pulse.gr
Strong Greek and foreign names take part in the Athletics Championship in Hall “Patras 2010”. The rally takes place in memory of the Olympic legend-champion weightlifter Dimitris Tofalos, multiple champion of the country and holder of the world record from 1904.
The sporting event is expected to bring strong emotions. At the event the champion of Greece in pole jumping Costas Filipidis will try his strengths against the German Fabian Schulz. Schultz has a personal record of 5, 83 meters. During the tournament in 2006 in Moscow, he took fourth place, and during the European Championships in 2005, fifth. Filipidis will compete also with the Americans Jeremy Scott with a personal record of 5, 75 m. And Mark Hollis, who has the same result, and is the winner in the championship of America with 5.60 meters.
At the 100m. and 200m. the track and field athletes Maria Karastamati, Adriana Fera and Agni Derveni will have strong competition in the face of the Nigerian star Oludabola Osayomi. During the Olympic Games in Beijing Osayomi won the bronze medal as a group in 4x100m and during the World Championship in Osaka in 2007 she took eighth place. A competitor of the Greeks will also be the Pole Daria Kozhinska and the British Joyce Maduaka. During the European Championship in 2006 in Geteborg the Pole took eighth place with a score of 11.22. The personal records of Maduaka on the other hand are 11.23 and 22.83.
At the high jump a good result will be pursuing the Greek Tonya Stergiu. In order to qualify for the European Championship in Barcelona, she will have to get the 1.91m. In Patras 2010 also participates the Bulgarian Venelina Veneva who can boast with this year's record of 1.95m. The athlete who has a personal record of 2.04 meters is holding two bronze medals from the World and European Championships of 2001 and 2005 and silver medal from the European Championship in 2006. In the high jump will also compete the Czech Barbara Lalakova with personal record of 1.99m.
In the event 100m. and 200m. running the Greek athletes Panagiotis Saris and Kostas Voyadzakis will meet the fourth champion of Beijing in 2008 Brian Dzingay from Zimbabwe with a personal record of 10.19 and 20.12. Besides Dzingay they will have to face the competitor from Jamaica Ensli Uogs whose record is 10.14 and 20.22 at the 100m. and 200m. respectively.
The runners Petros Kiriakidis and Georgios Ikonomidis in 400m. will try their strengths against Erisan Hartaulp from the Dominican Republic with a personal record of 45.40 and also with the American Jordan Boase with personal record of 44.82. In the 400m. hurdles on the other hand Sotiris Yakovakis will try to get a score for Barcelona and the Greek is expected to achieve a time of 50.34, and even better. The athletes, who will fight in 800m. length are Evtimis Papadopoulos, Kostas Nakopoulos, Andreas Dimitrakis. At 5000 meters. will run Kostas Toussaint, Hristoforos Merusis, Michalis Gelasakis, Dimos Maginas.
The runners Flora Redumi and Olympia Petsudi will participate in the course 100m. hurdles, in which will also compete the Irish star and champion of Europe Derval Orurk. During the World Championship in Berlin in 2009 she took fourth place, while in the European Championship in Gyoteberg she took second. Besides her in the discipline will compete also the Russian athlete Aleksandra Antonova with a record of 12.78 and sixth place in the championship in Gyoteberg, and the American Nicole Denbigh with personal record of 12:54.
In the long jump together with the Russian athlete Tatiana Ter-Mesrobian with personal record of 7.06 meters and the Romanian Cristina Santu with 6.53 m. will also compete the Greeks Elena Kafourou and Evangelia Galleni. In the course for Greece will also participate with the men Michalis Merdzanidis, Dimitris Diamandaras, Georgios Tsakonas, Dimitris Mihalelis, Nikos Kpsis and others.
Strong emotions are expected in the javelin throw discipline. The Greek javelin throwers Yannis Smalios and Kostas Vertoudis will meet the German Peter Esenvayn and the Pole Igor Janick.