2008 in Review: Women\’s Combined Events – European Athletics (EAA) – NEWS

In the women's heptathlon everything was open this season with the most decorated hepathlete in Europe, Carolina Klüft (SWE) concentrating in long jump and triple jump in 2008.

The 25-year-old Swede has won her last 19 competitions and holds the European record 7032p which she recorded winning the World Championships in Osaka last year.

The early number one in Europe this season was 20-year-old Tatyana Chernova (RUS), 2006 World Junior Champion, who won the Götzis meet with 6618p in June. The young Russian had been one of the favourites in Osaka 2007 too, but there she couldn't handle the pressure.

The Beijing competition also lacked Briton Jessica Ennis who had been fourth in Osaka. Ennis was injured during the first day of the Götzis meeting. With Klüft and some other favourites out of the way many thought Kelly Sotherton (GBR) could finally get her big win following several silver medals behind Klüft earlier.

But it was a surprising heptathlon with 26-year-old Nataliya Dobrynska (UKR) achieving the performance of her career and the Olympic gold with 6733p. The Ukrainian, whose only worldwide major championships medal had come from the 2004 World Indoor Championships in Budapest where she got the bronze, had a previous best of 6387p from 2004 before this season.

She only completed one heptathlon before Beijing placing ninth in Götzis with 6268p, but from the start of the Olympic competition it was clear she was going for something else there. She crushed one personal best after another getting six personal bests during the heptathlon bettering her earlier best total score by more than 350 points.

Tatyana Chernova handled the big pressure nicely this time getting the bronze medal with 6591p as a reward and Kelly Sotherton had to settle for fourth place with 6517p season's best performance.

Euro stats:

New entries for the European all-time list:

15th 6733 Nataliya Dobrynska UKR

2008 head to head between Europe's best:

Nataliya Dobrynska UKR – Tatyana Chernova RUS 2-1
Nataliya Dobrynska UKR – Olga Kurban RUS 1-1
Nataliya Dobrynska UKR – Lilli Schwarzkopf GER 1-1
Nataliya Dobrynska UKR – Kelly Sotherton GBR 1-1
Tatyana Chernova RUS – Olga Kurban RUS 2-0
Tatyana Chernova RUS – Lilli Schwarzkopf GER 2-0
Tatyana Chernova RUS – Kelly Sotherton GBR 1-1
Olga Kurban RUS – Lilli Schwarzkopf GER 1-1

Career head to head between Europe's best:

Nataliya Dobrynska UKR – Tatyana Chernova RUS 3-2
Nataliya Dobrynska UKR – Olga Kurban RUS 2-1
Lilli Schwarzkopf GER – Nataliya Dobrynska UKR 5-3
Kelly Sotherton GBR – Nataliya Dobrynska UKR 10-4
Tatyana Chernova RUS – Olga Kurban RUS 2-1
Tatyana Chernova RUS – Lilli Schwarzkopf GER 2-1
Lilli Schwarzkopf GER – Olga Kurban RUS 2-1
Kelly Sotherton GBR – Lilli Schwarzkopf GER 5-1

European Athletics (EAA)