion Ekaterini Thanou and World 4x100m Champion Sevatheda Fynes.
In the men’s sprint race European leader Briton Jason Gardener will be hot favourite against Cuba’s Freddy Mayola and Ato Boldon, who is still working his way back to the top after injury.
The Madrid organisers have set up interesting hurdle races for both the men and the women. Current World Leaders, Cuba’s Anier Garcia and Jamaica’s Michelle Freeman will both try for the world record. Garcia clocked 7.37 in Athens just one week ago approaching the world mark by 7 hundredths of a second and went on to win his races in Gent and Liévin. Yoel Hernandez (CUB) and Tony Dees (USA) will be his most serious opponents.
Freeman demonstrated an amazing condition in Lievin on Sunday winning both her heat and final in world best times of the year, respectively 7.82 and 7.79. She is now a mere tenth of a second from Ludmila Engquist’s world record of 7.69, which dates back to 1990. Freeman will nevertheless have to push back attacks from Nigeria’s Glory Alozie – who is based in Valencia – Cuba’s Aliuska Lopez and Anjanette Kirkland of the US.
Exciting field events in Madrid, and most especially the long jump contests, are likely to thrill the Spanish crowd. Triple World Champion Ivan Pedroso will head the field in the men’s competition. The Cuban, who bettered his indoor personal best (8.62) last year in Maebashi, Japan, has already jumped 8.40 this year to top the season’s world lists. 20 year-old compatriot Luis Felipe Meliz (8.13 this year), Portugal’s Carlos Calado, France’s Cheik Toure and Cayman Islands Kareem Streete-Thompson complete a world class field likely to provide some great performances.
In the women’s contest Spain’s World Champion Niurka Montalvo will need local support to defeat veterans Heike Drechsler and Inessa Kravets.
