News25 Nov 2008


Jelimo targets indoor 1000m World record in Prague

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Prague Indoor meeting press conference - Pamela Jelimo, Jarmila Kratochvilova, Barbora Spotakova and meeting director Jan Zelezny (© LOC)

Kenyan Pamela Jelimo, the winner of the Revelation of the Year Award at the World Athletics Gala on Sunday (23), travelled on Monday to Prague to announce that she will be one of the stars of the new indoor meeting in Czech capital city planned for 26 February 2009. 

During what is planned to be short indoor campaign in 2009, the Olympic 800m champion and World junior record holder wants to attack the 1000m World indoor record of Maria Mutola in the ‘Modern Prague 02 Arena’.

"I will train even harder than now and I think I can do it, but as I never run indoors so far, I cannot say for sure,” confirmed Jelimo. “But it is always good to break the preparation with some competitions.”

During the World Athletics Gala in Monaco, Jelimo met for the first with Kratochvilova, the Czech holder of the oldest current World record, the women's 800m.  "She is a nice person, a good lady, she gave me some advice especially that I need to improve my speed endurance. Look at her bests at 100, 200 and 400m, she was lot faster than me," said Jelimo.

Kratochvilova replied: "She has the biggest potential from current runners to break my 800 m record. The margin 0.73 in normal life is nothing, but in running it is still a lot. But she has a good chance."

Also at today’s press conference meet director Jan Zelezny was able to congratulate the Czech Republic's women's Javelin Throw World record holder Barbora Spotakova who jointly won the female Performance of the Year Award at the Gala, with Ethiopian distance runner Tirunesh Dibaba.

With few halls in the world of the size capable of holding the indoor Javelin Throw and only a few indoor competitions held, mainly in Finland, each year, Spotakova will not have an indoor season but confirmed she will still be at the Prague meet on 26 February as a VIP guest.

The Prague indoor and the annual Ostrava IAAF Grand Prix are organised by the same group, and as such Spotakova confirmed at the press conference that her first meet of the 2009 outdoor season will be in Ostrava on 17 June.

Alfons Juck for the IAAF

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