Where Your Dreams Become Reality
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Where Your Dreams Become Reality |
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FITSCHEN RUNS TO SURPRISE 10,000m VICTORY AT EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS GÖTEBORG, Sweden (08-Aug) -– Running in
nearly perfect conditions, Jan Fitschen of Germany kicked to an
unlikely victory to highlight day two of the European Athletics
Championships. With
a personal best of just 28:19.57 prior to the race, the 28-year-old
powered past the favoured Spanish duo of José Manuel Martínez and Juan
Carlos de la Ossa en route to a 28:10.94 win, easily the biggest
surprise to emerge thus far from these championships. “This morning I was hoping to be in the top-ten,” a beaming Fitschen said. “Now I’m at the top of the top-ten.” The
race wasn’t nearly on the level as Monday’s fast women’s final, but it
provided ample evidence that races don’t need to be exceptionally fast
to be thoroughly enjoyable. A
modest 14:16.80 first half did little to whittle down the field,
setting the stage for plenty of late race fireworks in the latter
stages. The Spanish pair were at or near the front from the outset,
oftentimes taking turns, along with Ukraine’s cross country ace Sergey
Lebid, controlling the tempo. The first notable move came from the
Christian Belz of Switzerland, who surged to the front with 1500 metres
to go. De la Ossa and a half dozen others followed, with Belz repeating
the move a lap later, this time with just the Spaniards, and from a
distance, Fitschen choosing to follow. Martinez, grimacing, eventually
caught Belz, but he and his teammate simply couldn’t respond when
Fitschen summoned the power to move past them as they approached the
final straight. Martinez, the defending champion, held on for second in
28:
12.06,
more than a second clear of de la Ossa’s 28:13.73. Belz held on for
fourth, fighting off Sergey Lebid’s (28:19.14) late charge bid. "The only race plan I had was for a race that turned out like today’s,” Fitschen admitted. In
the only other middle and long distance action on the program, the
Russian trio of Olga Kotlyarova, Svetlana Cherkasova, and Svetlana
Klyuka fully illustrated that they will be a difficult force to deal
with in Thursday’s 800 meter final. Kotlyarova
and Cherkasova took the first heat with ease, clocking 2:00.03 and
2:00.05 respectively, while Klyuka produced a fine performance with her
1:58.80 win in the second. The major casualty was defending champion
Jolanda Ceplak of Slovenia, who faded to last in the first heat after
controlling the first lap’s tempo. Ceplak, who only resumed training
last April after recovering from Achilles surgery, was always a
questions mark her. In the faster second heat, Briton Rebecca Lyne
closed quickly to finish second (1:59.11), followed by Brigita
Langerholc (SB 1:59.45), and Ukraine’s Tetyana Petlyuk (1:59.84). Wednesday’s program includes the final of the men’s 1500 and the first round of the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase. ENDS
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Cross Country Spikes 10% off Injured?
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