European Athletics -News – A Russian double in May as Darya Klishina and Ivan Ukhov are named European Athletes of the Month.

European Athletics is pleased to announce that Russia’s Ivan Ukhov and Darya Klishina have been voted by the fans and media as European Athletes of the Month for May.

Ukhov, the London 2012 Olympic Games champion continued his stellar 2014 form by going over a world-leading height of 2.41m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha on 9 May in one of the best competitions ever seen in this event. The men’s high jump is set to be one of the most exciting events at this year’s European Athletics Championships in Zurich, as Ukhov will look to challenge the current World champion Bohdan Bondarenko of the Ukraine.

Second in the vote was France’s Jimmy Vicaut the 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships 60m gold medallist sped to a time of 9.95 over 100m in Aix-le-Bains on 18 May, the fastest time of the year by a European, and he also had a wind-assisted time 9.89 in Eugene on 31 May. This summer he will be up against his compatriot Christophe Lemaitre and several other British sprinters eager to claim gold.

Ukraine’s Ruslan Dmytrenko was voted in third after his victory at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in the Chinese city of Taicang and took the honours in a national record and European-leading time of 1:18.37 on 4 May. With this stellar performance he will head to Zurich with the favourite’s tag.

On the women’s side, the award went to Russia’s Darya Klishina who reached the long jump world-leading distance of 6.88m in May, but the two-time European indoor champion actually did it at two meetings; in Tokyo on 11 May and in Eugene on 30 May. She is favoured for gold in Zurich but will have to beware of Serbia’s Ivana Spanovic who also achieved 6.88m this year and France’s Eloyse Lesueur the World indoor champion from Sopot.

In second place was Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic the reigning hammer throwing World and Olympic champion continued her magnificent season with a national record and world-leading 70.52m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai on 18 May and then extended her winning streak in Eugene.

In third was Dutch heptathlete Dafne Schippers, the flying Dutchwomen blasted her way to a 200m national record and European-leading time of 22.35 at the multi-event meeting in the Austrian town of Gotzis on 31 May. Only one woman has ever gone faster during a heptathlon.

The European Athlete of the Month initiative was launched in January 2007 and is designed to recognise outstanding performers at all levels of the sport in Europe.

No athlete who has previously served a two-year doping ban can be nominated for the European Athlete of the Month.

European Athletics -News