Hestrie Cloete in Ostrava (© Getty Images)
Zagreb, CroatiaA dominant return to competition by 400m Hurdles World Champion Jana Pittman and the ongoing duel between Hestrie Cloete and Blanka Vlašic highlighted the 54th edition of the Zagreb Grand Prix, last night.
Under cloudless skies and in front of a near-capacity crowd in the Croatian capital’s Sportpark Mladost, the stage was set for a rematch of last year’s dramatic High Jump competition that resulted in Vlašic’s first-ever two-metre clearance.
Both jumpers were perfect through 1.97, but just as she did last year, South Africa's two-time World Champion outdid the local favorite, winning with a massive second attempt clearance of two metres. Vlašic, a two-time World Junior champion and still just 20, had two near misses at the same height, but couldn’t manage her feat of a year ago.
“It’s a season’s best for me, so I’m very pleased,” said Cloete, who scaled 1.98 in both Ostrava and Bergen. “My coach told me my two-metre jump was very good. For higher heights, we can wait.” She went on to attempt 2.02, with two jumps coming marginally close.
Both athletes will compete on Friday (2 July) in Rome’ s Golden Gala TDK Golden League meeting.
Pittman dominant
Pittman’s late entry in Zagreb quickly turned the race into a battle for second. Off to a clear lead by the first hurdle, Pittman made up the stagger less than 200 metres into the race. Some missteps down the homestretch slowed her down in the final stages, but the 21-year-old Australian won by more than a second-and-a-half in 54.15.
“I nailed the first 300,” Pittman said. “I’m extremely fit, but I didn’t have the race fitness in the last 100 metres and I made a few technical errors,” she added, referring to choppy approaches to the final two hurdles. “But it’s my first (European) race since World champs, so I’m pleased. The time though, is nothing special.”
Despite the critical self-assessment, her performance was considerably faster than her 54.42 summer opener last season, boding well for her Olympic campaign. Pittman races next in Rome on Friday. Russian Yekaterina Bikert was a distant second in 55.77.
Liu Xiang - commanding performance
After three false starts -South American record holder Redelen dos Santos was the first dq casualty, defending champion Duane Ross was the second - a fast performance wasn’t likely in the men’s High Hurdles. But the distraction didn’t seem to bother 21-year-old Xiang Liu. Despite a cautious start, the Asian record holder and world leader (13.06 in Osaka) took command of the race by the second hurdle, and flawlessly sailed over the remaining eight en route to his 13.25 win. Stanislav Olijars was distant second in 13.46; none of the remaining four finishers dipped under 14 seconds. Next on Liu’s schedule is Rome’s Golden Gala on Friday followed by Sunday’s Padova EAA meeting.
71m battle in women’s Hammer
The competition opened with the women’s Hammer Throw, and reigning European champion Olga Kuzenkova of Russia took care of things quickly with an opening round 71.91 heave. Zhang Wenxiu of China reached 71.50 in the second round to finish second, besting Olympic champion Kamila Skolimowska (71.04) of Poland.
The men’s long jump was extremely competitive, with Bulgarian Nikolai Atanasov, a European Cup First League champion, winning by a lone centimetre over Bahamian Osbourne Moxey with an 8.01 leap. Perrenial Croatian favorite Sinisa Ergotic leaped 7.98 in the second round to lead most of the competition, but wound up finishing third.
In the women’s contest, Olga Rublyova of Russia clinched the win with her first round 6.50 leap, topping Antonia Yordanova’s first round 6.41 effort. Showing unusual consistency, both jumpers equaled their marks in the fourth round.
Zadorozhnaya wins hot 1500
With a strong surge in the final 200 metres, Russian Yelena Zadorozhnaya, the year’s second fastest, won a hotly contested 1500 in 4:06.71. 18-year-old Ukrainian Nelya Neporadna, who lowered the European junior record to 4:04.24 at last year’s World Championships, pushed the Russian throughout and held on for second in 4:07.22. With a strong finish in the waning 50 metres, Canadian Kate Vermeulen finished third in 4:07.42.
In the men’s race, 22-year-old Tarek Boukensa of Algeria powered home unchallenged to win in 3:35.77, a season’s best and his first win of the year. Compatriot Kamel Boulahfane was second in 3:36.76 with Germany’s Wolfram Mueller (3:37.27) third.
Considering the warm, still conditions, the sprint results were mediocre. In the 100m, Ghanaian Abdul Aziz Zakari pulled away just past the halfway point to win in 10.18 over Japan’s 200m World Championships bronze medallist Shingo Suetsugo (10.29), while Vida Anim’s narrow 11.37-11.38 win over Ukraine’s Marina Maydanova completed a short dash sweep for Ghana. Maydanova bounced back to win the half-lap in 22.99, while Briton Darren Campbell, third in the 100, won the longer sprint in 20.74.
Elsewhere, Miran Vodovnik of Slovenia led the shot put competition throughout, eventually topping out with a 20.19 best, Briton Jamie Baulch won the 400 (46.44) and Russian Maria Koroteyeva (13.03) took top honours in the 100m Hurdles.
