Hestrie Cloete of South Africa clears 2.03 to win in Zurich (© Getty Images)
There could be no better timing to upgrade expectations for the Ostrava meeting as the recent World record breaker Kenenisa Bekele (5000m in Hengelo) is already among the numerous stars who have confirmed participation in the Golden Spike meeting next Tuesday 8 June.
The Women‘s High Jump will also offer an amazing field with no less than 9 competitors with a personal best of 2 metres or higher.
Depsite the depth of the field there will be no question as to who the big star of the wome’s High Jump will be: female Athlete of the Year 2003 Hestrie Cloete (South Africa).
Ostrava will be the first European meeting of 2004 for Cloete who is the double World champion 2001 and 2003 and was second in Sydney Olympics.
Interestingly the 2000 Olympic Games champion Yelena Yelesina will also compete in Ostrava. The field also includes Croatia‘s star Blanka Vlasic (bronze in Budapest) and the evergreen Inga Babakova from Ukraine, World champion in 1999 who is leading the yearly outdoor lists with 1.99. The organisers hope the meeting record of 2.01 held by Kajsa Bergqvist(SWE) will fall.
The meeting record will also be the target in women‘s 100m race as Jarmila Kratochvilova‘s 11.16 stands since 1982!
Four world class sprinters from the United States should be able to come close and also beat that mark. First of them will be Torri Edwards who has recently been awarded the 100m gold from the World Championships in Paris.
Ostrava will also count on the presence of World and Olympic relay medallist Chryste Gaines and 1999 World 200m champion Inger Miller.
But maybe the best current shape is held by Latasha Colander with a personal best of 11.12 this year and a solid win in the recent US Open. European sprinters will be represented by World Indoor 200m winner Natalya Safronnikova from Belarus.
Latest significant additions
Men
200m
J.J. Johnson (USA) with a personal best of 19.88 – Olympic and World relay champion
400m Hurdles
2000 Olympic Champion Angelo Taylor (USA)
Women
400m
Donna Fraser (GBR) – fourth in Sydney 2000
800m
Jo Fenn (GBR) – third in Budapest 2004
100m Hurdles
Deloreen Ennis-London (JAM) – fourth in Sydney 2000
400m Hurdles
Kim Batten (USA) - former World champion and World record holder
Pole Vault
Monika Pyrek (POL) – bronze medallist in Edmonton 2001
Long jump
Anju Bobby George (IND) – bronze medallist in Paris 2003
Triple Jump
Olena Hovorova (UKR) – bronze medallist in Sydney 2000
Alfons Juck for the IAAF
