Countdown to Beijing: the 2004 women\’s champions – European Athletics – NEWS

As the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games loom ever closer we reflect on the reigning Olympic Champions and their current status…

Female winner's 2004 Athens Olympic Games       

100m
28-year-old Belarusian Yulia Nesterenko made the finals of the 2005 World and the 2006 European Championships, but did not compete at all in 2007 due to health problems. Nesterenko failed to return to her 2004 sub-11 shape, although she is currently looking fit after some minor indoor competitions and she hopes to run at high level this summer.   

200m
Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown established her position on the World stage in 2004 and followed it up with the World 100m title last year – she will be a name to watch in China.

400m
There is some confusion surrounding the where-abouts of Bahamian Olympic Champion Tonique Williams-Darling.  In 2006 she virtually disappeared from the track, it is widely assumed that she is retired, but this has not been officially confirmed.

800m and 1,500m
Britain's top Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes retired in 2005 and is currently active in different projects to support young athletes.
 
5,000m
Over the last four years Meseret Defar has developed into one of the most successful women in track and field.  The 24-year-old Ethiopian has broken several World records, won World titles and was voted IAAF Athlete of the Year 2007. Defar belongs to a small group of clear gold favourites in the women's events.

10,000m
Chinese Xing Huina hopes to be a home star favourite, but first she must make sure she is actually qualified. The 24-year-old distance specialist has been preparing for her title defence at a US training camp, and reports are that she is running well, however the selection procedure in China is not clearly known, and with many other top runners aiming for a chance to perform on home soil Huina may not appear on the 2008 Olympic stage.

Marathon
Japan's Mizuki Noguchi qualified to defend her title after her decisive win at last November's Tokyo Marathon.   If Noguchi is successful in Beijing she would be the first female Marathon Champion to take two Olympic gold's.

3,000m Steeplechase
The women's Steeplechase will make its debut on this year's Olympic stage. Will Russia's Osaka Champions take top honours?  Or will there be a surprise performance from Africa? Perhaps Alesya Turova will appear in good form, or there is always the chance that a high quality flat runner will surprise us…

100m Hurdles
Joanna Hayes (USA) has struggled for the last two years.  Her only major event participation was at the 2005 World Championships where she was put out during qualifications.  The 31-year-old may struggle to qualify for Beijing and certainly to compete against the blistering hot form of World Indoor record holder Susanna Kallur (SWE).
 
400m Hurdles
Greece's Fani Halkia has been plagued with back problems since her 2004 Olympic win, yet the 29-year-old Hurdler managed to collect silver at the 2006 European Championships.  However her current form is under question as she has not competed so far this year and she did not make the finals of the 2007 World Championships in Osaka.

High Jump
Since she scooped Olympic gold, Russia's Yelena Slesarenko has continued to perform well indoors – winning two World Indoor gold medals and World Indoor silver this year, however she has struggled outdoors and despite many solid 2m jumps, she has never managed to equal her 2.04m result from Athens.  With the young Croatian World Champion Blanka Vlasic maintaining her spectacular form from last year, Slesarenko will have to really work hard to retain her title in 2008.

Pole Vault
Since her 2004 Olympic win, Yelena Isinbayeva has won every competition going!  She has broken the magical five meter mark and set numerous World records. In the four years since her Olympic triumph she has only lost two competitions on result and two because she failed to make the opening height (but in one case this was due to bad weather). If there was ever such a thing as a safe bet, Yelena Isinbayeva's second Olympic gold would be it!

Long Jump
Tatyana Lebedeva (RUS) is back training following surgery on her Achilles after she won the World Championship title in Osaka. The versatile jumper who also won European gold in the Triple Jump in 2006 is expected to start competing again at the end of May, if her recovery has gone well she could be the second woman in history to achieve two Long Jump gold's (Germany's Heike Drechsler won Olympic gold in 1992 and 2000).
 
Triple Jump
Cameroon's surprise winner Francoise Mbango did not compete in any major championships after winning her Olympic title, entering only a few small meetings in 2005. Now she is back and reportedly achieving 14.50m, so we could be in for another surprise!

Shot Put
The 33-year-old Cuban Yumileidi Cumba (who was awarded Olympic gold after another athletes doping disqualification) has not improved on her best marks since 2004, finishing sixth and twelfth at the last two World Championships.  While Cumba will probably be a strong finalist, it is unlikely she will hold onto her Olympic title.

Discus
Title defender Natalya Sadova is emerging from a two year doping ban and should be ready to compete in July with enough time to qualify for the games.

Hammer
Russia's Olga Kuzenkova was the second female Hammer Champion in Olympic history and in 2005 she also won the World title.  On returning from a maternity break she failed to qualify for the finals in Osaka, but she should still be well able to qualify for Beijing for the chance to defend her title.

Javelin
Following her Olympic success Cuba's Osleidis Menendez went on to win the 2005 World Championships with the current World record throw, but then she was sidelined through injury and although she won last year's Pan Am Games she was unable to compete in Osaka. She is now focusing all her training on Beijing in the hope she will be fit enough to defend her title.
 
Heptathlon
Sweden's Multi-event superstar Carolina Kluft won everything she competed in from 2004 onwards and is now looking for a new challenge.  The 25-year-old has decided to focus all her training on the long and Triple Jump which she hopes to contest in Beijing.  The Heptathlon is now likely to be a battle between the British duo of Kelly Sotherton and European Athletics Rising Star of 2007 Jessica Ennis, and Ukrainian World silver medallist Lyudmila Blonska.

20km Walk
Athanasia Tsoumeleka's surprise home victory in 2004 was followed by a maternity break which she returned from last year.  The 26-year-old Greek seems to be making great progress with her training, as she finished fourth at IAAF Challenge event in Rio Maior, Portugal this March and this weekend she is really testing her form at the World Race Walking Cup in Cheboksary (RUS).

European Athletics – NEWS