Austrian record holder Karin Mayr Krifka of Austria powered home in 23.11 to win the first of two semis,just ahead of Russian Svetlana Goncharenko (23.13), the 1998 European Indoor champion in the event. Ukraine's Maryna Maydanova, the 2003 European Under-23 champion, clocked 23.47 to finish third, , putting a pair of Ukrianians in the final for the first time.
With a commanding 22.86 win in her semi, 2003 indoor bronze medallist Anastasiya Kapachinskaya made a Russian medal sweep of the long sprints a real possiblity. The 24-year-old, who struck silver outdoors last year, finished a tenth ahead of a second ahead of Nataliya Safronnikova of Belorus, who was also a finallist last year in Birmingham. Nataliya Pygyda, who was third in 23.46, also moves on to tomorrow's final.
