Catalina Oprea (© Olaf Moeldner (c) 2003)
Romania’s Catalina Oprea shattered the world junior 2000m steeplechase world record and German snared six gold medals during an action-packed final day at the 17th European Junior Championships in Tampere, Finland.
Oprea obliterated the world mark by almost four seconds to stop the clock at 6:21.78 and better Australian Melissa Rollison’s three-year-old world mark of 6:25.77.
In an incident-packed start to the race Oprea’s team-mate and pre-race favourite, Ancuta Bobocel tripped and fell after 20m but climbed off the floor to win silver.
Oprea said: “My times have gone well in training. This year my two other races were not so good but today I was feeling great and it showed. Breaking the world record was a big surprise.”
Three athletes all achieved their dream of completing doubles on the final day of the championships
Bulgaria’s Inet Lalova became the eighth women in the history of the European Junior Championships to complete the 100m/200m double by scorching to a 22.88 clocking in the 200m – just three hundredths outside the 30-year-old championship record.
Lalova, who runs for the Levski Sofia, the same club as world 100m Hurdles record-holder Yordanka Donkova, finished fourth over 200m in the 2001 World Youth Championships and said: “It was a very hard run. I was tired after all the other races and the weather is not the best possible for a sprinter. I’m happy they didn’t catch me down the home straight and I was able to win.”
Germany enjoyed a glorious final day and leading their gold rush was Sophie Krauel dubbed ‘the new Heike Drechsler’ who completed the 100m Hurdles and Long Jump double with victory in the latter event by one centimetre.
The 18-year-old won with a third round effort 6.47m but only just as Romania’s world junior champion Adina Anton leapt out to 6.46m in the final round.
“I’m not satisfied with my result, said Krauel. I thought I had to jump at least 6.50m-6.60m to win. But I’m glad everything went well. There is going to be some big celebrations in my home town in Jena after I return home a double champion.”
Another double winner was Portugal’s ‘Jack in the Box’ jumper Nelson Evora, who added triple jump gold to his long jump success two day earlier.
Evora, who placed sixth in last summer’s World Junior Championships, produced the three longest leaps of the competition with a best of 16.43m.
Germany claimed a first men’s 200m gold medal in the unified era, as Sebastian Ernst won the 200m in an impressive personal best of 20.63. Men’s sprinting in Germany has suffered a lull in recent years but the way Ernst, who reached the world junior final last year, destroyed the field suggests he can make a big impact in the future.
The minor medallists both registered 20.86 but Russian Roman Smirnov was given the silver ahead of Germany’s Till Helmke.
There was a major surprise in the men’s pole vault as European number one Artem Kuptsov was edged out of the gold on countback to France’s Vincent Favretto.
Kuptsov, who was aiming to succeed his brother Dmitri (he won in 2001) to the European Junior title, cleared 5.50m with his second attempt but a first time clearance by Favretto earned France a fourth gold medal in this event in the last seven championships.
In the flat endurance events Eastern Europe dominated the final day with Anatoliy Rybakov, the European Cross Country silver medallist, winning the 5000m. The Siberian-born athlete’s twin brother, Yeygeny, who won the European Cross Country title dropped out of the 10,000m but Anatoliy would not be denied in the 5000m winning comfortably in 14:13.41.
Romania took the minor medals with Marius Ionescu adding 5000m silver to the gold he won in the 10,000m.
In the women’s 1500m a decisive last lap burst from Nelya Neporadna of the Ukraine was enough to take gold in 4:12.57 from Britain’s Dani Barnes (4:16.91).
Poland’s Bartosz Nowicki sneaked through on the inside with a late sprint to take this nation’s first ever European Junior 1500m gold medal in 3:45.01 from long time leader Tom Lancashire of Great Britain.
The men’s steeplechase was dominated by Germen Ruben Schwarz, who led virtually from gun to tape to win by more than five seconds in a personal best of 8:46.21. Maricel Ionascu took silver in 8:53.31 but the real drama took place behind as Great Britain’s Peter Kellie pipped the host nation’s Janne Ukonmaanaho for bronze.
After Italy’s European no 1 Massimo Marussi surprisingly failure to qualify for the men’s hammer final his compatriot Lorenzo Povegliano took advantage to win gold in the final.
Povegliano, who is coached by three-times Italian hammer champion Mario Vecchiato, went into the competition the ninth ranked athlete but a 72.72m throw was enough for victory.
Germany claimed the gold and silver medals in both the women’s high jump and javelin as Ariane Friedrich (1.88m) defeated Aileen Hermann (1.86) and Julia Zandt (56.96) beat Mareike Rittweg (54.74).
Russia’s Olga Levenkova dominated the women’s heptathlon and a 6.12m long jump, 37.81m javelin and 2:17.83 800m good enough for gold and a point total of 5748.
It was fitting the curtain was brought down on the championships with the four strongest nations all winning a gold medal apiece in the relays.
France anchored by 100m silver medallist Veronique Mang won the women’s 4x100m in 44.60 from Great Britain (44.81) with Finland winning bronze in 45.00 - their first track medal of the championships.
Great Britain won an exhilarating men’s 4x100m anchored by men’s 100m gold medallist Leon Baptiste by just four-hundredths in 40.37 from the German quartet.
Russia reigned in the women’s 4x400m with a 3:33.48 clocking and Germany’s Kamgne Gaba crossed the finish line in 3:08.31 to hold off the challenge of the French quartet in the men’s 4x400m relay.
Germany topped the medals table with 27 medals, winning ten gold, ten silver and seven bronze medals. Russia were second with a 24 medal haul, which included nine gold, eight silver and seven bronze and Britain placed third in the medal table with 16 – three gold, five silver and eight bronze.
Steve Landells for the IAAF
