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| August 11, 2006 | Friday | Rajab 15, 1427 |
Gevaert becomes little princess with 100m title
GOTHENBURG, Aug 10: Kim Gevaert, dreaming of becoming the little princess of the European championships, seized the 100 metres crown on Wednesday but ageing javelin king Jan Zelezny missed out again on the only title to elude him.
Belgium's Gevaert, who had to be content with two silvers at the last European championships four years ago in Munich, is the favourite to win two sprint gold medals here and has already grabbed one in style.
The unassuming 28-year-old confidently led from the gun to cross the line in 11.06 seconds, finishing comfortably ahead of the Russian pair of Yekaterina Grigoryeva and Irina Khabarova, who took silver and bronze respectively, both in 11.22 seconds.
Asked before the competition whether she might turn out to be the queen of the Gothenburg, Gevaert had modestly said: “A queen? No. Kajsa (Bergqvist) and Carolina (Kluft), those are the queens. I'd be happy if I could be a little princess.”
After becoming Belgium's first female European champion, she proudly said: “I made Belgian history today. The pressure was enormous and I was very nervous but during the race I managed to stay calm.”
Minutes after Gevaert lived up to expectations, Zelezny totally missed his final throw to finish third in the javelin contest, won by Norway's Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen ahead of Finn Tero Pitkamaki.
Three-times Olympic and world champion Zelezny failed to roll back the years at the same Ullevi stadium where he had won world championship gold 11 years ago.
The 40-year-old Czech world record holder, who will retire later this year and will be remembered as the greatest javelin thrower in history, has surprisingly never finished higher than third at European championships.
“Some people did not trust me but I showed them that despite my age I can still throw with the younger boys,” he said.
The day that saw Gevaert steal the limelight from one of he greatest names in athletics ended with a breathtaking 400 metres final in which Frenchman Marc Raquil produced a fantastic late surge to deny Russian Vladislav Frolov.
Raquil won in 45.02 seconds while Frolov had to be content with the silver in 45.09.
France had been hoping for their first one-two at European championships in 37 years but it was not to be, Leslie Djhone settling for the bronze in 45.40.
On a memorable day for the French, Mehdi Baala easily won the 1,500 metres, becoming the first man since Briton Steve Cram in 1986 to retain the European title for that event.
Baala won in 3:39.02 with world indoor champion Ivan Heshko of Ukraine finishing a distant second in 3:39.50 and Spaniard Juan Carlos Higuero completing the podium in 3:39.62.
Sweden were hoping for another golden day after Carolina Kluft's home triumph in the heptathlon on Tuesday and were pinning all their hopes on Stefan Holm, the Olympic high jump champion.
The shaven-headed Holm could go no higher than 2.34 metres and finished third. Russian Andrey Silnov, the only man to clear 2.36 metres on the night, won ahead of Czech Tomas Janku, who cleared 2.34 like Holm.
Another Olympic champion suffered on Wednesday. Fani Halkia of Greece missed out on the gold in the women's 400 metres hurdles fnal.
Halkia had victory in sight until Russian Yevgeniya Isakova outsprinted her to win in a personal best 53.93 seconds. Halkia took the silver in 54.02 seconds while Ukraine's Tetyana Tereshchuk-Antipova won the bronze in 54.55.
Not all the top names cracked under pressure, Olympic long jump champion Tatyana Lebedeva living up to her reputation as a formidable competitor in the triple jump.
A final effort at 15.15 metres gave the 30-year-old Russian victory over Hrisopiyi Devetzi of Greece.
Lebedeva has won many battles over the years but sounded as excited as a teenager after this one.
“I risked it all on that last jump and it paid off,” she said. “It was a great fight.”
Results:
Men’s
400 meters: 1, Marc Raquil, France, 45.02 seconds; 2, Vladislav Frolov, Russia, 45.09; 3, Leslie Djhone, France, 45.40.
1,500: 1, Mehdi Baala, France, 3:39.02; 2, Ivan Heshko, Ukraine, 3:39.50; 3, Juan Carlos Higuero, Spain, 3:39.62.
High jump: 1, Andrey Silnov, Russia, 2 meters, 36 centimeters; 2, Tomas Janku, Czech Republic, 2.34; 3, Stefan Holm, Sweden, 2.34.
Javelin throw: 1, Andreas Thorkildsen, Norway, 88.78; 2, Tero Pitkamaki, Finland, 86.44; 3, Jan Zelezny, Czech Republic, 85.92.
Women:
100 meters: 1, Kim Gevaert, Belgium, 11.06; 2, Yekaterina Grigoryeva, Russia, 11.22; 3, Irina Khabarova, Russia, 11.22.
400 meters hurdles: 1, Yevgeniya Isakova, Russia, 53.93; 2, Fani Halkia, Greece, 54.02; 3, Tetyana Tereshchuk-Antipova, Ukraine, 54.55.
20k Walk: 1, Ryta Turava, Belarus, 1:27:08; 2, Olga Kaniskina, Russia, 1:28:35; 3, Elisa Rigaudo, Italy, 1:28:37.
Triple jump: 1, Tatyana Lebedeva, Russia, 15.15; 2, Hrisopiyi Devetzi, Greece, 15.05; 3, Anna Pyatykh, Russia, 15.02.—Agencies
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