Russian Championships - PREVIEW

The Russian National Championships will be the last test for athletes who wish to compete for medals in Osaka, Japan, at the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (25 Aug to 2 Sep).

Approximately 1000 athletes from 70 regions of the Russian Federation will compete from the 31 July up to the 3 August in the ancient city of Tula at the "Arsenal" which is one of the best athletic stadiums in Russia. Titles in 38 events are at stake. 

In the men's running events, there is of course the men’s 800m in which Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy and his training partner Dmitry Bogdanov, the 2005 European Indoor champion are world class, however, the only other event at which Russian men are liable to make a final in Osaka is in 4x400m relay. In the next few days in Tula a time of 3:02 or even faster might be hoped for from the national squad.

Three Russian Olympic champions Yelena Isinbayeva (PV), Tatyana Lebedeva (LJ) and Yelena Slesarenko (HJ) are among principle gold contenders in Japan. That's why it's up to them to decide if they want to take part in the Russian Nationals or not: the tickets for Osaka have been already booked for the trio.

However, Lebedeva wants to double at both Long Jump and the Triple Jump and so might make an appearance to secure the second event berth (in the former). Lebedeva, the former two-time outdoor and the reigning World indoor Triple Jump champion already has a ticket for the Triple Jump at which she heads the world season list (15.14m).

The battle for the medals in most of the other events in Tula will be extremely tough. Let's take for instance Men's High Jump. One place in the team belongs to the European silver medal winner, Andrei Tereshin, 2.34m this year.

Yet there are plenty of other candidates for the remaining two places. There is Yaroslav Rybakov (2.34m also in 2007) who is the World Indoor champion, and Andrei Silnov, the European champion, though he only has a best of 2.27m this summer. Vyacheslav Voronin (2.30 in 2007) who won the World Champs in 1999, and another three on 2.30m - Aleksey Dmitrik, Pavel Fomenko, and Aleksandr Shustov - will make this event extremely tight.

The former World and European Indoor champion Igor Pavlov cleared 5.80m in Athens on 2 July and is currently the best pole vaulter of Russia. But he is under the attack from a crop of the young opponents headed by Pavel Prokopenko (5.75) who won the recent U23 European title.

The men’s Triple Jump also seems to be one of the better attractions of the Russian Nationals due to the expected duel between 2004 Olympic bronze medallist and Danil Burkenya and Igor Petrenko who won the 2007 European Cup title.

But the main rivalries will reveal themselves mainly in the women's running and field events.

There is going to be a particularly strong fight for places in the women’s 4x400m relay team. In the 400m, the fastest is of the year in Russia is Natalya Antyukh (50.90) but there is only less than a second which separates her from the tenth quickest Russian of the season, Yelena Novikova (51.76). That’s a lot of athletes fighting for just a few places!
 
The qualifying situation is not much better at the women's 800m where the depth is so strong that Russia can boast eight runners who have dipped under 2mins in this season alone, led by Oksana Zbrozhek (1:58.80).

World Indoor champion 2006 Yuliya Chizhenko-Fomenko is the best of the 1500m line-up in the absence of world season leader Yelena Soboleva, who will lead Russia's assault in Osaka.

In the infield, Tatyana Lebedeva is one of three Russian women to have gone past 7m this summer in the Long Jump - European champion Lyudmila Kolchanova (7.21), Lebedeva (7.15) and Irina Simagina (7.11). Not far off this 7m three-some is Oksana Udmurtova (6.92), Tatyana Kotova (6.90), Natalya Lebusova (6.89) and there are five other Russian long jumpers who have passed 6.70m and could put up a serious fight for an Osaka ticket.

Even with Isinbayeva already in the team, because she is reigning World champion this is one of the events at which Russia can field four athletes, and fighting for the other three spots will be former World and reigning European indoor champion Svetlana Feofanova (5.71), European bronze medallist Tatyana Polnova (4.72), and Yuliya Golubchikova (4.70), who was the European indoor silver medallist this winter. Anastasia Shvedova (4.65) and Alexandra Kiryashova (4.50) should also not be discounted.

So it is clear that the 2007 Russian National Championships are likely to see some amazingly close battles in the fight for Osaka tickets.

Nickolai Dolgopolov and Rostislav Orlov for the IAAF