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Russia’s women move into commanding lead.
19.06.2005
Russia extended its lead at the top of the SPAR European Cup women’s competition to more than 20 points on the second day with a haul of four wins and two second places from today’s nine events. Their total of 84.5 points keeps them well ahead of Germany, on 64, while Poland are fighting for second spot just two behind.
Triple Jump
Three of the Russians’ victories came on the track – in the 400m, 3000m and 4x100m relay – but it was triple jumper Anna Pyatykh who gave them their first win of the day as she notched up her fourth consecutive SPAR European Cup success beating the Olympic Silver medallist Hrisopiyi Devetzi of Greece and the home crowd favourite Magdelin Martinez.
Pyatykh won with a second round leap of 14.72, just three centimetres short of her best of the year. She held a ten centimetres advanatage over Devetzi – who was showing her best form of 2005. Pyatykh also jumped 4.70 in the fourth round. Martinez, the World Bronze medallist, made the most of a +2.2m/s wind to end with her best effort of 14.54.
400m
Olympic Bronze medallist Natalya Antyukh also provided maximum points in the 400m. Running in lane one she proved too strong for Ukraine’s Antonina Yefremova and Romania’s Ionela Tirlea-Manolache. Her winning time of 50.67 makes her the second fastest European of the year and justifies her selection – nine of the top ten Europeans this year are Russians and before today Antyukh wasn’t one of them!
Yefremova clocked a season’s best 51.56 in second while the tiring Tirlea-Manolache slipped back to fourth as Greece’s Dimitra Dova produced her best ever to take third in 51.89.
3000m
Yelena Zadorozhnaya also looked impressive in taking the 3000m, in 8:57.08. She won easily while France’s Maria Martins ran a superb last lap to move from a distant fourth to second, taking points from Ukraine and Romania as Tetyana Kryvobok and Mihaela Botezan struggled into third and fourth. Martins was rewarded with a new personal best, 9:00.71, and the knowledge that she had helped to keep her country above Italy and Greece at the foot of the standings.
100m
Russia also took important points in the 100m, where Olga Fyodorova was second in a personal best of 11.21. The race was won in highly impressive style by France’s European record holder Christine Arron. Blasting away in lane one, she led from the start and never looked like losing. Arron clocked 11.09, a top ten world performance for 2005. The Greek Maria Karastamati was third.
4x100m
Fyodorova returned 80 minutes later to give Russia a flying lead in the 4x100m relay. It was one they never looked like losing as Yekaterina Kondratyeva anchored them to their fourth win of the day in 42.73. That was almost a second quicker than Germany who took a surprise seven points with 43.58 ahead of Italy and Poland. France, tipped to challenge the Russians, were a poor sixth as Arron was given no chance on the last leg by some poor baton changing among her team mates.
Pole Vault
Poland’s challenge was kept up Olympic bronze medalist Anna Rogowska who won an important pole vault victory over Germany’s Carolin Hingst. Rogowska cleared 4.60m, a height which only she has beaten so far this year and made three attempts at 4.80 which would have eclipsed her own Polish record of 4.77. Hingst was second with 4.50.
800m
The 800m produced one of the closest finishes of the day as Romania’s Maria Cioncan emerged at the head of a group of four athletes separated at the line by less than six tenths of a second. Cioncan clocked 2:00.88 while Germany’s Monika Gradzki and Russia’s Svetlana Klyuka battled for second.
Gradzki dipped for the line just two hundredths ahead of the Russian, 2:01.00 to 2:01.02, and almost fell into Cioncan’s back. France’s Elisabeth Grousselle was another 0.43 behind.
Report by Matthew Brown
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