Jason Gardener of Great Britain wins the 60m final (© Getty Images)
27 January 2006While a minor calf injury forced the cancellation of Kenenisa Bekele’s highly-anticipated 1500m debut, several solid fields will nonetheless ensure a slew of compelling competition at Sunday’s BW-Bank-Meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Men’s field – Gardener, Borzakovskiy, Kipchirchir Komen, Kipchoge lead the charge
Reigning World and European 60m champion Jason Gardener, who won the short dash at the Moscow Winter meeting in 6.60 earlier in the week, tops the men’s field in his specialty. In Karlsruhe, the 30-year-old Briton will face Jamaican Christopher Williams, Nigeria’s Deji Aliu, and German champion Tobias Unger. Unger, who last year won the European indoor title at 200m, also headlines the longer dash.
After a relaxed 1:46.65 win in Moscow a few days ago, Olympic Champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy from Russia returns to action in the 800m, but should be prepared for a stiffer challenge on Sunday. Kenya’s Wilfred Bungei is on the slate, along with Dmitryi Bogdanov, Borzakovskiy’s friend and training partner.
In the 1000m, Daniel Kipchirchir Komen, one of the middle distance discoveries of 2005, makes his 2006 debut. In what should be a compelling race, the young Kenyan will face French National record holder Mehdi Baala and top German middle distance ace, Rene Herms.
Despite Bekele’s unfortunate withdrawal, the 1500 will still provide a solid race. A Kenyan battle is in store, with Paul Korir, Timothy Kiptanui and Philemon Kipkorir taking to the line.
Eliud Kipchoge, who captured the World title in the 5000 in 2003 when just 18 years old, tops the field in the 3000m. The Kenyan’s chief rivals appear to be Mushir Salem Jawher of Bahrain, and Spaniard Arturo Casado.
German Pole Vault contingent in full force
Among the afternoon’s featured events is the men’s Pole Vault, featuring Germany’s biggest names. Björn Otto, who has already jumped 5.70m in this young season. Tim Lobinger, who sailed over 5.80 in Cottbus this week, Danny Ecker, Lars Börgeling, Michael Stolle and Richard Spiegelburg along with the youngster Fabian Schulze, the European U-23 runner-up, are all slated to compete.
In the Triple Jump fans can expect a strong duel between American Walter Davis, the reigning World champion, and Jadel Gregorio from Brazil.
Pole Vault and 60m Hurdles key events - women’s field
On the women’s programme, the Pole Vault and 60m Hurdles look to be the highlights.
In the Pole Vault, the Polish duo of Monika Pyrek and Anna Rogowska will square off for the second time this week. On Wednesday in Bydgoszcz, Rogowska, who has cleared 4.83 outdoors, defeated Pyrek, the silver medallist in Helsinki last year, with a first attempt 4.64 clearance, 10cm better that Pyrek.
But local attention will be clearly focused on Silke Spiegelburg from Leverkusen, who cleared a World junior record of 4.48 last year, a mark better Yelena Isinbayeva achieved at the same age. Two sisters will also appear in Europaghalle: The 1999 World indoor Champion Nastja Rhysich will jump against her younger sister, Lisa, the 2003 World Youth and 2004 World Junior champion. It will be interesting who will win the family-duel. Meeting organizer Alain Blondel expects that a meet record in the event, currently 4.58 by former World record holder Svetlana Feofanova, is a distinct possibility.
Germany’s Kirsten Bolm, fourth at the World Championships last year, leads a strong field in the 60m hurdles. Americans Anjanette Kirkland and Lolo Jones, French duo Nicolo Ramalalanirina and Patricia Girard, and Jamaican Michelle Freeman are in the field. 400m Hurdles specialist Ionela Tirlea of Romania will contest the distance without the hurdles, where she’ll face German champion Claudia Marx.
In the flat 60m, the fastest woman of 2005, Chandra Sturrup from the Bahamas, will arrive in a very cold and snowy Karlsruhe as the favourite. Chief competition should come from Sylviane Felix of France and Russian Yuliya Tabakova.
The 1500m features primarily an Eastern European contest, lead by Russian Elena Sobolova, who was fourth in Helsinki last summer, and Ukraine’s Irina Lishchinska.
In the Triple Jump, Spanish record holder Carlota Castrejana will be the woman to beat.
Ursula Kaiser for the IAAF
