Blanka Vlasic / Ariane Friedrich, high altitude duel at the Meeting AREVA in the Stade de France

The curtain has fallen at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin, the first stage of the Golden League, contested on Sunday 14th June 2009. This German meet enabled Laurent Boquillet, Director of the Meeting AREVA, to finalise arrangements for the Stade de France venue with some of the fittest athletes of the time.

In Berlin, one of the high points of the meeting was the women’s high jump competition, at the peak of which was a duel between the German Ariane Friedrich and the Croatian Blanka Vlasic. The former took victory, amidst a sentiment of general surprise; clearing a jump of 2.06 m, before trying in vain to the equal the world record, set by Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova back on 30th August 1987, of 2.09 m.

The two young women will both be jumping in the Stade de France for the Meeting AREVA. They’ve formally ensured their presence with the director of the meeting, neither of them concealing the fact that they are keen to continue their impressive head-to-head, with their sights on a world record.

Another certainty is the presence in the Stade de France track of Cuban Dayron Robles. The Olympic champion and world recordman of the 110 m hurdles has never disguised the fact that the Paris meet has a special place in his heart. “The best race of my career, to date, wasn’t my world record last June in Ostrava (12’’87). Instead it was my victory in the Stade de France, a month later, of 12’’88, he admitted back in the spring in Havana. That day, I felt a little as if I were in a dream, perfectly relaxed, controlling my subject from start to finish.”

Dayron Robles made a highly promising comeback in Salonique on 10th June, covering the distance in 13’’30, despite a slightly unfavourable wind (- 0.50 m/sec), without being able to use studs adapted to flat feet. Everything kicked back into shape the night before last in Ostrava as he won his race in 13’’04 (best world performance of the year). The Meeting AREVA has been underlined in bold by his coach, Santiago Antunez, as it will be a chance to cross paths with some of his main rivals and confirm his leadership in the discipline.

With a month to go until the event, the line-up for the Stade de France meeting is gradually taking its definitive shape. Usain Bolt is, more than ever before, the indisputable main attraction. The Jamaican will finally be running in the 100 m, ten days after competing in the 200 m at the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne. His first attempt at the distance, on 11th June in Toronto, ended with an almost innocuous time of 10 seconds, on a waterlogged track. His second run proved more convincing: 9’’77 wednesday night in Ostrava! And if he were to go even faster in the Stade de France?

As for the rest, the Meeting AREVA will be a chance for the public in the Stade de France to see the unmissable Russian athlete, Yelena Isinbayeva, performing in the pole vault. Kenenisa Békélé will be running in the 3,000 m and American Sanya Richards in the 400 m; the eternal Scandinavian duellists Andreas Thorkildsen and Tero Pitkämäki in the javelin, a Triple-Jump competition as dense as it will be high performance with Teddy Tamgho and Benjamin Compaoré amongst the French contingent. Finally, we’ll be delighted to welcome back the unfortunate athlete from the last Olympic Games in Beijing: Lolo Jones in the 100m hurdles.