Local sprint double
Matic Osovnikar thrilled the crowd with a dominating double win in the sprints, including a national record 20.54 in the 200.
“Technically, I ran good races,” said the 24-year-old dental student. “I’m particularly happy because I’ve been in full training mode this week.” He will contest both sprints in Athens.
In the short dash, Osovnikar, a two-time World Indoor Championships finalist, led from the gun to an easy 10.31 win, upsetting 2003 World Championships silver medallist Darrel Brown. Dejan Vojnovic (10.47) of Croatia snuck past Hungarian Roland Nemeth (10.53) to nab the runner-up spot. Brown was never in the race, finishing fourth in 10.54.
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Vlasic jumps 2.03
Wednesday 11 August 2004
Ljubljana, Slovenia - A 2.03 clearance by Blanka Vlasic of Croatia in the women’s High Jump, a final pre-Olympic tune up by Ana Guevara, and double sprint wins by Athens-bound locals, highlighted the Ljubljana EAA permit meeting in Slovenia’s capital.
Vlasic - personal best
After early misses at 1.87 and 1.96, Vlasic, the 19-year-old two-time World junior champion topped 2 metres and 2.03 on her first attempt.
“I‘m surprised with these heights because sometimes they’re really problematic for me,” said Vlasic, who has now bettered 2 metres three times this season, including a previous PB of 2.02 from Bastad three-and-a-half weeks ago. “Two meters is still a barrier in my mind. I’m glad that I’m getting over it more easily now.” While pleased with her efforts, her clearances, she said, weren’t perfect jumps, and she doesn’t want to read too much into what might be in store in Athens.
“I don’t want to get too much confidence, because then it’s not right. This jump only means that I have a new PB of 2.03; it doesn’t mean that I’ll finish in the top three in Athens.” Choosing to relax and avoid the hustle and bustle of Athens, Vlasic won’t be arriving in the Greek capital until August 24, and will compete once more in Freiburg on Friday.
Guevara has 300m ”training session”
In her last tune-up before Athens, Ana Guevara took top honours in the rarely-run 300m in 36.11, winning by nearly a second. The Mexican heroine, who ran a world’s best of 35.30 in the rarely-run event last year in Mexico City, said the race was not an attempt on her world’s best, but rather just a hard training run.
“I was pleased with the performance, especially after a regular training session today,” said the reigning world champion who has made her summer base here for fourth consecutive year. After injury forced her to lose two and a half months of training this spring, Guevara is upbeat as the Olympic Games approach.
“I feel very well. I’m not in the same rhythm as last year, but coming back from injury I think I’m doing very well.”
In her last race over the full lap, she was second in 50.18 in Zurich on Friday, but said that performance was not indicative of her shape.
“I made a mistake in Zurich,” she said. “I started very badly in the blocks, then ran too fast in the early part of the race. Then I tried desperately to take Tonique [Williams-Darling, the winner] and then died at the end.”
Local sprint double
Matic Osovnikar thrilled the crowd with a dominating double win in the sprints, including a national record 20.54 in the 200.
“Technically, I ran good races,” said the 24-year-old dental student. “I’m particularly happy because I’ve been in full training mode this week.” He will contest both sprints in Athens.
In the short dash, Osovnikar, a two-time World Indoor Championships finalist, led from the gun to an easy 10.31 win, upsetting 2003 World Championships silver medallist Darrel Brown. Dejan Vojnovic (10.47) of Croatia snuck past Hungarian Roland Nemeth (10.53) to nab the runner-up spot. Brown was never in the race, finishing fourth in 10.54.
Hobbled by a hip problem since the Trinidad & Tobagao national championship in early June, the teen-aged Brown has lost valuable training time in the early summer, before aggravating the problem again just ten meters into his 100 meter race in Paris last month. He hadn’t raced since. Planning to contest the short dash along with his relay duties in Athens, Brown is taking a day-by-day approach to his first Olympic appearance. “Well,” he said, “at least there’s no pain in my hip right now. I’m just going to train and rest in Athens now.”
With perfect summer conditions, athletes from 23 countries participated in this annual meeting, this year dubbed “aly@atletika-Ljubljana” for the Slovenian pop singer Alya who entertained the capacity crowd before, during and after the meeting.
Like her compatriot, Alenka Bikar claimed the sprint double as well, winning with 11.51 and 23.13 efforts. Bikar will contest the longer dash in Athens in her third Olympic appearance.
Muzik’s season’s best
Jiri Muzik won the 400 hurdles in a season’s best 49.11. Carrying a substantial lead into the straight, the 2002 European silver medallist broke the stadium record set 18 years ago by Bulgarian Toma Tomov (49.40). Compatriot Stepan Tesarik also dipped under 50 seconds to finish second (49.94).
Kuwaiti Fawzi Al Shammari won the hotly contested men’s 300 in 32.28, just ahead of Matija Sestak, whose 32.34 was another national record for the 31-year-old Slovenian.
The women’s 100 metres Hurdles was run twice, with nearly identical results. Haidy Aron of France won both races, warming up with a 13.31 in the first, and improving to 13.11 in the second, a season’s best for the French veteran.
Rozle Prezelj won the High Jump with a second-attempt 2.26, while last year’ s world leader (2.36) Aleksander Walerianczyk of Poland continued to struggle, managing only his opening height of 2.14.
After a collision between Hungarian Daniel Kiss and Slovenian Blaz Korent at the third hurdle - after a false-start DQ by Athens-bound Damjan Zlatnar - there was little left in the men’s High Hurdles, won by Jurica Grabusic of Croatin in 13.95.
Jake Pauli of the U.S. won the Pole Vault on the countback, with a 5.40 best over Slovenia’s Jurij Rovan. Rovan had one strong attempt at a national record 5.62, but fell short. Victoria Molchanova of Ukraine won a close battle with Urszula Westhof in the Long Jump, 6.42 to 6.40.