Yelena Isinbayeva - 4.76m in Paris (© Getty Images)
Yelena Isinbayeva and Tatyana Lebedeva are the greatest names of what should be another fabulous edition of the Athletissima Super Grand Prix meeting on Tuesday 11 July, one of the two Swiss legs of the IAAF World Athletics Tour.
Gatlin out, and stops training
World and Olympic champion Justin Gatlin was to be one of the main draws of the 31st edition of Athletissima in the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise but today (9 July) the meeting director Jacky Delapierre, was informed that the joint World 100m record holder has a knee injury and will not compete in Europe before the end of July.
"Justin ran three times at the US Nationals in Indianapolis in one day and his tendon behind his knee flared-up," said Gatlin's manager, Renaldo Nehemiah. "He told me that he could not run. This precaution is necessary to avoid aggravating the problem for the rest of the season. He will not run until the end of July. Justin is disappointed. This is the second meeting from which he has pulled out. Rest is now the most important thing. He has now stopped training."
The organisers made an approach to Asafa Powell, the other half of the World record holding duo, to see if he could step in as a last minute replacement.
"Asafa felt that his body is a bit tired after his Paris Golden League win in 9.85," confirmed Paul Doyle, Powell's manager. "We had not scheduled Lausanne. It takes a lot on his body. The groin is healed but his body needs rest. The meeting organizers have been very nice to Asafa and did much for him but three days between Paris and Lausanne is too short. I confirm that he will compete in Rome next Friday and then Stockolm."
Isinbayeva back to 2005 World record territory
Yet there is still a line-up of the highest stature to keep the crowd happy on Tuesday evening.
Yelena Isinbayeva, Olympic, World outdoor and indoor champion and 19-time World record breaker tops the bill and will be contesting her second outdoor competition of the summer after (8 July) yesterday’s winning 4.76m (world seasonal best) at the Paris Golden League meeting at the Stade de France. The popular pole vaulter from Volgograd, who is now training in Formia with Ukrainian maestro Vitaliy Petrov, has good memories of last year’s Lausanne meeting where she set the then World record at 4.93m.
Polish star Monika Pyrek, second behind Isinbayeva in Helsinki and more recently the winner in the European Cup in Malaga with 4.75m, former World record holder Svetlana Feofanova (RUS), US rising star Jennifer Stuczynski, and possibly French record holder Vanessa Boslak (4.70) who retired from the Paris competition with an injury, are the main components of a star-studded Pole Vault event.
Lausanne favourites
Two more Volgograd stars come to Lausanne with the aim of continuing their proud tradition at the Pontaise. They are Olympic champions Tatyana Lebedeva (Long Jump) and Yelena Slesarenko (High Jump).
Last year’s Golden League Jackpot winner Lebedeva returns to her favourite Triple Jump discipline in the stadium where she won the last two editions in 2004 (15.33m) and 2005 (15.05m). The 2004 and 2006 World Indoor and 2001 and 2003 World outdoor champion is set to continue her successful season with another 15 metre display after jumping to 15.23m in the Athens Super Grand Prix on 3 July, the best in the world in 2006. Jamaica’s World outdoor champion Trecia Smith, Anna Pyatykh (second behind Lebedeva in Athens with a wind-assisted 15.17), and World silver medallist Yargelis Savigne (14.91 in Athens) will be her chief opponents.
Slesarenko, also a reigning World Indoor champion, won in Lausanne in 2004 with a High Jump of 2.03m and will look for her second consecutive victory after clearing 2.00 metres at the Stade de France. Slesarenko’s toughest opponent will be World silver medallist Chaunté Howard, who cleared a 2.01 PB in the US nationals, and reigning European Indoor champion Anna Chicherova.
Jones is back on track
Marion Jones showed that she is back with an impressive 10.92 seconds run (the second fastest time in the world this year) in Paris yesterday. The former multiple global sprint champion will take on Jamaica’s Sherone Simpson (world seasonal leader with 10.82 and 22.00), who was second in Paris in 10.98, Americans World champion Lawryn Williams, World Indoor champion Melisa Barber, and Torri Edwards, and the Bahamas’ Debbie Ferguson McKenzie.
