Previews13 Jul 2011


Tamgho tops the list at the European Under 23s - PREVIEW

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Teddy Tamgho triple jumping to 17.91m in Lausanne (© Giancarlo Colombo)

Ostrava, Czech Republic – Teddy Tamgho provides the headline act at the European Athletics Under 23 Championships that get underway in the Czech city of Ostrava on Thursday (14).


However, the Frenchman is just one of a whole host of great athletes who will take part during four days of athletics in the only continental competition of its kind in the world, designed to help outstanding athletes make the transition from being top juniors to holding their own in the senior ranks.


Tamgho undecided but certain to thrill


Tamgho is entered in both the Long Jump and Triple Jump and, at the time of writing, he had not decided whether he will do one or both events.


If the World indoor Triple Jump record holder goes in his best known event, he will be the outstanding favourite and the very respectable championships record of 17.57m, which has stood to Belarus’ Dmitry Valyukevich since 2003, could be under threat.


The Long Jump could pose a very different challenge though and Tamgho has not competed in the event since he finished fourth on home territory at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in March. [Ed Note: Tamgho has decided to compete in only the Triple Jump.]


Tamgho only lies fifth on the European under 23 rankings ahead of proceedings in Ostrava, a list headed by the very talented 20-year-old Russian Alexsandr Menkov, who has already jumped 8.28m this season and won at the SPAR European Team Championships.


Many other field events in Ostrava catch the eye and would stand up to comparison with big events around the world.


German shot putter David Storl first made his mark when he took the gold medal at the IAAF World Youth Championships in the same stadium four years ago - one of 10 champions from that event to return to Ostrava in the coming days - and his progress has continued to be prodigious.


In an event where talent generally starts to mature in the late 20s, he is already ahead of the curve and took the silver medal at the European indoors.


“The medal in Paris was good, I wanted a medal there, but my target for the year has always been the European Under 23 Championships. I’d like to get a championship record (which currently stands at 20.43m to Belarus’ Pavel Lyzhin from 2003),” said Storl recently.


He has shown astonishing consistency this summer, winning eight of his nine competitions and throwing over 20 metres each time, including a personal best of 21.03m last month, which makes Lyzhin’s mark look very vulnerable.


Russian long jumper and 2011 European indoor champion Darya Klishina, has had a rather parallel career to Storl, like him winning 2007 World Youth and 2009 European Junior titles and also triumphed in difficult conditions at the SPAR European Team Championships.


She starts as favourite in Ostrava because of her habit of getting right when it matters although, unlike Storl whose nearest rival is more than a metre in arrears, she is only second on this year’s rankings, behind Belarus’ Nastassia Mironchik-Ivanova who has jumped 6.85m.


Track test for Kszczot, Urech and Erdogan


On the track, arguably the biggest men’s name is Poland’s 800m star Adam Kszczot. The European indoor champion over the distance has run 1:44.30 this summer and if he can get near that mark then another championship record could be under threat.


Switzerland’s Lisa Urech shot to the top of the European 100m Hurdles rankings with her scintillating 12.62 recently and, barring accidents, is sure to improve on her sixth place from Kaunas two years ago and could also challenge the championship record of 12.88 set by Sweden’s Susanna Kallur in 2003.


Turkey’s Meryem Erdogan emphatically won the 2010 SPAR European Cross Country Championships women’s under 23 race in Portugal in December but has since suffered Achilles tendon problems and has yet to race on the track this summer.


However, she is entered for both the 5000m and 10,000m and Turkish federation officials have been saying in recent weeks that she is back to full fitness.


There are no worries though about the fitness of 19-year-old Discus thrower Lawrence Okoye, whose British record and world age-19 best of 67.63m last weekend moved him up to third in the world in a list topped by Germany’s 2009 World champion Robert Harting.


Coincidently, Harting holds the European Under 23 championship record of 64.50m from 2005.


Another 19-year-old Briton in fine form is pole vaulter Holly Bleasdale, who is literally head-and-shoulders above her rivals on the rankings after her own 4.70m national record and world age-19 best in Mannheim, Germany, at the beginning of the month.


Like Okoye, she is still young enough to compete at the next Championships in 2013, which will be held in the Finnish city of Tampere.


Despite the list of names already mentioned, if anyone still wonders whether the Championships are a good thing or occupy a rather superfluous slot on an already crowded athletics calendar, one only needs to listen to the British 400m hurdler David Greene.


Europe’s top man over the barriers and a big medal prospect at both the IAAF World Championships later this summer and the 2012 Olympic Games is a staunch defender of the event.


“Winning at the European Under 23s gave a tremendous boost to my career. It helped me bridge that gap between the junior ranks and doing what I do today, which is racing with the best in the world.”


“Winning the gold medal at the Under 23s in 2007 indirectly lead to me winning the European gold in Barcelona last summer. It was my first major international success and gave me the confidence that I could be a winner at big championships,” commented Greene recently.


Phil Minshull for the IAAF


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