Salim Sdiri - French indoor record holder for LJ (© Getty Images)
A team of 43 athletes (18 women / 25 men) have been selected by France for the European Indoor Championships in Madrid, Spain (4 – 6 March). Highlighting an impressive line-up which travels to the Spanish capital with major medal ambitions will be the 60m sprinting revelation of this winter, Ronald Pognon.
Pognon, 22, the new European record holder for 60m (6.45 seconds) has an unblemished racing record this season from outings at five meetings, in which (heats and finals) he has won eleven straight races at the dash.
Joining him in Madrid are other stars such as Leslie Djhone (400m), sprint hurdler Ladji Doucoure (60mH), and Combined Eventer Laurent Hernu, who along with the men’s 4x400m relay squad, all have high medal hopes.
But then what about the greatest surprise of the French Indoor Championships in Liévin last weekend? Salim Sdiri's 8.24m leap was a national indoor Long Jump record and took him to the top pf the world season's list for 2005. If the 25 year-old Olympic finalist (12th) can reproduce that kind of form then European gold will surely be his next week.
In the women’s line-up Christine Arron who ran the 60m in 7.13 at the national championships is coming into form and must be seen as a credible challenger for gold, and of course the ambitions of any full French squad of women's sprint hurdlers – Girard, Okori, Ramalalanirina - should never be discounted.
An inspiring footnote regarding the French team list is the inclusion of the former Olympic Pole Vault champion Jean Galifone, 33, who returns to battle after many injury problems, and has a season's best of 5.70m.
Chris Turner for the IAAF
French team for Madrid
Women
60m
KHODADIN Linda; ARRON Christine
200m
DIA Fabe; FELIX Sylviane; JACQUES-SEBASTIEN Lina
400m
ANACHARSIS Phara.
800m
FOUQUET Virginie; VALDONADO Laetitia
1500m
DEHIBA CHAHYD Hind.
3000m
MARTINS Maria
60m H
GIRARD Patricia; OKORI Reina-flor; RAMALALANIRINA Nicole
PV
BOSLAK Vanessa; PIGNOT Aurore
TJ
NZOLA MESO Teresa
SP
MANFREDI Laurence
Pentathlon
COLLONVILLE Marie
Amiens Uc (PIC)
Men
60m
POGNON Ronald; CALPAS Sebastien
200m
M'BARKE Idrissa
400m
DJHONE Leslie; WALLARD Remi; PANEL Brice
800m
AISSAT Nicolas; MARTIAK Antoine
1500m
ERAUD Guillaume; COSSON Sebastien
3000m
BENHARI Mokhtar; LE DAUPHIN Vincent
60m H
DOUCOURE Ladji; DENIS Sebastien; LAVANNE Cedric
PV
GALFIONE Jean; DOSSEVI Damiel ; FAVRETTO Vincent
LJ
SDIRI Salim; DOMENECH Yann
SP
BUCKI Gaetan
Heptathlon
HERNU Laurent
4 x 400m
DJHONE Leslie
WALLARD Remi
PANEL Brice
MAUNIER Richard
MAILLARD Sebastien
RAQUIL Marc