European Athletics – (EAA) – News – Preview: Spotlight on sprinters as Bercy gets ready for European stars

European Athletics presents the first in a series of previews leading up to the Paris 2011 European Athletics Indoor Champion

Women’s 60m:

Ukraine has dominated the short sprint this winter with Olesya Povh and Maria Ryemyen. Both women were members of Ukraine’s gold medal winning quartet at the European Athletics championships in Barcelona last summer and that seems to have acted as a springboard for the indoor season.

Both are 23 and both have improved on their previous 60m by about a tenth of a second (exactly in Povh’s case) to place them at the top of the rankings. Pole position goes to Povh with her 7.13 from Düsseldorf, but Ryemyen came close to that time two days later winning in Karlsruhe in 7.15. It may be significant that on that occasion Povh had to withdraw from the race after she strained a hamstring in the warm-up.

Not far behind Ryemyen in Karslruhe and pushing her all the way was Norway’s Ezinne Okparaebo who set an excellent new national record of 7.17. That represents a 0.04 improvement over her previous best from two years ago when she lifted European indoor silver in Torino and it may be that that experience of an individual medal could prove a decisive factor in Paris.

On home soil, the French will be difficult to dislodge after Myriam Soumaré, shock triple medallist in Barcelona last summer, and Véronique Mang ran into contention in the French championships with speedy clockings of 7.19 and 7.23, though Mang also ran 7.19 five days later.

Britain’s hopes rest on the shoulders of the enormously talented Jodie Williams. Williams took the national title in Sheffield with an excellent last 10m dash to record 7.24, just squeezing out Bernice Wilson by a mere 0.01. One week later in Birmingham Wilson beat some big names just outside her best to show consistency.

Lurking just outside the top ten on times is the outdoor European sprint champion, Germany’s Verena Sailer, who has been indisposed with back problems this winter. Karlsruhe was her 2011 debut and though she finished down on Ryemyen and Okparaebo, 7.28 for third and more importantly with no health problems, suggests she could be in the mix for a medal. In the German championships she lowered that time to 7.25 in the semi-finals. Other possible finalists are Yeyoría Koklóni of Greece and Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands who set a national junior record of 7.28 at the end of January.

Though she has run 7.23 this winter, Russia’s defending champion Yevgeniya Polyakova has not been selected.

Women's 400m

The 400m is coloured Russian, so there is no change there. Five of the top six performers in Europe are from Russia with only Bulgarian Vanya Stambolova breaking the mould.  Former World indoor champion, Olesya Forsheva (Krasnomovets), set the world lead of 51.22 at her national championships, pursued by the two Kseniyas – Zadorina and Vdovina with the former getting the trip.

Stambolova has pedigree, though, lifting European outdoor 400m gold in 2006 and collecting silver in the one-lap hurdles in Barcelona last summer. She has also won two world indoor medals and is a tenacious competitor.

Czech Republic’s Denisa Rosolová (bronze in the long jump four years ago) has gone sub-53sec this winter, claiming a good win in Stockholm over reigning European indoor champion, Antonina Krivoshapka of Russia. Other hopefuls who have dipped under 53sec this year are Hanna Tashpulatava of Belarus and Turkey’s Pinar Saka whose 52.99 is a national record.

Women 60m hurdles

Norway's Christina Vukicevic is among the favourites for the women's 60m hurdles title in Paris.

The field is led by European Athletic U-23 Championship gold medallist, Christina Vukicevic of Norway with her 7.90 national record in Karlsruhe. Hard on her heels are Germany’s Carolin Nytra, who clinched bronze in the outdoor version in Barcelona and 2007 European indoor silver, Russia’s Aleksandra Antonova, on 7.92 and 7.93 respectively.

France will be well represented by Alice Decaux and Sandra Gomis who were only separated by 0.03sec at the French championships – 7.97 to 8.00, but they will all have to be wary of 2006 World indoor champion, Ireland’s Derval O’Rourke, who struck bronze last time round in Torino. She also collected her second outdoor European Athletics Championships silver in Barcelona last summer.

Lisa Urech of Switzerland and Spain’s Josephine Onyía are contenders for a final place. Surprise silver last time round, Czech Republic’s Lucie Škrobáková will have to come up with a similar surprise to clinch a medal this time too. With a season’s best of 8.07 from January, she will need to rise to the occasion once again to equal her national-record Torino clocking of 7.95.

Women’s 4x400m

It would be an upset of major proportions if Russia were to lose their stranglehold on this event. They have quite simply cornered the European market in 400m running in the last few winters.

Having said that, they were surprisingly beaten by Belarus in 2007 but order was re-established in Torino with Russia lifting gold and Belarus relegated to bronze. The two nations were split by Great Britain who struck silver for the first time in the history of this event after two successive bronze medals.

Belarus is likely to be in the mix again but will have to watch out for the hosts lifted by a partisan crowd. British indoor quarter miling is languishing at the moment so they are unlikely to emulate their performance from last time round. The Ukraine, Italy and Turkey could all find themselves in the hunt for a minor medal.

European Athletics -(EAA) – News