Eunice Barber in the Heptathlon Long Jump in Arles (© Lorenzo Sampaolo)
Eunice Barber set a new French Heptathlon record with 6889 points to win the IAAF Combined Events Challenge meeting in her comeback after one year out of contention because of an injury.
This score is also a new World season best which improves the previous World best of 6824 points set by the Swedish star Carolina Klüft in Götzis last week. Barber’s score ranks her eighth in the world all-time list.
This is only the beginning of what promises to be one of the most memorable clashes at the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki.
“I am ready to score 7000 points. If Carolina wants to beat me she needs to score more points than me”, said Barber.
Barber improved her previous national record she set in Seville 1999 where she won the Heptathlon World title with 6861 points.
The French athlete ended day one with 3972 points and was 22 points behind schedule in her quest to break the national record.
Aided by a wind of +3.4 m/s Barber jumped 6.78m (1099 points) in her first attempt in the Long Jump, her favourite event where she will defend the World title she won two years ago in Paris St-Denis.
Barber’s compatriot Antoinette Nana Djimou Ida, fourth at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Grosseto last summer, jumped a wind-assisted 6.29m (+4.9 m/s) and overhauled Vera Yepymashko of Belarus for third place.
Barber continued the second day of competitions on a high note improving her PB to 53.07m (920 points), producing the best result in the Javelin Throw.
The French heroine ended with 2:14.66 in the 800 metres (898 points) to finish second behind the Russian Diana Koritskaya (2:14.47).
“I felt the strong wind in the back straight in the 800 metres but apart from that everything was perfect today”, commented Barber.
“Before this competition I was very nervous because my last Heptathlon competition before Arles was the World Championships in Paris two years ago. Then followed two years of injuries and disappointments. But I am back. I have found again the competitive spirit. I can reassure myself and my fans. I thank them for their support in these two days. I won in Arles in 1999, the year in which I won the World title in Seville with the national record. I hope to repeat this feat in Helsinki”.
In the Finnish capital she will defend her Long Jump title as well. “I am ready to jump over the 7 metres again. I will compete in this event in the European Cup in Florence (17-19 June),” concluded Barber.
Behind Barber the Ukrainian Natalya Dobrynska took second place with 6279 points. Third was the French combined events hope Antoinette Nana Djimou who scored a total of 6089 points, just one better than the Canadian Jessica Zelinka.
Rahnu confirms in the Decathlon
Kristian Rahnu of Estonia kept his overnight lead in the second day of the men’s Decathlon with a superb score of 8526 points which ranks him second in the World season lists behind Olympic champion Roman Sebrle’s 8534 points set in Götzis last week. This result makes the Estonian a possible medal contender for the World Championships in Helsinki.
Rahnu finished second in the 110m Hurdles behind Tunisia’s Hamdi Dhouibi with the two athletes clocking the same time of 14.04 (wind +3.1 m/s).
The Estonian threw the discus to 50.81 metres (887 points) winning this event over Hungary’s Attila Zsivoczky who climbed to second place in the overall ranking after his solid 47.83 (825 points) overhauling the Finn Jaakko Ojaniemi (47.83).
Rahnu’s leading position remained unchallenged after he cleared 4.95m in the Pole Vault (895 points) and 60.71m in the javelin (749 points). The Estonian totalled an impressive score of 7920 points before the final 1500 metres leading over Zsivoczky (7578 points) and Ojaniemi (7379 points).
Rahnu struggled in the 1500 metres running 4:52.18 but it was enough to total a final score of 8526 points with a solid margin over Zsivoczky (8320 points) and Ojaniemi (8076 points). For Zsivoczky it was his second runner-up place in one week after Götzis where he scored 8480 points.
“Today I confirmed my good results achieved during the indoor season. I performed well especially in the Pole Vault and in the 400 metres”, said Rahnu who has been inspired to take up the Decathlon by the 2000 Olympic champion Erki Nool.
“Estonia has always produced good athletes in this discipline. I train in the Estonian capital Tallin but I spent some years in Louisiana (USA) where I graduated in economics,” concluded Rahnu.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
