EME NEWS (JUL 28, 2010) MORNING SESSION

QUOTE OF THE SESSION

„I m still missing some titles
(smiling), for example European Cup and some others. Still goals set for me in
future,” Olga Kaniskina after having won now all major titles in athletics.

RESULT OF THE SESSION

Kaniskina’s winning time of
1:27:44 is the fastest 20Km walk performance in Barcelona as well as fastest in
month of July.

SURPRISE OF THE SESSION

Low level of 800 m heats, a time over
1:50 enough to qualify.

FAVORITES FALLS

Belarus women sprinter did not
qualify, 2004 oly winner Yulia Nesterenko and current European leader Alena
Nevmerzhitskaya in 100 m
heats. Also out Russian newcomer Katsura 11.22 this year and former sub 11
runner Bulgarian Lalova. Top hammer throwers of 70+ category German Klaas and
Belarus Tsander and Pchelnik did not qualify.

STATS (by Ken Nakamura)

Women’s 20Km walk: In winning
20Km walk this morning, Olga Kaniskina became the first woman walker to win
Olympic (2008), World (2007 and 2009) and European Championships. Previously,
Olimpiada Ivanova, 2002 European champion, has won 2001 and 2005 WOrld
Championships, but she was only second in 2004

Olympics. Her winning margin of
1:11 over Anisya Kirdyapkina was smallest winning margin in Euro 20Km walk.
Russia became the first nation to sweep medals (won gold silver and bronze) at
the women’s walk (including when 10Km walk was contested) in the European
Championships. In finishing fourth with 1:29:43, Melanie Seeger of GER became
the fastest women 20Km walker from Germany at the European Championships. In
finishing fifth with 1:29:52, Beatriz Pascual of Spain became the fastest
women’s 20Km walker from Spain at the European Championships.

SPECTATORS

Estimated at 6000.

EVENTS

Steeple: Layes Abdullayeva of
Azerbaijan clocked national record 9:40.42 what is also third best ever junior
performer in Europe. She is of Ethiopian origin. Third Russian Kuzmina and home
Morato were also not expected to be out.

800 m: Dutch Rob Laathouwers
was pushed at 200 m
to go and was running a significant part of the last curve inside the
track. He was disqualified from qualifiying position. Out is top Russian Koldin
with 1:45.92 this year.

100 m: Impressive German Sailer
and also 1998 Champ Arron advanced.

400mH: Favorites ok, Czech
Prorok improved to life-time best first sub 50, he is 12th Czech ever with 49
at the begin.

OTHERS

ATHLETES COMMISSION: On
Wednesday started the vote for EA Athletes Commission. It will continue until
July 31 in
official hotels. All accredited athletes will be able to cast their votes at
the polling stations located at the information desks in each of the eight team
hotels. Decathlon superstar Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic and reigning
Olympic Heptathlon champion Nataliya Dobrynska of the Ukraine are among the 14
athletics stars past and present who are nominated for the European Athletics
Athletes Commission election.  The
commission, elected every four years, is currently chaired by Swedish High Jump
star Stefan Holm and Mikaela Ingberg of Finland. The election results will be
announced at the final banquet of the championships on 1 August 2010. This
year’s nominations in the men’s category also include former Pole Vault world
champion Rens Blom of the Netherlands, Slovak Hammer specialist Libor
Charfreitag (best in qualification), multiple European and World Championships
Shot Put medallist Manuel Martinez of Spain, Italian hurdler Laurent Ottoz,
Polish 400m specialist Marek Plawgo and Austria’s multi-talented runner Gunther
Weidlinger. Alongside Dobrynska in the women’s category are multiple European,
Olympic and World Championships High Jump medallist Kajsa Berqvist of Sweden,
Finland’s former Javelin star Mikaela Ingberg – a key member of the
organising committee of the 2012 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki,
Bulgarian sprinter Ivet Lalova, reigning World Championships Pole Vault silver
medallist Monika Pyrek of Poland, former Olympic and world indoor champion in
High Jump Yelena Slesarenko of Russia, and British hurdler Tasha Danvers.

UNESCO: European
Athletics-UNESCO Young Leaders Forum got underway on Tuesday with speeches from
European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz and a number of all-time great
athletes. Olympic gold medallists Sergey Bubka and Gabriella Szabo along with former
world record holder Steve Cram addressed more than 100 young people from 46
countries on the values of sport and volunteering at the opening ceremony at
the Catalonian National Institute for Physical Education, located near
Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium where the European Athletics Championships are
taking place.

CZE: Czech walker Zuzana
Schindlerova did not compete due to sore throat.

NOR: Injury for Norway second 100 m entry Folake Akinyemi.
Her participation ended in the worst possible way. Halfway into the race she
stopped, took to the thigh and was lying on the track. Finally, she was carried
out on a stretcher.

SWEDEN: Swedish Lena Berntsson
did not qualify in women 100 m
heats, she also competes in weight-lifting and scores top ten positions in Europe
there. Steeple runner Ulrika Johansson collapsed in the steeple heat due to hot
weather and did not finish the race.

AGENTS RANKING

Pavel Voronkov, Ricky Simms and
Alex Porkhomovskiy 1 gold medal, male walking winner is not agent bound.