Wilson Kipketer wins European Championships 800 metres (© Getty Images/Allsport)
Denmark's World 800m record holder Wilson Kipketer will compete at the ‘Meeting de Madrid 2012’ on 19 July, the fifth leg of the IAAF Super Grand Prix series in 2003, in the stadium that hosted the 2002 World Cup. The 32-year-old Danish athlete is a top of a star-studded programme which will be fully released next week, organisers confirmed today.
After finishing runner-up to American David Krummenacker at the World Indoor championships held in Birmingham (UK) last March Kipketer has raced only once. He clinched that win with ease in Warsaw on 15 June clocking an unremarkable time for him of 1:46.67.
“I like running in Warsaw as my coach, Slawomir Novak is Polish. I’m just training for now and look forward to the Madrid competition”.
However, winning will be a hard task to accomplish since Kipketer will take on Spain’s World Cup winner Antonio Reina among others.
The 22-year-old Spaniard is in the form of his life and has already produced three under 1:45 clockings this outdoor season topped by his 1:44.37 performance at the Golden League meeting in Paris last week. In addition Reina, who missed the bronze medal in Birmingham by four hundredths to Kenya’s Wilfred Bungei, took a convincing first spot at the European Cup (Super League) in Florence on 22 June.
“To compete against Kipketer is always exciting; I’ll try to beat him for the first time” said a confident Reina.
But the men’s Long Jump will easily be the event of the highest calibre. The line-up includes reigning World Indoor champion America’s Dwight Phillips, Spain’s Yago Lamela, current world leader (8.46) Savante Stringfellow, and a rising star Louis Tsatoumas of Greece, who came second to Phillips in Trikala, smashin his PB with a 8.34 valid effort.
Recently crowned as American outdoor champion, Phillips, 25, won the gold medal in Birmingham by one centimetre against Lamela in the final jump of the contest. They both have leapt identical best measurements up to now this season, 8.44, so the confrontation is eagerly awaited. Lamela will also face the 21-year-old Tsatoumas, who surprisingly defeated him at the European Cup.
“I’m really looking forward to performing in Madrid in front of my home crowd. Of course I would like winning but the best long jumpers in the world will be in contention and the battle will be fierce” declared Lamela who will turn 26 next 24th July.
“I’m in the shape of my life and training well so I hope to leap beyond my 1999 PB of 8.56 before the Worlds or there in Paris”.
On the women’s side Brazil's current world leader Maurren Higa Maggi will have her work cut out against former Olympic, World and European champion Heike Drechsler. The German jumper took the gold medal at the opening IAAF World Championships held in Helsinki...20 years ago! Maggi is the only female athlete to exceed the 7.00m barrier so far this season with a best leap of 7.06.
The men’s Pole Vault will offer the rare sight of a clash between the current Olympic, World and European champions, Nick Hysong (USA), Australia’s Dmitri Markov and Alex Averbukh of Israel, respectively. The surprise world leader of this summer Sweden Oscar Janson (best clearance of 5.87) will also be in action.
The men’s High Jump features European Cup winner Russia’s Yaroslav Rybakov who set his PB in Florence at 2.34 along with America’s Matt Hemingway, also 2.34 this season (both World leaders) plus Ukraine’s Andrey Sokolovskiy, third on the 2003 world list with a 2.33 clearance.