News17 Jun 2008


Spotakova throws 68.81m in Prague

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Barbora Spotakova - Javelin gold medallist (© Getty Images)

World Javelin Throw champion Barbora Spotakova pleased her home crowd at 15th Josef Odlozil Memorial with a fifth round effort of 68.81m at Juliska Stadium yesterday (16). It was not only new meet record, but also second best throw in the world this year.

“I was really tired after Ostrava and did not expect anything special, but usually then something happens. I knew I can do one good throw," confirmed Czech Spotakova.

The Josef Odlozil Memorial is one of a select group of Area meetings at which points can be acquired by athletes to qualify for the IAAF / VTB Bank World Athletics Final, to be held on 13-14 September in Stuttgart, Germany.

The other highlight for Czech Athletics during this European Athletics Premium Meeting held in cool weather in front of a 5000+ crowd, was a new national record for sprint hurdler Petr Svoboda. After a 13.48 sec run in Ostrava which tied the 1987 mark of Jiri Hudec he lead the whole race and improved to 13.43 (+0.9) and in the process beat USA’s World bronze medallist David Payne (13.47). However, he was not the winner that distinction went to World finalist Sergiy Demidyuk of Ukraine who achieved 13.36, the second best European 110m Hurdles mark of the year.

Another meet record was produced by Poland’ s Aurelia Trywianska in the women’s 100m Hurdles 12.81 (+1.8) beating 2006 World Indoor champion Derval O´Rourke of Ireland (12.90) and German Kirsten Bolm (13.07) who is coming back from injuries. Czech Lucie Skrobakova was fourth in 13.08, the national record being 13.05.

There was a third meet record produced by Czech athletes, a men’s 4x100m relay team (Milo-Schiller-Sulc-Vojtik) ran 39.58 sec. 

Kozmus takes another win

In the men’s Hammer Throw, the competition was surprisingly led after three rounds by Italian Marco Lingua with 79.22m. Then in the fourth round Osaka silver medallist Primoz Kozmus produced 79.60m which was enough for the win. Slovak Libor Charfreitag improved in the fifth round to 79.24m, to take second place from the Italian.

AF Golden League Jackpot contender Hussein Taher Al-Sabee of Saudi Arabia had the two best long jumps of the day 8.10m and 8.14m to take the honours ahead of Gable Garenamotse of Botswana (8.04m). The best Czech Roman Novotny (7.83) beat the British duo of Greg Rutherford (7.82) and Chris Tomlinson (7.81) for third place.

Germans dominated the men’s Pole Vault as Lars Borgeling and Alexander Straub went over 5.62m but were not successful at 5.70m. Russian Anton Lyuboslavskiy won the Shot Put (19.75m) and Czech European silver medallist Tomas Janku took the High Jump on his second attempt at 2.24m. Russian Aleksey Dmitrik lost on count-back (2.24 in third) and 2005 world champion Yuri Krimarenko managed only 220 as fifth.

US Ernest Wiggins won the 100m and equalled his best from 2004 with a 10.20 second run (+0.4) ahead of Africans Deji Aliu (Nigeria, 10.28), and Stephane Buckland (Mauritius, 10.33). Buckland won the 200m in 20.40 (+0.9) beating Brian Dzingai of Zimbabwe (20.53).

Kenyan Cornelius Ndiwa won the Josef Odlozil Memorial 1500m race (3:39.90) and Ethiopian Gari Roba was the victor in the 3000m Steeplechase in 8:22.07. The first nine finishers went sub 8:30. Of these there were PBs for Briton Stuart Stokes (8:23.66) in fourth and Poland´s Marcin Chabowski 8:25.98 in sixth.

France’s Elodie Guegan was the clear winner of the women’s 800m (2:01.55), while Czech Zuzana Hejnova succeeded in the 400m Hurdles (55.76).

Russian Viktoriya Klyugina was the best in the women’s High Jump (1.92m) and there were wins for two South Africans, Ockert Cilliers (49.78 sec for men’s 400m Hurdles) and Isabel Le Roux (23.31 sec for the women’s 200m).

Alfons Juck for the IAAF

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