Pedroso
wins long jump as fellow Cuban Sotomayor is injured
AP
22 August 2000 – Viareggio, Italy - Cuba's Javier Sotomayor, the world record holder in the high jump, injured his left leg Tuesday in just his third meet back after a yearlong drug ban.
Sotomayor suffered an apparent strained left hamstring on his second attempt at 2.28-meters, and was forced to pull out of this meet in Tuscany against a relatively light field of competitors.
The 32-year-old screamed out in pain in mid-air as he crashed into the bar. Though he was able to limp away on his own, Sotomayor later remained face-down and motionless near the high jump pit for at least 20 minutes after the incident, apparently trying to rest the injured leg.
The injury comes after two victories in his last two appearances, including a 2.30-meter (7-6 1-2) effort this past weekend in Monte Carlo.
Sotomayor, who holds the world record of 2.45 (8-0 1-2), has been eyeing the upcoming Olympics in Sydney.
Fellow Cuban Ivan Pedroso, the reigning world long jump champion, leaped to victory in his event, registering a winning jump of 8.10 meters, edging Jamaica's James Beckford, whose best effort was 8.04 meters.
British-born Fiona May, who competes for Italy, won the women's long jump, with a winning effort of 6.74 meters.
Results
Men
100m: 1, Edson Ribeiro, Brazil, 10.52 seconds. 2, Raphael de Oliveira, Brazil, 10.63. 3, Massimiliano Donati, Italy, 10.89. 4, Arturo Merlini, Italy, 11.03. 5, Davide Innocenti, Italy, 11.08. 6, Lorenzo Tendi, Italy, 11.18.
400m: 1, Claudinei da Silva, Brazil, 46.14 seconds. 2, Francesco Cundo, Italy, 46.63. 3, Walter Pirovano, Italy, 47.11. 4, Andrea Nuti, Italy, 47.30. 5, Luca Galletti, Italy, 47.70. 6, Alessandro Bracciali, Italy, 48.09.
3,000m: 1, Philimon Kemei, Kenya, 7 minutes, 47.39 seconds. 2, Abdellah Abdelhaz, 7:54.23. 3, Salvatore Vincenti, Italy, 7:55.24. 4, Musa Kimeli, Kenya, 7:57.86. 5, Simone Zanon, Italy, 7:58.38.
High Jump: 1, Abdelkader Abderahmane, Algeria, 2.25 meters. 2.Javier Sotomayor, Cuba, 2.20.
Long Jump: 1, Ivan Pedroso, Cuba, 8.10 meters. 2, James Beckford, Jamaica, 8.04. 3, Cheikh Tidiane Toure, France, 7.85. 4, Luis Meliz, Cuba, 7.83. 5, Francesco Agresti, Italy 7.60. 6, Marcio de Souza, Brazil, 7.47.
Women
300m: 1, Manuela Levorato, Italy, 36.30 seconds. 2, Olabisi Apolabi, Italy, 37.22. 3, Manuela Gentili, Italy, 39.44. 4, Manuela Merlo, Italy, 39.60. 5, Francesca Vaccarella, Italy, 40.76. 6, Ilaria Ceccarelli, Italy 41.13.
5,000m: 1, Roberta Brunet, Italy, 15 minutes, 15.94 seconds. 2, Vivian Cheruiyot, Kenya, 15:16.10. 3, Merina Demboba, Ethiopia, 15:17.18. 4, Iakovoy Xeysoula, Greece, 15:25.16. 5, Ruth Kutol, Kenya, 15:41.36. 6, Getenesh Urge, Ethiopia, 16:07.59.
Long Jump: 1, Fiona May, Italy, 6.74. 2, Eva Miklos, Romania, 6.56. 3, Lizzette Cuzza, Cuba, 6.55. 4, Federica Cresci, Italy 5.66 5, Monica Giolli, Italy, 5.60. 6, Cecilia Barbone, Italy, 5.40.
