Women\’s Events Previews – Thirteen European Athletics Indoor titles are up for grabs on the womens side and six women will defend the titles won in Madrid two years ago. Here follows an event-by-event preview of all the women\’s events.

The European Athletics Reporting team for the weekend includes Pierce O\’Callaghan (IRL), Matthew Brown (GBR), Phil Minshull (ESP), Michael Butcher (GBR) and Steve Landells (GBR). The men\’s previews will be posted tomorrow and there will be extensive coverage of every event as the action unfolds from Birmingham.

60m

Not only is Kim Gevaert (right) on a hat-trick of titles, but is the second fastest in Europe this winter with her 7.15 just 0.02 slower than Bulgaria\’s Tezdzhan Naimova . But two strong Russians will be close at hand. Yevgeniya Polyakova set a PB of 7.16 early in February, while Marina Kislova is returning to the sort of form that saw her take silver behind Gevaert in 2002. She clocked 7.18 behind Polyakova in the national championships. Yeoryíya Koklóni collected silver and bronze in the last two editions, but she will have to improve on her best so far this year of 7.33 to reach those heights. Still going strong at the age of 46 is the evergreen Merlene Ottey SLO who has notched up a swift 7.30 in this campaign.

400m

Russian women have won the last three titles, but that dominance is under serious threat from the host country\’s Nicola Sanders who is a full second faster than anyone else in the field with 50.60, a time she has run twice this year. As ever, Russia has a strong presence with four out of the next five fastest, but they would appear to be fighting for the minor medals with Tatyana Veshkurova and 2002 champion Natalya Antyukh leading the attack.

800m

Tetyana Petlyuk UKR and Jolanda Ceplak SLO are the only two to dip under 1:59 going into the championships. Petlyuk missed out on the medals in the European outdoors last summer, but is set fair for an indoor one. She will be severely tested by former champion and world record holder Ceplak, who is returning from injury, looking as strong as ever. But Russian champion, Oksana Zbrozhek, has been winning consisitently this winter and will be hoping to emulate Larisa Chzhao\’s gold from 2005. Balkan champion Mihaela Neacsu ROM could sneak into the frame while Jenni Meadows GBR showed strongly in the UK trials.

1500m

Britain\’s Helen Clitheroe was the pace setter this season until the Stockholm DN Galan meeting when Lidia Chojecka POL showed her a clean pair of heels, winning by a clear two seconds in 4:03.73. Third in that race was Sonja Roman SLO, who, like Clitheroe, set a PB. But championship racing at this distance can be unpredictable without pace-makers and Russian championship one-two, Olesya Chumakova and Natalya Pantelyeva could threaten, not to mention the Spanish champion, the combative Mayte Martinez, who likes nothing better than a finish-straight scrap.

3000m

Defending champion Chojecka is doubling up and on paper seemed the only one likely to trouble Britain\’s Jo Pavey. Until, that is, Spain\’s Marta Domínguez (right) changed her mind about competing in Birmingham. It was the Spaniard who famously changed her mind in Gothenburg about the 5,000m and came away with gold and she must start favourite here, despite a slowish 8:48.14 to her name compared to the Briton\’s European leading 8:31.50. Pavey will have to make it hard from gun to tape since she does not have Martinez nor Chojecka\’s blistering finish.

60m Hurdles

Two years ago, January\’s European Athlete of the Month Susanna Kallur, struck gold (her twin sister took silver) and is set fair to make it two in a row. If all goes to plan, the rest are fighting for the minor medals, but it promises to be the usual blanket finish with Aleksandra Antonova RUS, Reina Flor Okori FRA and Kirsten Bolm GER (two medals in the last two championships) all within 0.05 of each other. The ever-improving Nevin Yanit TUR has an outside chance of squeezing into the frame.

High Jump

As ever,indoors, this promises to be a cracking competition. No longer concentrating on the pentathlon in Birmingham, surprise outdoor champion, Tia Hellebaut BEL, is now confirmed for her new speciality where she set national indoor figures of 2.00 in Brussels in January. But with Blanca Vlasic CRO (2.01) and Venelina Veneva BUL (2.02) in shape, not to mention national record breakers Ruth Beitia ESP (2.01) and Antonietta di Martino ITA (2.00) also going over the 2m barrier, medals are going to be hard to come by. Nor should

Pole Vault

She may have been eclipsed in recent years by fellow-Russian Yelena Isinbayeva, but 2002 champion, Svetlana Feofanova, is once again amongst the favourites for the title in Isinbayeva\’s absence. Leading the contenders with a 4.74 second-time clearance in Bydgoszcz, she is followed on the rankings by Poland\’s Anna Rogowska who was third in Donetsk (4.72) behind Isinbayeva\’s world record. Carolin Hingst GER set new national figures of 4.70 in January, but slumped to seventh in Donetsk, well below her best. Yuliya Golubchikova RUS has a PB of 4.70 this winter while Czech duo of Katerina Badurová and Pavla Rybová are duelling for the country\’s top spot and improving all the time.

Long Jump

Defending champion, Naide Gomes POR, right with a season\’s best of 6.76m, leads the field but breathing down her neck are Ukrainian Viktoriya Rybalko (6.74) and the inevitable Russian challenge of Natalya Lebusova and Anna Nazarova with Spain\’s Concha Montaner, poised to exploit any weakness.

Triple Jump

With distances below par so far, the medal-challenge looks wide open. Russia\’s Olesya Bufalova sits on top of the entered athletes with 14.30PB, closely followed by Romania\’s Adelina Gavrila on 14.29, but with a life-time best of 14.76i from four years ago. Dana Veldakova SVK and Oksana Udmurtova RUS have jumped 14.18 and 14.12 respectively and while Carlota Castrejana ESP has not yet breached 14m, she is capable of going further in championship conditions.

Shot Put

Can Italy break the Russian/Belarussian stranglehold? In 2002 Assunta Legnante came close, clinching silver, and this time round she is on level pegging with Russia\’s Irina Khudoroshkina, both throwing 19.01. Expect Anna Omorova RUS, Yulia Leanstiuk BLR and bronze last time round Olga Ryabinkina RUS (and world bronze last year) to be in the frame.

Take your seats for the world\’s greatest female all-rounder, Carolina Klüft SWE, against whoever fancies their chances. Whether it means the Swede, right, will be hard pressed for once or just get even more fired up remains to be seen. Outdoor silver Karen Ruckstuhl is in place as well as the British duo of Kelly Southerton and up-and-coming Jessica Ennis.

4x400m Relay

Given their enormous strength in depth, the Russian quartet look unstoppable with Belarus, Great Britain and Poland vying for the minor medals.

Source:
European Athletics Association