Olga Zaytseva (RUS) (© AFP / Getty Images)
Tula, RussiaThe Cup of Russia was held at the “Arsenal” stadium in Tula on Saturday and Sunday (15 / 16 July).
European U-23 champion at 400m, Olga Zaytseva, 21, won the one lap in 49.49 seconds which makes her the second fastest runner in the world this season and the best in Europe. Zaytseva was victorious in both the individual 200m and the 4x400m relay at last month’s European Cup in Malaga, and had a previous personal best of 50.06 for the 400m, which she established when winning the national U-23 title on this same track in Tula on 14 June 2005.
In second place behind Zaytseva this weekend was Tatyana Veshkurina who set her personal best of 49.99.Tatyana Firova got third in 50.08. The Russian women's 4x400m relay team seems to have good chances in Sweden!
In the middle distances, the 800m was dominated by Olga Kotlyarova in a time of 1:58.70, with Svetlana Cherkasova well beaten in second in 1:59.50. In the absence of double World champion Tatyana Tomashova, and the two leading runners of the current season, Yuliya Chizhenko and Yelena Soboleva, it was Liliya Shobukhova, the World Indoor 3000m recordholder, who won 1500m in 4:05.58.
Kolchanova improves world lead
In the Long Jump, Ludmila Kolchanova who is already selected for the Russian team for the European Championships in Gothenburg leapt 7.03m on her first attempt and with her last round 7.11m added one centimetre to her world season’s best, which is also a personal best. She also confirmed that she had finally made up her mind not to do the Triple Jump at least this season and to concentrate only on the Long Jump. The decision looks to be the right one.
Tatyana Lysenko who set the new World Hammer Throw record* at the Brothers Znamenskiy Memorial came to Tula but as she was already selected for the European Championships team she did not take part but instead watched her main rivals compete. It was the former World record holder Gulfiya Khanafeyeva who won this time with 76.93m. Yekaterina Khoroshikh was only 12cm behind, with Yelena Konevtseva, third on the podium (73.86m). Yelena Priyma who finished 4th, also impressive with 70.09m.
20-year-old Darya Pischalnikova won the Women’s Discus Throw with 63.78m, and Olga Ryabinkina the Shot Put with 19.18m, the sixth best mark in the world of 2006. Oksana Gauz was second with 18.78m.
Irina Khabarova and Natalya Rusakova tied the women’s 100m with 11.18 seconds, while Larisa Kruglova finished third (11.20) and Yekaterina Grigorieva was fourth (11.25). Taking these four results into consideration one may say that the Russian 4x100m relay team will also be one of the main gold medal contenders at the European Championships.
Ukhov – 2.32m
The 20-year-old Ivan Ukhov, one of the revelations of the men’s High Jump this year won with a clearance of 2.32m. He tried 2.38m and was very close to it in one of the attempts. Before that he had easily cleared 2.19m, 2.25m and 2.30m. Andrei Tereshin finished second in 2.30m. The 19-year-old Aleksandr Shustov came third 2.28, and the World champion of 1999 Vyatcheslav Voronin was fourth (2.25).
In other events…
WOMEN: Natalya Rusakova took the women’s 200m in a personal best of 22.53, with second place surprisingly going to 400m specialist Svetlana Pospelova in 22.60. The triple World Championship silver medallist in the Long Jump Tatyana Kotova ran the 200m as well and clocked 24.12 seconds for 18th place overall.
Inga Abitova clocked 15:15.05 at 5000m. Aleksandra Antonova won the 100m Hurdles with a 12.90 clocking but had run 12.78 in her heat, while Yevgenya Isaeva won the 400m Hurdles – 54.77.
In High Jump Anna Chicherova set her season’s best (1.95m), Tatyana Polnova pole vaulted 4.60m, and Olesya Bufalova triple jumped to 14.50m, her personal best.
MEN: Igor Peremota won the men’s 110m Hurdles in 13.47. There were joint winners in the Men’s 100m, as Mikhail Egorychev and Aleksandr Smirnov clocked 10.36. Ivan Teplykh took the men’s 200m (20.93) and Vladimir Frolov was first at 400m (46.27) but clocked a better time in his heat (46.06). The highly experienced runner Ramil Aritkulov won 800m (1:45.98). Eduard Bordukov was first at 5000m (13:37.05).
