Sniazhana Yurchanka at the 2009 Race Walking Cup of Belarus (© Mikhail Dubitski)
Nesvizh, BelarusIvan Trotski with a time of 1:22:13 and Sniazhana Yurchanka with 1:32:53, were respectively the men’s and women’s 20km race winners at the Race Walking Cup of Belarus on Saturday 11 April.
In the men’s 35km race, Andrei Stsepanchuk was the fastest with 2:38:32, he caught and overtook Aliaksandr Kazakou the longtime leader on the last lap, who finished second in 2:38:58. The Junior 10 km races were won by Dzmitry Dziubin from the Minsk region in 43.01 and Alina Matveyuk - 48.12.
Men’s 20km
A leading trio consisting of Ivan Trotski, Aliaksandr Kuzmin, Andrei Talashka quickly formed and stayed together until 2km before the distance, Trotski and Kuzmin broke away a little from Talashka. In the final battle to the line, with 500m to go Trotski’s sped-up even more to beat Kuzmin by 8 seconds behind, 30 seconds later came Talashka. Both the second and third place finishers were born in the local area of Nesvizh.
“It was very close as the rivalry went down to the last metres,” commented Ivan Trotski. “Our struggle put everyone under pressure for almost hour and a half.”
“I am happy, that I’ve managed to win and have now the opportunity to compete at the European Race Walking Cup in France (Metz). I hope to show my best, and also I want to do well in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge this year.”
Women’s 20km
A leading trio also formed from the outset in the women’s 20km. The race was led by Elena Ginko, she was ninth in the Olympic Games in Beijing. However, she had to drop out of the race in the third kilometre due to pains in her legs. That left the victory to Sniazhana Yurchanka who eventually crossed the finish in a solo 1:32:53.
“I waited for competition from Elena Ginko,” commented Sniazhana, “but when she left the race the only thing was to struggle with myself and my own weariness. I’m glad, that everything turned out alright, the season has started successfully, and I think, we can fight for a team victory in the European Cup in France.”
Mikhail Dubitski for the IAAF
Leading Results
MEN
20 km
1. Ivan Trotski 1:22:13
2. Aliaksandr Kuzmin 1:22:21
3. Andrei Talashka 1:22:43
35 km
1. Andrei Stsepanchuk 2:38.32
2. Aliaksandr Kazakou 2:38.58
3. Alexey Litvinchuk 2:43.48
Juniors
10 km
1. Dzmitry Dziubin 43.01
2. Eugeny Zalessky 43.19
3. Oleg Savchenko 43.47
WOMEN
20 km
1. Sniazhana Yurchanka 1:32:53
2. Hanna Drabenia 1:36:01
3. Nastassia Yatsevich 1:37:18
Juniors
10 km
1. Alina Matveyuk 48.12
2. Nadzeya Darazhuk 48.25
3. Irina Zdanevich 49.15