World champions Hardee and Ennis top the bill in Götzis – PREVIEW – IAAF Combined Events Challenge

Götzis, Austria – The 37th edition of the Hypo-Meeting in Götzis in the Austrian region of Voralberg this weekend (28 / 29 May) will witness the traditional gathering of the best decathlon and heptathlon specialists in the world.

The Austrian leg of the IAAF Combined Events Challenge will feature reigning IAAF World champions Trey Hardee from the USA and Britain’s Jessica Ennis.

Men’s Decathlon

Despite the withdrawal last week due to injury problems of reigning Olympic champion Bryan Clay (winner in Götzis last year and in 2006) and five-time Hypo Meeting champion Roman Sebrle (who famously broke the World record with 9026 points in this meet in 2001), the men’s Decathlon still boasts a very strong field which lives up to the tradition of this meeting.

The field features 18 men with a PB of over 8000 points. Trey Hardee missed the win in the legendary Mösle Stadium by just six points after an exciting battle with German Michael Schrader in 2009 just three months before taking the World title in Berlin with 8790 points.

The US star, also a World Indoor silver medallist in the Heptathlon in Doha 2010 behind Bryan Clay, will be looking for his first Götzis title against a very strong Cuban challenge led by Leonel Suarez, World silver medallist in Berlin 2009, Olympic bronze medallist in Beijing 2008 and third in Götzis last year, Yordanis Garcia, eighth in Berlin 2009 and world seasonal leader with his recent 8397 points score set in Havana, and Yunior Garcia, ninth in Berlin 2009 and second in this year’s Havana meeting with 8053 points.

The USA will be also represented by Jake Arnold, who finished fourth in Götzis last year.

A strong Dutch squad will compete in the Mösle Stadium with credible ambitions to fight for the podium. The major hopes of the “Oranje team” will be carried by Eelco Sintnicolaas, who won the European silver medal both outdoors in Barcelona and indoors in Paris Bercy. Sintnicolaas boasts a very solid 5.45m Pole Vault record and may attack the meeting record in this discipline which was set by former Olympic champion Erki Nool who cleared 5.55 in 2000. Sintnicolaas is particularly strong in the last three events and has the potential to fight for top positions until the end as he shown in Barcelona last year where he engaged a close battle with Frenchman Romain Barras missing the gold medal by just 17 points. Barras, second in Götzis in 2010, will miss this year’s meeting after injury problems delayed his preparation.