Elisa Cusma in Padua (© Lorenzo Sampaolo)
Elisa Cusma, first in the women’s 800m in 2:00.05 produced the highlight performance of the 23rd edition of the Banca Antonveneta EA Meeting in Padua on Sunday (30).
The most cheered athlete of the Padua meeting was Cusma who ran her first race at the Stadio Euganeo in Padua after finishing sixth at the World Championships in Berlin with 1:58.81, a season’s best and the second fastest time in her career. Pacemaker Anna Mishchenko from Russia passed the first lap in 58.82. After Mishchenko dropped out after the bell Cusma took the lead with a solid margin over the rest of the group in the backstraight and crossed the finish line in 2:00.05. Cuban Yusneysi Santiusti was a distant second in 2:01.29.
“I had a good feeling today in my first race after Berlin,” said Cusma. “It was a great season with the European Indoor bronze medal in Turin, two gold medals in the 800m and 1500m at the Mediterranean Games in Pescara and the final in Berlin. I am planning some races in Rovereto, Brussels and the World Athletics Final in Thessaloniki and perhaps a 1500m in Rieti.”
On the men’s side Reuben Bett from Kenya, who ran 1:44.79 this year, won unopposed in 1:45.21, the only time under the 1:46 barrier.
Simpson improves to 11.15
On the comeback trail from injury, Jamaican sprinter Sherone Simpson, the joint Olympic silver medallist in the 100m in Beijing, clocked a season’s best 11.15 showing encouraging form after undergoing surgery last autumn.Gloria Asumnu from the USA finished runner-up in 11.32. It was the second win in Padua for Simpson who emerged as a young sprinter with a win here in 2004 two years before becoming the fastest sprinter in the world in 2006.
Two heats were held in the men’s 100m. The first three placers plus the two fastest losers advanced to the final. In the first heat Andrew Hinds from Barbados (PB 10.03 this year) took the first place in 10.29 edging out Canadian 4x100 world championships finalist Bryan Barnett (10.32) and Waugh (10.36). Ryan Bailey from the USA clocked the fastest time in the second heat with 10.20 beating Jamaican Winston Barnes (10.30) and Great Britain’s Jeffrey Lawl Balogun (10.34).
In a close men’s race Ainsley Waugh, who is a training partner of Simpson’s under the guidance of Stphen Francis, edged out Italian champion Simone Collio 10.18 to 10.19 with American Ryan Bailey third in 10.20.
The women’s Hammer Throw opened the meeting as in the tradition of this event on Saturday afternoon at the old Colbacchini Stadium. Former World record holder Tatyana Lysenko, sixth at the World Championships in Berlin, produced six throws over the 70 metres barrier with a best release to 73.12m in her final attempt to take the win. Clarissa Claretti, eighth at the World championships with 71.56m, finished runner-up with 71.12m beating Berlin fourth placer Kathrin Klaas from Germany, who threw 70.41m.
American Bershawn Jackson, the reigning Olympic and World bronze medallist, took the victory in the men’s 400m Hurdles in 49.25, the only time under the 50 seconds, beating Jamaica’s Beijing finalist Markino Buckley (50.18).
The men’s Long Jump which featured Olympic and World silver medallist Godfrey Khotso Mokoena was billed as one of the highlights of the Meeting Città di Padova but the competition never took off. Mokoena, who broke the African record with 8.50m in Madrid in July, never found his rhythm and had to be content with second place (7.92m) behind Ukrainian Andriy Makarchev who leapt to 7.95m.
Russian Tatyana Polnova won the women’s Pole Vault clearing 4.52 with her second attempt. She then tried and failed three times at 4.63m, which would have added one centimetre to meeting record set by Stacy Dragila in 2002. Dragila who will hang up her poles at the end of the season, made her farewell appearance in Padua finishing third with 4.12m. Italian record holder Anna Giordano Bruno, who set five Italian records this year improving to 4.60m, finished second with 4.32m before bowing out at 4.42m.
Cuba’s World championships semi-finalist William Collazo, who clocked 44.93 in Berlin, held off olympic Bronze medallist David Neville from the USA, 45.67 to 45.79 in the 400m. Third was Italy’s Berlin finalist European Indoor 4x400m Relay gold medallist Matteo Galvan in 46.09.
