A NU-KA, GIRLS
The performance of our team at the European Indoor Championship was held with a traditional medial bias - of course, towards women. Unconditional victory in the standings of women's teams, 10 medals out of a total of 14, two of two gold. The results are encouraging, if you do not take into account that even for the European bride, the level of competition was far from the maximum. However, the victorious “half-favorites” have gained a serious psychological foundation - who is before the selection for the World Cup, and who is directly with an eye on Osaka.
Oksana Zbrozhek, who did not reach five hundredths of a second at the “Russian Winter” before the European record at a distance of 1000 m, won gold at the more familiar 800-meter. There is no illusion: the distance from Oksana’s first victory at the international level to the World Cup is too small, but there is already a competitor to overseas runners from Russia. But Natalya Panteleeva and Olesya Chumakova could not interfere with the triumph of the Polish Lidiya Khoyetskaya - at first she left our silver and bronze at 1,500 m, and the next day she won the final race twice as long.
WITHOUT ISINBAYA NOT BORING
Competitors Isinbayeva, if and where to look, then in our own team. In the absence of Elena, Svetlana Feofanova, returning to her former position, won in Birmingham. A month ago, she quite unexpectedly lost to Yulia Golubchikova at the Russian championship - but, apparently, in “Isinbayevsky” Volgograd Feofanova was simply unlucky. Squinting Golubchikova jumped in England even higher - 4.71, setting a personal record. But Feofanova answered her with her personal achievement - 4.76, having jumped an Athenian Olympic result by a centimeter worth a silver medal.
GOLD? BRONZE? SILVER…
Men's relay 4x400 m promised our team gold medals - right down to the finish line. However, at the exit from the last turn of the first-runner, Artem Sergeenkov was pushed by the German Bastian Svillims, who won silver a day earlier with individual effort. After the collision, Svillims turned out to be the first on the ribbon, Sergeyenkov also lost to the Englishman. However, all-seeing judges rightly deprived the German national team of first place, awarding our disappointing silver.
500 METERS - NOT DISCOUNT
The Decathians in Birmingham removed three kinds from the program of performances, at the same time turning the final "lorry" that they hated to many, into a kilometer. But for the leader of our team, ex-basketball player Alexander Pogorelov, the “long” running discipline was again unfortunate. At the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Alexander, having lost one and a half hours, lost bronze and was fifth. Now, having finished 11th, Pogorelov said goodbye to hopes for gold and became second overall in the overall standings after Czech Roman Shebrle.
Ivan Kalashnikov