Christine
Arron back on track
100m European record holder and 1998 European Champion Christine Arron will make her first
appearance of the 1999 season Sunday in Villeneuve d’ascq. The French athlete, who
decided not to compete during the winter in order to concentrate on the outdoor season,
will race the 200m. Her most stiff competition will come from the Romanian World Indoor
Champion Ionela Tirlea and her compatriots Muriel Hurtis, 1998 200m World Junior Champion
and Sylviane Felix, 1996 200m World Junior Champion.
Arron, who clocked 10.73 in Budapest last year to become the third fastest woman ever
declared her intention to improve her 200m personal best (22.62) in her first race of the
year.
"My training sessions have been excellent. I have made tests over 250m and I feel in
very good shape. At this time last year I was clocking around 32 seconds whereas this year
I have already run under 30 seconds."
The fastest woman of 1999, Nigerian Glory Alozie who recorded a
season’s best of 10.90 last week will double at 100m and 100m hurdles.
Bulgaria’s Svetla Dimitrova, Canada’s Katie Anderson of Canada, Olympic silver
medallist Patricia Girard and Nicole Ramalalanirina, both from France, complete the
hurdling field.
As for the men’s events, the line up of the 400m hurdles closely resembles that of
the Athens ‘97 final with reigning World Champion Stéphane Diagana (FRA), South
Africa’s silver medallist Llewellyn Herbert and bronze medallist Samuel Matete of
Zambia.
The American sprinter Dennis Mitchell is also scheduled to run in Villeneuve d'Ascq. The
100m bronze Olympic medallist in 1992, Mitchell so far this season seems on good form,
with 10.08 seconds recorded from the last meeting in which he participated in Stuttgart.
The pole vault contest will certainly reach high levels with Rodion Gataullin (RUS), Jean
Galfione (FRA) and Jeff Hartwig (USA) three members of the select 6m club all competing.
