[b]17 World Championships medallist head for Dubnica on Thursday | 13.09.2011
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The curtain will come this summer’s European Athletics Outdoor Premium Meetings with the biggest one day meeting in Slovakia, the 9th Athletics Bridge meeting, in Dubnica nad Vahom on Thursday.
In total, 17 medallists from the recent World Championships in the South Korean city of Daegu will be competing there, including four individual gold medallists.
A special highlight is the men’s 110m hurdles with Cuba’s world record holder and 2008 Olympic Games champion Dayron Robles looking for revenge, following his disqualification in Daegu, over the American world champion Jason Richardson.
The women’s hammer, which brings together Russia’s 2011 World Championships gold medallist Tatyana Lysenko and Germany’s world record holder and Daegu silver medallist Betty Heidler should also be a clash to savour.
Meeting records in many other events are also expected.
Event-by-event previews:
Men
100m: Will it be the first ever sub-10 in Slovakia? Jamaica’s 4x100m world record holder and world champion Michael Frater will be up against the likes of the United States’ 2004 Olympic Games winner Justin Gatlin; Trinidad’s Richard Thompson, who has clocked a national record of 9.85 this year; and St Kitts’ Daegu hero and 100m bronze medallist Kim Collins.
400m: United States’ 2008 Olympic Games winner and 2009 world champion LaShawn Merritt is out to smash the meeting record of 45.86.
3000m steeplechase: Kenya’s Paul Kipsiele Koech, who clinched the Diamond Race in Zurich last week, is looking to run well under 8:10. It will be interesting to see how another talented Kenyan fares, the 2011 World Youth Championships 2000m steeplechase winner Conseslas Kipruto.
110m hurdles: Dayron Robles v Jason Richardson with Great Britain’s World Championships bronze winner Andy Turner also on the start line.
High jump: American world champion Jesse Williams will be up against Russia’s 2011 European Athletics Championships gold medallist Ivan Ukhov of Russia. The Dubnica organizers are hoping they will be able to attack the meeting record of 2.32m set by Sweden’s Stefan Holm in 2008.
Hammer throw: Japan’s 2011 world champion Koji Murofushi will be in the stands as honorary guest but the three men who finished immediately behind him will be in action in the hammer circle: Hungary’s Krisztian Pars, Slovenia’s Primoz Kozmus and Germany’s Markus Esser.
Women
100m: Will the female runners be able to improve on the meeting record of 11.25? Bulgaria’s Ivet Lalova, the top European sprinter this year, will be up against the very good Jamaican Sherone Simpson as well as Ukraine’s 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships 60m winner Olesya Povkh. In special race, two sprint legends will have an outing: Slovenia’s evergreen Merlene Ottey and France’s European 100m record holder Christine Arron.
200 m: Lalova, Simpson, Povkh, will return for their second contest of the day.
800 m: Russia’s World Championships finalist Yulia Rusanova will be aiming to break the meeting record of 2:01.41.
Pole vault: Two World Championships finalists Czech Republic’s Jirina Ptacnikova and Cuba’s Yarisley Silva will come up against two high quality Russians in the shape of Aleksandra Kiryashova and Tatyana Polnova.
Long jump: Russia’s World Championships silver winner Olga Kucherenko is the favourite, but also American jumpers Janay DeLoach and Funmi Jimoh are also in good shape and Russia’s Olga Zaytseva, who has jumped 7.01m this year, will want to follow up her win in Rieti on Saturday.
Shot Put: New Zealand’s 2011 world champion Valerie Adams will be out to do better than her own meeting record of 20.37m, which she set last year.
Hammer throw: Both Lysenko and Heidler have been in good from since returning to Europe after their Daegu exploits. Heidler threw over 77 metres to win in Elstal, Germany on Friday while Lysenko took the honours in Rieti on Saturday, Also in the field in Dubnica is Cuba’s former world champion Yipsi Moreno, who finished fourth in Daegu.
With thanks to the Dubnica nad Vahom meeting organisers.