Three long jumpers went over the 8m mark: Ruslan Gataulin (8.07), Kirill Sosunov (8.06) and Vitaliy Shkurlatov (8.01).
Anton Luboslavskiy was the first in Shot Put – 20.66m.
Nickolai Dolgopolov and Rostislav Orlov for the IAAF
*pending ratification
Russian Team for European Championships
MEN
100m: Andrey Yepishin, Mikhail Egorychev, Aleksandr Smirnov.
4x100m relay: The above mentioned and Mikhail Makrousov.
200m: Ivan Teplykh, Roman Smirnov.
400m: Vladislav Frolov, Yevgeniy Lebedev.
4x400m relay. The above mentioned and Konstantin Svechkar, Aleksandr Larin.
800m: Ramil Aritkulov, Dmitriy Bogdanov, Ivan Nesterov.
1500m: Aleksandr Krivchenkov, Sergei Ivanov.
5000m: Eduard Bordukov.
10,000m: Dmitriy Maksimov.
110m H: Igor Peremota.
400m H: Aleksandr Derevyagin.
Marathon: Leonid Shevtsov, Dmitriy Burnakin, Grigoriy Andreev, Dmitriy Semenov, Andrei Chernyshov.
3000m Steeplechase: Andrei Kozhevnikov, Pavel Potapovich, Andrei Farnosov.
High Jump: Andrei Silnov, Yaroslav Rybakov, Ivan Ukhov.
Long Jump: Dmitriy Sapinskiy, Ruslan Gataulin.
Triple Jump: Aleksandr Sergeev, Aleksandr Petrenko, Danil Burkenya.
Pole Vault: Sergey Kucheryanu.
Shot Put: Pavel Sofyin, Anton Luboslavskiy.
Hammer Throw: Vadim Khersontsev,
Javelin Throw: Sergey Makarov, Aleksandr Ivanov.
Discus Throw: Stanislav Alekseev, Bogdan Pizhalnikov.
Decathlon: Aleksandr Pogorelov, Alekesi Drozdov, Aleksei Sysoyev.
20km Race Walk: Sergei Bakunin, Victor Buraev, Valeriy Borchin.
50km Race Walk: Denis Nizhegorodov Yuriy Andronov, Vladimir Kanaykin.
WOMEN
100m: Yuliya Guzhcina, Irina Khabarova, Ekaterina Grigorieva.
4x100m relay: The above mentioned and Natalya Rusakova, Larisa Kruglova.
200m: Yuliya Gushchina, Natalya Rusakova, Ekaterina Kondratieva.
400m: Svetlana Pospelova, Tatyana Veshkorova. Olga Zaitseva.
4x400m relay: The above mentioned and Elena Migunova, Tatyana Firova.
800m: Olga Kotlyarova, Svetlana Chekasova, Svetlana Kluka.
1500m: Yuliya Chezhenko, Elena Soboleva, Tatyana Tomashova.
5000m: Liliya Shobukhova, Regina Rakhimkulova.
10,000m: Galina Bogomolova, Inga Abitova, Lydya Grigorieva.
100m H: Asleksandra Antonova, Olga Korsunova, Tatyana Pavliy.
400m H: Evgeniya Isakova, Anastasyia Trifonova, Natalya Ivanova.
Marathon: Nataliya Volgina, Albina Ivanova, Nailya Ulamanova, Irina Permitina, Alevtina Bektimirova.
3000m Steeplechase: Tatyana Petrova, Lubov Ivanova, Yelena Sidorchenkova.
High Jump: Yelena Slesarenko, Ekaterina Savchenko, Anna Chicherova.
Long Jump: Oksana Udmurtova, Ludmila Kolchanova, Natalya Lebusova.
Triple Jump: Tatyana Lebedeva, Anna Pyatykh.
Pole Vault: Yelena Isinbayeva, Svetlana Feofanova, Tatyana Polnova.
Shot Put: Irina Khudoroshkina, Olga Ryabinkina.
Discus Throw. Darya Pizhalnikova.
Hammer Throw: Gulfya Khanafeyeva, Tatyana Lysenko, Ekaterina Khoroshikh.
Javelin Throw: Lada Chernova.
Heptathlon: Yuliya Ignatkina, Olga Levenkova, Natalya Razhupkina.
20km Race Walk: Irina Petrova, Olga Kaniskina, Galina Kolpakova.
