PREVIEW - Women's 400m Hurdles

For several years now, many have regarded Yuliya Pechonkina of Russia as the best women’s 400m Hurdler in the world. Nevertheless, she has yet to win a major championship title. This year, the Russian has the three fastest times to her name.

All her best performances, 53.01, 53.05 and 53.31, Pechonkina has run in her home country, in Tula. She has only competed outside Tula once, in Kazan. So this year she has not ventured outside Russia. Therefore, she has not had the chance to compare her performances against the other elite hurdlers and her true form remains something of a mystery.

Two years ago, Pechonkina was the favourite in the World Championship final in Paris. The Russian had clocked a new World record just a few weeks earlier, but at the Stade de France she couldn’t keep up her race pace and faded badly in the front straight she finished the race with the bronze medal. Pechonkina was suffering from a migraine attack at the time.

In 2003, Jana Pittman of Australia took the gold medal. She will not defend her title in Helsinki because of a hairline fracture in her lower back. The silver medallist from Paris, Sandra Glover of the United States, is still competing at 36 years of age and showed her form by winning the TDK Golden League meet at Oslo with 53.93. Glover has also twice run under 54.10 this season.

But perhaps another American has shorter odds to become the winner at Helsinki. Lashinda Demus won the US Championship title with 53.35. After Pechonkina, Demus is the number two 400 m hurdler in the statistics this year. Three years ago, Demus improved the World Junior record twice and won the World title in her age group, but in the Olympics last year, she did not qualify for the final.

Demus had a good chance to share in the TDK Golden League Jackpot at the end of the season by winning at Paris and Rome, but in Oslo she tied up in the final straight and lost to Sandra Glover.

Shauna Smith came second at the US championships with her PB of 54.21. She has relatively little experience in the European Grand Prix races. She came fifth at Paris, but with a win at Salamanca in July, she is one of the challengers.

Anna Jesien of Poland has improved her PB this year by an impressive 1.15 seconds. Her best time is 53.96 from Paris, where she came second. That was not a one-off, because Jesien has raced under 55 seconds seven times this season. At Bygdoszcz, she clocked 54.22, and at Athens, 54.27. She is a likely finalist in Helsinki.

Yevgenia Isakova of Russia has clocked 54.39. Jamaicans Debbie-Ann Parris, at 32 years of age, and Shevon Stoddart could be among the challengers. The experienced South African Surita Febbraio is also a potential finalist.

Helsinki 2005 media team