Elsewhere, Nickiesha Wilson from Jamaica continued the great period for the island nation’s sprint hurdling, winning in 12.93. Olympic finalist Funmi Jimoh (USA), fourth in the world season’s list in the women’s Long Jump with 6.96m, leapt to a winning 6.60m. Aliann Pompey from Guyana won the women’s 400m in 51.40 ahead of Senegal’s former World champion Ami Mbacke Thiam (51.50), and reigning Olympic slver medallist Natalia Mikhnevich, who was fourth in Berlin, won the women’s Shot Put with a 19.27m toss. The men’s contest went to Russian Pavel Sofin (19.54), who was 10th in Berlin.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
The most cheered athlete of the Padua meeting was Cusma who ran her first race at the Stadio Euganeo in Padua after finishing sixth at the World Championships in Berlin with 1:58.81, a season’s best and the second fastest time in her career. Pacemaker Anna Mishchenko from Russia passed the first lap in 58.82. After Mishchenko dropped out after the bell Cusma took the lead with a solid margin over the rest of the group in the backstraight and crossed the finish line in 2:00.05. Cuban Yusneysi Santiusti was a distant second in 2:01.29.
“I had a good feeling today in my first race after Berlin,” said Cusma. “It was a great season with the European Indoor bronze medal in Turin, two gold medals in the 800m and 1500m at the Mediterranean Games in Pescara and the final in Berlin. I am planning some races in Rovereto, Brussels and the World Athletics Final in Thessaloniki and perhaps a 1500m in Rieti.”
On the men’s side Reuben Bett from Kenya, who ran 1:44.79 this year, won unopposed in 1:45.21, the only time under the 1:46 barrier.
Simpson improves to 11.15
On the comeback trail from injury, Jamaican sprinter Sherone Simpson, the joint Olympic silver medallist in the 100m in Beijing, clocked a season’s best 11.15 showing encouraging form after undergoing surgery last autumn.Gloria Asumnu from the USA finished runner-up in 11.32. It was the second win in Padua for Simpson who emerged as a young sprinter with a win here in 2004 two years before becoming the fastest sprinter in the world in 2006.
Two heats were held in the men’s 100m. The first three placers plus the two fastest losers advanced to the final. In the first heat Andrew Hinds from Barbados (PB 10.03 this year) took the first place in 10.29 edging out Canadian 4x100 world championships finalist Bryan Barnett (10.32) and Waugh (10.36). Ryan Bailey from the USA clocked the fastest time in the second heat with 10.20 beating Jamaican Winston Barnes (10.30) and Great Britain’s Jeffrey Lawl Balogun (10.34).
In a close men’s race Ainsley Waugh, who is a training partner of Simpson’s under the guidance of Stphen Francis, edged out Italian champion Simone Collio 10.18 to 10.19 with American Ryan Bailey third in 10.20.
The women’s Hammer Throw opened the meeting as in the tradition of this event on Saturday afternoon at the old Colbacchini Stadium. Former World record holder Tatyana Lysenko, sixth at the World Championships in Berlin, produced six throws over the 70 metres barrier with a best release to 73.12m in her final attempt to take the win. Clarissa Claretti, eighth at the World championships with 71.56m, finished runner-up with 71.12m beating Berlin fourth placer Kathrin Klaas from Germany, who threw 70.41m.
American Bershawn Jackson, the reigning Olympic and World bronze medallist, took the victory in the men’s 400m Hurdles in 49.25, the only time under the 50 seconds, beating Jamaica’s Beijing finalist Markino Buckley (50.18).
The men’s Long Jump which featured Olympic and World silver medallist Godfrey Khotso Mokoena was billed as one of the highlights of the Meeting Città di Padova but the competition never took off. Mokoena, who broke the African record with 8.50m in Madrid in July, never found his rhythm and had to be content with second place (7.92m) behind Ukrainian Andriy Makarchev who leapt to 7.95m.
Russian Tatyana Polnova won the women’s Pole Vault clearing 4.52 with her second attempt. She then tried and failed three times at 4.63m, which would have added one centimetre to meeting record set by Stacy Dragila in 2002. Dragila who will hang up her poles at the end of the season, made her farewell appearance in Padua finishing third with 4.12m. Italian record holder Anna Giordano Bruno, who set five Italian records this year improving to 4.60m, finished second with 4.32m before bowing out at 4.42m.
Cuba’s World championships semi-finalist William Collazo, who clocked 44.93 in Berlin, held off olympic Bronze medallist David Neville from the USA, 45.67 to 45.79 in the 400m. Third was Italy’s Berlin finalist European Indoor 4x400m Relay gold medallist Matteo Galvan in 46.09.
Elsewhere, Nickiesha Wilson from Jamaica continued the great period for the island nation’s sprint hurdling, winning in 12.93. Olympic finalist Funmi Jimoh (USA), fourth in the world season’s list in the women’s Long Jump with 6.96m, leapt to a winning 6.60m. Aliann Pompey from Guyana won the women’s 400m in 51.40 ahead of Senegal’s former World champion Ami Mbacke Thiam (51.50), and reigning Olympic slver medallist Natalia Mikhnevich, who was fourth in Berlin, won the women’s Shot Put with a 19.27m toss. The men’s contest went to Russian Pavel Sofin (19.54), who was 10th in Berlin.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
