Dayron Robles celebrates his 110m hurdles victory (© Getty Images)
The season’s opening race of the 110m Hurdles Olympic champion Dayron Robles, and the winning leaps of Blanka Vlasic and Aleksey Dmitrik were among the most important performances of the “Thessaloniki 2009” held last night in Kaftatzoglio Stadium (10).
Thessaloniki 2009 is part of a select group of Area meetings at which points can be acquired by athletes to qualify for the IAAF / VTB Bank World Athletics Final, to be held on 12-13 September in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Robles opens victoriously with 13.30
Although without a strong competition, World record 110m Hurdles holder won easily his first race of the season in 13.30sec (-0.5 m/s).
The Cuban took the lead of the race from the first hurdle, followed only by his compatriot Dayron Capetillo, while American Aries Meritt left the blocks in third place. This order changed only in the last metres of the race, when Meritt attacked and took second place in 13.45, while Capetillo crossed the line in 13.63.
The women’s race was a close competition between Jamaican Delloreen Ennis-London, Cuban Anay Tejeda and Russian Yulia Kondakova. The Jamaican Olympics finalist opened the season in Thessaloniki with a victorious 13.08sec, leaving behind Tejeda who clocked 13.12 and Kondakova who was third with 13.16.
Two of the race favourites, Canada’s Angela Whyte and American Candice Davis had severe technical problems. Whyte finally took the fifth place with 13.22, while the American abandoned the race.
Dmitrik wins with 2.33m, Vlasic clears 2.01m
Aleksey Dmitrik dominated the men’s High Jump with a season’s best 2.33m. The Russian jumper was in brilliant form tonight and won easily, as he had also clear attempts at 2.31m and 2.28m. He attempted once at 2.35m but didn’t manage to equal the best world performance for this year.
Czech Yaroslav Baba cleared 2.31m to take second place, while two more athletes cleared 2.28m, though 38-year-old Serb Dragutin Topic took the third place having better attempts than Cyprus’ Kyriakos Ioannou.
One of the event favourites, Russian Ivan Ukhov cleared 2.24m but then left the competition, and nothing further was heard of the European Indoor champion!
In the women’s event, Croatia’s World champion Blanka Vlasic was the winner with 2.01m, although she had expectations for something better. She started the competition at 1.93 where she needed two attempts and then cleared 1.97m where she won the event. She cleared 2.01 with the third attempt and then tried unsuccessfully to equal her world leading performance at 2.05m.
Santa Lucia’s Lavern Spencer cleared 1.93m for the second place and Uzbekistan’s Svetlana Radzivil 1.91m for the third.
Veldakova and Aldama both jump 14.43m
The much awaited fight between the reigning World champion Yargelis Savigne and Olympic bronze medallist Chrysopigi Devetzi never happened, as the Cuban cancelled her participation in the meeting at the last moment, and Devetzi was off-form.
Slovak Dana Veldakova and Sudan’s Yamile Aldama both jumped 14.43m, with Veldakova, who had the second better jump at 14.32m taking the win
Greece’s Athanasia Perra improved her career’s best to 14.42m to take third place and meet the standard for Berlin World Outdoor Championships.
Three more triple jumpers had attempts better than 14m. Svetlana Bolshakova (14.27m) for fourth, while Devetzi (14.16m) placed sixth, losing out to the younger Greek Paraskevi Papahristou who also jumped 14.16m but had as better jump card overall.
Tsatoumas wins with 8.16m
The continually changing direction of the wind was the main problem for all long jumper. Greece’s Luis Tsatoumas won with 8.16m (-0.8m/s) produced in the 5th round.. The Greek champion led the competition from the beginning having a jump at 7.93m during the first round and finally was the only athlete who managed to exceed the 8m.
Another Greek, Dimitrios Diamantaras took second place with 7.81m which he he set in the second round, while Botswana’s Gable Garemanotse was third with 7.77m. Poland’s Marcin Starzak produced 7.69m for fourth place.
Gathimba takes 1500m in 3:34.72
Three runners fought for the win in the men’s 1500m, Bahrain’s Bilal Mansour Ali, Kenyan Gideon Gathimba and South African Johan Cronje. Kenya’s Philemon Kumutai was the rabbit of the race, trying to lead them to fast times, as he covered the first lap in 55 seconds and the second one in less than 1.53.
The last lap of the race was a step-by-step competition among those three, but Gathimba proved faster in the last metres and took the win with 3.34.72. Bilal Mansour Ali was second in 3.35.02, leaving Cronje third with 3.35.11
Gillick dominates the 400m with 45.16
Ireland’s David Gillick produced his fastest race of the season in the men’s 400m with 45.16 sec. British Tim Benjamin was second with 45.51 and Jamaican Michael Blackwood third with 45.65. The pre-race favourite Congo’s Gary Kikaya who was the fastest entrant ran 45.74 for the fourth place.
Mulling clocks 10.12; Cusma Piccione wins the 800m
Jamaica’s Steve Mullings set his season’s best 10.12sec to win the men’s 100m. British Edgar Tyron was second with 10.23, leaving on the third place Ghana's Aziz Zakari (10.31). Mulling’s compatriot Sheri Ann Brooks won the women’s 100m in 11.33, followed by Nigeria’s Damola Osayomi (11.44) and American Ladedra Guy (11.52).
Italian Elisa Cusma Piccione won the women’s 800m with 1.59.84, defeating Ukraine’s Tetyana Petlyuk, who was second with 2:00.22 and Zoya Nesterenko who clocked 2:00.64
Michalis Nikitaridis for the IAAF
