European Athletics (EAA) – News – Ukhov and Rogowska live up to expectations at Pedro’s Cup

This winter’s European Athletics Indoor Permit Meetings finished on a high note, literally and metaphorically, as Russia’s Ivan Ukhov and Poland’s Anna Rogowska thrilled the crowd at the Pedro’s Cup meeting in Bydgoszcz on Wednesday.

Around 5000 spectators in the Polish city’s Luczniczka Hall saw high jumper Ukhov go over a new meeting record 2.36m on his third attempt before unsuccessfully attempting a Russian record and world-leading mark of 2.41m.

Nobody but Ukhov has jumped higher this winter and he continued his unbeaten record by making it five wins out of five during the 2011 indoor season.

His next competition will be the European Athletics Indoor Championships next month as he has been given special dispensation by his national federation to miss this week’s Russian indoor championships.

The 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships will be held in the French capital Paris at the Palais Omnisport Paris-Bercy from 4-6 March

However, Ukhov was pushed by the Bahamian 2007 world champion Donald Thomas, who cleared 2.32m and briefly held the lead after Ukhov failed his first attempt at 2.30m. However, the Russian passed to 2.34m, which he cleared at the first time of asking, to secure the win.

Czech Republic’s 2004 Olympic Games bronze medallist Jaroslav Baba was third with 2.27m.

The men’s high jump was the appetiser for the finale of the meeting which focussed on just three field events, the women’s pole vault. Rogowska rose to the occasion and gave the home crowd what they wanted with her fourth victory at the event, following her triumphs in 2005, 2006 and last year.

The 2009 world champion got over a season’s best of 4.76m with her final attempt to equal the second best performance in the world this year.

She then had two unsuccessful attempts at a new national indoor record of 4.82m and one try at the absolute Polish record of 4.84m, both of which marks she currently holds.

However, the Polish public was kept on the edge of their seats during the latter stages of the competition when Russia’s 2010 European Athletics Championships winner Svetlana Feofanova, who was a winner at this meeting in 2008, went over 4.70m with her first attempt.

Rogowska failed her first attempt at that height, failed again with her initial attempt at 4.76m, before finally executing a last-gasp clearance to steal victory from under the nose of Feofanova.

Great Britain’s Holly Bleasdale, the 2010 World Junior Championships bronze medallist, equalled her life-time best set earlier this month when she went over 4.50m for third place as another local star Monika Pyrek, the 2009 World Championships silver medallist, struggled with her technique and was fourth after only getting over 4.40m with her third attempt.

Sadly a late withdrawal due to illness was Germany’s Silke Spiegelburg, who cleared a national indoor record of 4.76m on Sunday.

In the men’s shot put, the first event to finish, American thrower and world leader Ryan Whiting achieved 20.78m to win. The first European was the continent’s top man this winter, Germany’s 2006 European Athletics Championships gold medallist Ralf Bartels, who was third with 20.42m.

European Athletics (EAA)