European Athletics Permit Meeting preview: Dusseldorf 2008

The European Athletics permitted "3rd International Athletics Meeting Düsseldorf 2008" boasts two Olympic Champions, one World Champion and three World's best athletes among its contendors this Friday.

Last year at this event, the top athletes set four global best marks that held for the entire year. Meeting Director, Marc Osenberg said,

"We can look forward to high quality sport and a few new World best marks this year. It is our aim to maintain last year's sporting level and perhaps even to improve it a bit."

From humble beginnings, this event jumped up six places in the World Indoor meeting rankings last year, to finish as the World's seventh best Indoor meeting. An award reflected in the high calibre of international athletes taking part in this special Olympic year: Russia's 800m Olympic Champion Yuri Borsakovsky, the USA's Olympic Pole Vault gold medallist Tim Mack, and Cuba's World Triple Jump Champion, Yargelis Savigne.

While 35-year-old Mack is still trying to get back into shape, Borsakovsky, 26, is already leading this year's World rankings with his impressive 1:45.48 finish in Stuttgart last Saturday. Savigne, 23, will compete in her first Triple Jump competition this year in Dusseldorf, but she has already left her mark in the Long Jump and is currently ranked eighth in the World with 6.77m.

In addition, there will be three 2006 European Champions from Gothenburg competing: Germany's Jan Fitschen in the 3,000m, Latvia's Stanislavs Olijars in the 60m Hurdles, and Russia's Olga Kotlyarova in the 800m.

Race organisers are delighted with this high profile field of entries, and are keen to point out a host of European athletes that will be well worth watching when the meet is broadcast live on Friday night. The meet favourites include a fine selection of German athletes such as Pole Vaulters Tim Lobinger, Fabian Schulze and Bjorn Otto, European Cup Shot Put Champion Peter Sack, 60m Hurdles European silver medallist Thomas Blaschek, Sabrina Mockenhaupt, the winner of the Cologne Marathon, in the 3,000m, former 400m European Champion Ingo Schultz, and as Borsakovsky's challengers in the 800m, German Champion Rene Herms, Ronbin Schembera, third in the European Cup, and the German Indoor Youth record holder Sebastian Keiner.

The Dusseldorf meeting will be shown live on Eurosport from 17.00hrs, and will be an important indication of form for athletes preparing for the 2008 World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain in March.

Individual Events in Review

Men

60m: Slovenia's Matic Osovnikar, last year's fastest white sprinter, will compete. He was the only non-coloured athlete in the 100m World Championship final in Osaka. Among others, his opponents are American, Michael Rodgers (6.60sec), ranked ninth in the World and a German trio with U20 double European champion Julian Reus, Ronny Ostwald and
Alexander Kosenkow, who both finished sixth in the World Championship relay.

400m: Germany's 2002 European Champion is the favourite in the race over two indoor laps and will meet Falco Lausecker, currently Germany's best athlete this year.

800m: Olympic champion Yuri Borsakovsky will be challenged by a German trio consisting of Rene Herms, Sebastian Keiner and Robin Schembera.

3,000m: 10,000m European Champion Jan Fitschen's top opponent is last year's winner Ismael Kombich, of Kenya.

60m Hurdles: Like last Saturday in Stuttgart, Cuba's World's Final Champion Dayron Robles, will try to improve the World Indoor record of 7.30 seconds. He will be pushed to achieve this aim by his opponents, Latvia's European Champion Stanislavs Olijars and Germany's European runner-up, Thomas Blaschek.

Pole Vault: There is no other event where there is such competition. From Germany alone there are three athletes competing who have cleared 5.70m and higher this year, German record holder Tim Lobinger, Bjorn Otto who was fifth at the World Championships, and World University Games Champion Alexander Straub. Further competitors are US veteran Jeff Hartwig, who has set a series of World records for the over 40 age bracket, and, of course, Olympic champion Tim Mack, also from the United States.

Shot Put: European Cup Champion Peter Sack will meet last year's winner Dan Taylor of the USA.

Women

60m: Last year's winner Laverne Jones of the Virgin Islands will have to fight against two-time 100m World silver medallist Angela Williams, of the USA, and Tahesia Harrigan of the British Virgin Islands, the World's fastest sprinter this year.

800m: European Champion Olga Kotlyarova will meet Ukraine's European Indoor silver medallist Tetyana Petlyuk and German Champion Monika Gradzki.

3,000m: Kenya's Sylvia Kibet finished fourth in the 5,000m at the World Championships in Osaka. Her opponents are Cologne Marathon winner Sabrina Mockenhaupt, who entered at short notice; Slovenia's Sonja Roman and Germany's Antje Moeldner, who used to run the 1,500m but is currently preparing to switch to the 3,000m Steeplechase.

60m Hurdles: Last year's winner Lolo Jones (USA) is currently in second place in the year's World rankings and thus will be the hunted competitor. Among others, her opponents are Jamaica's Vonette Dixon – fourth in the World this year, and Cuba's Anay Tejeda -sixth in the world, from Dayon Robles training group.

Triple Jump: World Champion and last year's winner Yargelis Savigne is once again the top favourite.

Source/Courtesy
European Athletics (EAA)
https://www.european-athletics.org/
EAA