Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania celebrates winning the discus throw (© Getty Images)
The 20th version of “Vardinoyannia EAA Permit Meeting” yesterday attracted some of the world’s top athletes who lived up to the ambitions expressed by the organising committee to host their most successful meeting ever.
Although this year a World record wasn’t set (in 2001 Cuba’s Osleidys Menendez broke the women’s Javelin record), three world season bests and many other performances of note highlighted the competition.
Lebedeva opens 15.23 – Aldama injured
Russia’s Tatyana Lebedeva who was competing for the first time since her double World Indoor Championships success which included three World Indoor records confirmed she has lost none of her winter form with three jumps over 15m.
However, her win here was not too easy, as it was Sudan’s Yamile Aldama who opened the competition with a meeting record of 15.00m and then improved to 15.21m during the second round. Lebedeva in comparison had two opening fouls before registering 15.01m in the third round, and then took the lead in the fourth round with a world leading 15.23m. Aldama withdrew after the 3rd attempt, because of an injury.
This is the first time ever that two jumpers have been over 15.20 in the same competition.
Alekna and Fazekas engage in 70m duel
The battle among the two giants of the men’s Discus, Hungary’s European champion Robert Fazekas and Lithuania’ s World and Olympic champion Virgiljius Alekna lived up to expectations with a 70m duel. Fazekas’ third attempt measured 70.83m but a few minutes later Alekna, who had thrown 69.08m earlier in the competition replied with 70.02m.
However, there was even more to come from the reigning Olympic champion who sent the Discus to 70.97m with his next attempt, the best performance in the world since 2002.
The first time ever that two Europeans have been over 70m in the same Discus competition, and only third-time overall. Fazekas' 70.83 was the longest ever non-winning throw.
Samitova close to her own World record
Russia’s Gulnara Samitova, attempted to break her own women’s 3000m steeplechase World record (9:08.33), and following the fast race made by Uganda’s Dorkus Izinkuru in the first few laps, she looked able to do it. However, the lack of a stronger competition, especially after the middle of the race, resulted a time of 9:09.84, a world leading mark and also the second all time best performance for the event.
Exciting Long Jump
A close competition among three Russian talents in the women’s Long Jump, Tatyana Kotova, Olga Rublyova and Irina Simagina, resulted in one of the more exciting events of the meeting.
Kotova took the lead with a jump at 6.75m in the third attempt, but the fifth jump of Rublyova was better - 6.88m. However, Simagina, the European Cup winner last weekend who had only fouls jumps before the last round, managed a marvelous 7.01m to win the event. Simagina’s mark is the second best performance in the world this year, the best at sea-level.
Fast sprinting
Belarus’ Yulia Nestherenko dominated the women’s 100m in 11.02, Russia’s Yuliya Tabakova and Nigeria’s Endurance Ojokolo followed with season’s best of 11.23 and 11.29 respectively. Greece’s Georgia Kokloni, 60m bronze medallist in the European Indoor Championships in 2002 returned, after a year and a half away from the track, with 11.44 to take the 6th place.
In the men’s race, Nigeria’s World Cup winner Uchenna Emedolu clocked 10.05, to take the win. His compatriot Deji Aliu placed second with his season’s best 10.15. Emedolu doubled up with a 20.39 season’s best to take the 200m, while Nestherenko improved her 200m personal to 22.91 to take double victories in the women’s sprints.
In the other events, excellent marks were set by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zyukov who jumped 8.23m to beat Spain’s Yago Lamela (8.06m) in the men’s Long Jump. Another Ukrainian Ivan Heshko, was the winner of the 1500m with 3.36.22.
Glory Alozie clocked 12.66 in the women’s 100m Hurdles and Russia’s Tatyana Novoseltseva continued her winning run with a clearance at 1.95m in the women’s High Jump. Finally, Olga Yegorova overwhelmed Yelena Zarodnoskaya in the last 40m to win the women’s 1500m race in 4:04.04.
Michalis Nikitaridis for the IAAF
MEN
100 m.
1st Heat +1.80 m/s 1 SARRIS Panagiotis GRE 10.29 SB; 2 DE LEPINE Eddy FRA 10.36; 3 PETRIDIS Aristidis GRE 10.46 SB
2nd Heat +0.10 m/s 1 EMEDOLU Uchenna NGR 10.05 SB; 2 ALIU Dezi NGR 10.15 SB; 3 DE LIMA Vicente BRA 10.17
200 m.
1st Heat +0.60 1 GRANT Dwayne GBR 20.90; 2 MAYOLA Freddy CUB 20.99 PB; 3 VASSOU Christos GRE 21.18
2nd Heat 1 EMEDOLU Uchenna NGR 20.39 SB; 2 EGBELE Aaron NGR 20.56; 3 DOMIGOS DA SILVA BRA 20.60
1500 m. 1 HESHKO Ivan UKR 3:36.22 CR; 2 BABA Youssef MAR 3:36.73 SB; 3 MWERA Samwel KAZ 3:36.89 SB
400mh 1 DOUGLAS Matt GBR 49.87 SB; 2 GAVELAS Platon GRE 50.13 PB; 3 MELESHENKO Yevgeniy KAZ 50.34
3.000m steeple 1 VADYM Slobodenyuk UKR 8.29.02; 2 KHAMIS ABDULA Saifeldin QAT 8.30.55; 3 ZOUHAIR EL Ouardi MAR 8.30.61
Long Jump 1. ZYUSKOV Vladimir UKR 8.23 (+1.0); 2. LAMELA Yago ESP 8.06 (+1.7); 3. SHKURLATOV Vitaliy RUS 8.02 (+1.5)
Hammer Throw 1. ANNUS Adrian HUN 80.57; 2. PARS Krisztian HUN 79.52; 3. KOBS Karsten GER 76.19
Discus Throw 1. ALEKNA Virgilijus LTU 70.97 WL; 2. FAZEKAS Robert HUN 70.83; 3. KANDER Gerd EST 66.71
WOMEN
100 m. (+1.50) 1 NESTERENKO Yuliya BLR 11.02 PB; 2 TABAKOVA Yuliya RUS 11.23 SB; 3 OJOKOLO Edurance NGR 11.29 SB
200 m.
2nd Heat 1 NESTHERENKO Yuliya BLR 22.91 PB; 2 AIDA Diop SEN 23.18; 3 OJOKOLO Edurance NGR 24.41
1st Heat 1 BICAR Alenka SLO 22.76 SB; 2 TABAKOVA Yuliya RUS 22.81; 3 SAFRONNIKOVA Natalya BLR 22.95 SB
1500 meters 1 YEGOROVA Olga RUS 4:04.04 SB; 2 ZADOROZHNAYA Yelena RUS 4:04.33 SB; 3 KOSENKOVA Yuliya RUS 4:06.51 SB
100m. hurdles +1.6 m/s 1 ALOZIE Glory ESP 12.66 SB; 2 KOROTEYEVA Mariya RUS 12.74; 3 LOPEZ Aliuska ESP 12.88
3000m. steeplechase 1 SAMITOVA Gulnara RUS 9:09.84 WL; 2 CASANDRA Cristina ROM 9:38.63; 3 ROSA Analia POR 9:50.36 SB
High Jump 1 NOVOSELTSEVA Tatyana RUS 195; 2 SERYOGINA Viktoriya RUS 191; 3 KALITURINA Olga RUS 188
Long Jump 1 SIMAGINA Irina RUS 7.01 (0.0); 2 RUBLYOVA Olga RUS 6.88; 3 KOTOVA Tatyana RUS 6.75
Triple Jump 1 LEBEDEVA Tatyana RUS 15.23 (+0.8) WL; 2 ALDAMA Yamile SUD 15.21 (+1.2) SB; 3 PYATYKH Anna RUS 14.70 (+1.5)