Dourcouré vs Xiang
The most impressive track line-up is in the men’s 110m Hurdles race which features the first five from last year’s World Championship final in Helsinki. World champion Ladji Doucourè (12.97 NR) will take on joint World record holder Liu Xiang from China (12.91), World Indoor champion Terrence Trammell, the fastest man in the world this year with 13.06 in Paris, Dominique Arnold, winner of the 2006 US title in 13.10 and second in Paris with 13.08, and four-time World outdoor champion Allen Johnson. World junior gold and silver medallists respectively Aries Merritt (NCAA champion) and Cuba’s Dayron Robles, the World Indoor silver medallist, and a 13.11 PB third placer in Paris, will represent the new generation.
Borza’s number one
Yuriy Borzakovskiy, Olympic 800 metres champion, will be competing in his third two-lap race of the summer. One week after running the world’s fastest for 2006 (1:43.42) in Athens. The Russian will race the three men who followed him home on that occasion, Wilfred Bungei (1:43.59), the World Indoor champion and the winner in Paris, Latvia’s Dmitrijs Milkeviks (1:43.67 NR), and Bahrain’s Youssef Saad Kamel (1:43.75).
The men’s 1500 metres should be a ‘head to head’ battle between world seasonal leader Daniel Komen Kipchirchir (3:30.27 in Athens) and US record holder Bernard Lagat (US 1500/5000m champion).
Russia is the dominant force of women’s middle distance running currently. In the 1500m World Indoor record holder Yelena Soboleva, an impressive winner in the Athens with 3:56.74, will be looking to recapture the edge she had on that occasion on Yuliya Chizhenko. The latter, the World Indoor champion, won in Paris in 3:55.68 ahead of Soboleva, running the quickest time of the summer so far.
The men’s 3000m will include 2003 World 5000m champion Eliud Kipchoge, and last year’s World bronze medallist Craig Mottram from Australia.
Another thrilling event should be the men’s 400m Hurdles which features the re-match between reigning World champion Bershawn Jackson and US champion Kerron Clement. The latter set the fastest time in the world this year with 47.39 beating Jackson (runner-up in 47.48) at the recent US Championships but Jackson easily prevailed on his rival in Athens with 48.00.
In the 200m, World silver medallist and US champion Wallace Spearmon, the world seasonal leader with 19.90, comes up against the World junior record holder Usain Bolt from Jamaica (19.93), who has run a fast 20.08 so far this year. Making this perhaps the strongest 200m of the summer so far, they are joined by Olympic 100m silver medallist Francis Obikwelu (PB 20.12), four-time NCAA champion Xavier Carter (PB 20.02), Tyson Gay and Lashawn Merrit.
Olsson set for clash with Helsinki medallists
Sweden’s Olympic and European champion triple jumper Christian Olsson is back from a long series of injuries with his season’s best of 17.56m, and will take on the entire Helsinki 2005 podium, Walter Davis (world seasonal leader with 17.71m), Cuba’s Yoandri Betanzos, and Romania’s Marian Oprea, last year’s winner in Lausanne (17.81m NR).
Cuban Javelin thrower Osleidys Menendez, the World and Olympic champion and World record holder is looking to improve her seasonal best of 64.13m set in March at Havana. The first five of last year’s World Championships final will be in Lausanne, Germany’s world season leader (66.91m) Christine Obergföll, the European record holder and Steffi Nerius, Denmark’s Christina Scherwin, and Italy’s Zahra Bani.
Crowd pleaser Maryam Jusuf Jamal from Bahrain, national record holder in the 1500 metres with 3:56.79, will compete in front of her home fans in the town where she lives and runs for the local Stade Lausanne Club. Jamal will tackle the 800 metres with World champion Zulia Calatayud from Cuba, World and Olympic silver medallist Hasna Benhassi from Morocco, Commonwealth champion Jepkosgei, the Kenyan record holder, and Svetlana Cherkasova from Russia.
The women’s 100 metres Hurdles features Damu Cherry, the emerging name of the event with a 12.58 seasonal best set in the US semi-finals, Helsinki World champion Michelle Perry, World bronze medallist Brigitte Foster- Hylton, German Kirsten Bolm, World Indoor champion Derval O’Rourke from Ireland, and Priscilla Lopes from Canada.
Men’s 3000 metres Steeplechase will be a battle between Olympic champions Ezekiel Kemboi (Athens 2004), who win in Paris yesterday, and Reuben Kosgei (Sydney 2000) who finished a good second in Athens last week.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
