Mark Ouma for IAAF
7 March 2001 – Lithuania’s Olympic discus champion, Virgilijus Alekna, will make his return to competition at the Engen Summer series after a knee operation.
A regular campaigner in the ABSA series in previous years, Alekna will compete in all three Engen meetings. These will be staged in the Ruimsig Stadium, Roodepoort (March 16), Pilditch Stadium (March 23), and Coetzenburg Stadium, Stellenbosch (March 30).
"I first injured my knee a month before the Sydney Olympics. Coming so close to the Olympics l did not want top miss the big party. At the end of the season l submitted to an operation on my meniscus, and l think everything went well," said Alekna
A gold medallist at the 1998 Johannesburg World Cup and a silver medallist at the World Championships two years ago, Alekna admits that the series are an important build up to the World Championships in Canada next August. "The Engen series will be my first competitions since the operation.
"Some athletes find it difficult to return to form after an operation. Therefore this series will give me an important indication of how my knee has recovered after the operation," said Alekna, who works as a bodyguard to Lithuania's first (and now retired) President, Algirdas Brazauskas.
"Competing against strong opponents like Alekna always brings out the best in me. I have only thrown the discus over 64 metres once this season. With three Olympics finalists in contention, l think l should be able to surpass the 65 metre mark during the series," said Frantz Kruger, South Africa's Olympic bronze medallist. Germany's Lars Riedel clinched the silver medal.
However, Athletics South Africa have lined up a number of leading discus throwers who will give the Olympic medallists a run for their money. These include Canadian Jason Tunk, who was sixth in Sydney, Hungarians Roland Varga and Robert Fazekas, and Michael Conjungo (CAF).
In a separate development the Olympic hammer throw champion Ziólkowski Szymon (Poland) arrives in the country for the series today. While 11 athletes who have been training at the IAAF Regional Development Centre in Dakar, Senegal, are due to arrive in the country over the weekend.
These are Tacko Diouf, Aida Diop, Ami Mbache Thiam (Senegal) , Mireille Nguimgo (Cameroon), Hamika Rakotondrabe, Rosa Rakotozafy, Berloz Randriamihaja (Madagascar), Eric Milazar, Stephane Buckland (Mauritius), and Antonine Boussombo (Gabon). Athletes from the French speaking Africa countries are preparing for the Francophone Games in Ottawa, Canada in July.
