Devetzi sets the Greek crowd alight!

  Day two of the track and field competitions at the Olympic stadium in Athens was particularly favourable for Greek women athletes, in particular 31-year-old Anastasia Kelesidou who grabbed the first athletics medal for the host country when taking the Discus Throw silver.

Kelesidou’s success was loudly greeted by a capacity crowd who supported the Greek national champion – her two team-mates who also made it to the final – during all of her six attempts.

The roar which accompanied the flight of Kelesidou's Discus was far from being the first of the day - and most certainly not the last of the Olympic Games - as other Hellenic athletes had previously ensured today’s would be a show to remember.

In the morning’s session it was 25-year-old Fani Halkia who had the spectators to their feet as she comfortably took her first round 400m Hurdles heat in a new national record of 53.85 – the second fastest qualifying time!

Hrysopiyí Devetzi - national record

Arguably though the most spectacular Greek performance of the day came in the women's Triple Jump qualifications, an event notably successful for Greece which often placed athletes on the World and European Championships podiums, most impressively in Seville 1999 when Paraskevi Tsiamita took the gold medal and Olga Vasdeki the bronze.

The event is still a relatively new in Olympic history as Athens marks only its third appearance in the programme and, although Greece has never taken an Olympic medal at the event, Vasdeki had been in the final in both Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.

1998 European champion 31-year-old Vasdeki made it to Monday night’s final in Athens with an automatic qualifying 14.54m leap, but for once, she will not be the one to carry Greece’s main medal hopes.

That burden will be on 28-year-old World Indoor bronze medallist Hrysopiyi Devetzi who hopped, stepped and jumped to a national record of 15.32m, an improvement on her outdoor personal best of 48 centimetres!

The Greek’s opening jump was the only 15-metre plus jump of the day in a competition which saw no fewer than 15 athletes better the qualification standard of 14.45.

Talented and gracious

Devetzi, a former artistic gymnast, could hardly believe it when the scoreboard flashed, and despite the initial shock she responded to the crowd’s loud approval with a double back flip, a celebration which has now become the trademark of the three-time Greek champion.

“It was amazing,” said Devetzi through the assistance of a translator. “The crowd helped me so much, it was magic.”

“I want to keep it going in the final; I want to be just as good as I was today in the final.”

Last year’s World Championships 8th place finisher, Devetzi will certainly need to jump not only as far as she did today but most probably even further considering the depth of the final which will include the 'best of the best' in women’s triple jumping.

“This competition is the most important of my life,” said the young woman from Alexandroupoulis, in the Northern part of the country near the border with Turkey.

“I hope the crowd will still be with me and I hope God will also be with me when I line up for the final.”

A Physical Education student, Devetzi has filled in the gap left by compatriot Tsiamita who retired earlier this year following recurrent injuries.

“Although she is 28 she represents the future generation of Greek athletics,” explained ATHOC Venue Media Manager Makis Tsilkos.

“She is very talented and most important she is always gracious with television reporters and journalists.”

“We Greeks like her because she reminds us of Tsiamita. Not only does she look like her physically but also her jumping technique is very much similar.”

Coached by former Triple Jumper Sofia Bakatsaki, Devetzi made her first international appearance at the 2001 Mediterranean Games where she finished fifth. Since, Devetzi has represented Greece in most of the major global championships topped by her bronze medal performance at this winter’s World Indoor Championships.

In Budapest, Devetzi’s 14.73m was nowhere close to Lebedeva’s World Indoor record and gold medal winning leap of 15.36 but it looks like things may prove different five months later.

Let's wait and see

The women’s Triple Jump’s line up for the final is one of the deepest in the history of the event with all medal contenders automatically advancing – most of them only needed one attempt to secure a spot in the final – to what promises to be a fantastic show.

Although Devetzi set the crowd alight tonight, none of her major opponents seemed to be shaken by her shocking performance.

“It’s only the qualifications, let’s wait and see!” was the general belief in the Mixed Zone, as World Indoor record holder Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia, World bronze medallist Magdelin Martinez of Italy, and World Indoor silver medallist Yamilé Aldama of Sudan all came out with nearly the same comment!

Martinez, who improved her own national record to 15.03 earlier this year was the first to advance to the final and the first to verbally respond.

“I believe the final will be fantastic. There will be a bunch great jumps and it will be an extremely tough contest. I feel great both physically and mentally. I have the certainty that I will put together a really big jump in the final.”

Lebedeva who bids for an unprecedented Long Jump and Triple Jump double in Athens was more cautious, superstition probably taking the toll on the Sydney Olympic medallist.

“Let’s wait and see what happens, time will tell. I am the favourite for winning the Triple Jump, I know that and I think it will probably take an Olympic record if not a World record to take the title.”

“I want to be successful in both my events but it’s true that I have a little bit more pressure for the Triple Jump. As I said only time will tell.”

Unable to compete at either the World Indoor or Outdoor Championships last year, Aldama only needed one attempt to keep her Olympic dream alive.

“I am happy, very happy and more than happy to be here. I have been in Greece for three weeks now acclimatizing to the heat and I feel extremely good,” said Aldama who was wearing the Sudanese national vest for only the second time in a major championship.

“I will go for gold of course, not only for me but for my country, my family and everyone else.”

The Triple Jump finally promises to be thrilling with in addition to Devetzi, Lebedeva, Martinez, Aldama and Vazdeki also Commonwealth champion Trecia Smith of Jamaica, African former record holder Françoise Mbango of Cameroon, Kene Ndoye of Senegal, Algerian record holder Baya Rahouli and quite a few other names...  

Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF