by Larry Eder
QUOTE OF THE SESSION
“I was dreaming last two nights only about walking. In that race I had so heavy legs, very bad result. Fortunately it was not true,” Lyudmyla Olyanovska after silver in the 20 km walk for Ukraine.
RESULT OF THE SESSION
Great high jumping by heptathletes, Nafi Thiam 197 and Nadine Broersen Dutch record 194. Two best results ever at Eurochamps in heptathlon high jump, even Thiam´s is best ever in heptathlon at any competition.
SURPRISE OF THE SESSION
Czech Anezka Drahotova as World junior champion after a brave race winning bronze in the 20 km walk with national senior record 1:28:08. She is now the youngest walking medalist at European championships ever. Now she will run road race 10 km in Praha early September, then Czech Clubs League and then World Road Cycling Championships competing in both time-trial and individual race in junior categories.
FAVORITES FALLS
Norwegian 200 m record holder Jaisuma Saidy Ndure in the first round. Czech world medalist Lukas Melich in hammer qualification. German Tobias Scherbarth and former World champion Italian Giuseppe Gibilisco in pole vault qualification. Czech Eliska Klucinova injured (leg) herself at 100 m hurdles and could not continue in heptathlon. German 100 m record holder Julian Reus did not run the 200 m heats due to muscle problems.
Ricky Simms, Rene Auguin, Mark Wetmore, Vera Michallek, Caroline Feith, Carine Knapp-Messerschmidt, Czeslaw Zapala, Kerstin Pohlers, Alex Porkhomovsky, Olga Nazarova, Alberto Armas all 1.
STATS (by Ken Nakamura)
In the women’s heptathlon, Belgium’s Nafi Thiam cleared 197 to tie the highest mark ever in a heptathlon high jump. Tia Hellabaut jumped 197 in the 2006 edition of Gotzis. Thiam’s mark was also a new heptathlon high jump championship record. It is higher than the Olympic (194) and World Championships (195) record. Great Britain’s Adam Gemili ran 20.39 to tie the fastest heat time at 200m in a European Championships. If you also take into account quarter finals from championships with 4 rounds, it is the 3rd quickest time. Just 19 years old, Anežka Drahotová of the Czech Republic became the youngest women to medal in the 20kmW. The previous youngest was Anisya Kirdyapkina of Russia who was 20 when she won silver 4 years ago. It was also the Czech Republic’s first medal in the women’s 20kmW; Ukraine also won their first medal. The winning margin of 11 seconds is 60 seconds less than the previous smallest margin.
LEADING MARKS: So far at European champs 1 WL, 3 EL, 10 national records.
OTHER EURO NEWS
ZURICH (SUI): British 5000m champion Emelia Gorecka was “bitterly disappointed” with her 8th place finish in the Commonwealth Games and vowes to be “more part of the race” in Zurich at the European Championships, report Athletics Weekly. The 20 year old said that she is recovered from the Commonwealths and “really excited to give it a go and race against the seniors” in Zurich.
ZURICH (SUI): Finland’s Tero Pitkamaki has had his javelin rejected by meet officials meaning that he will have to use one provided by the meet organisers, report iltasanomat.fi.
ZURICH (SUI): The Swedish team’s chiropractor says that Emma Green’s back should be ok for the qualification round tomorrow, report expressen.se. Green admitted that she has “definitely been in better shape” but acknowledges that her current form is the best she has managed since the indoor season. She still believes that she has the capacity to jump high although she has not jumped in practice since the Swedish nationals two weeks ago in an effort to not aggravate the injury.
ZURICH (SUI): The City festival in Zurich already attracted more than 100 000 visitors. The figure is higher than expected.
ZURICH (SUI): As in men walking again only one disqualification was registered in the women race. And again after men at 20 km also women had negative split, that means first half slower than the second one.
