Russian National Championships observe a national High Jump record - Athletics news
The Russian National Championships, which are underway in Cheboksary to finalise the list of athletes for the IAAF World Championships in Athletics 2011, has been observing a number of scintillating events as competitors are vying for a ticket to Daegu.
In the respective event, Anna Chicherova stunned the arena as she marked a new national record, while Anastasiya Kapachinskaya and Maria Savinova depicted world season leads in the 400m and 800m competitions, respectively.
Chicherova, the 29-year-old high jumper, who is a 2008 Summer Olympics bronze medallist, had an earlier personal best of 2.03m. Presently representing the Russian Army Athletics Club, she trained under the guidance of Yevgeni Zagorulko, the veteran Russian
coach.
While emerging at the national championships of the country, she observed a stunning performance of 2.07m. The results produced by her not only bagged a place in the contingent for the global athletics event, but also provided her with a reason to feel good
on her 29th birthday.
For securing her best indoor results at the Hochsprung mit Musik meet, she is placed among the top-ten athletes of the discipline. Ending a hiatus from the game, she recently made a comeback and her strenuous return in the sport has highlighted the fact
that the break she had taken did not affect her form and potential.
The success Chicherova claimed in Cheboksary was built on gradually. Kicking-off the contest with a moderate 1.88m, she went on to hit 1.91m, 1.97m and the over-awed mark of 2m. Hitting 2m had left her equalling the world lead marked by Blanka Vlasic about
two weeks ago.
This was the point where the expectations of spectators started to build on. The next target was 2.04m, which was achieved amicably in her second attempt. From there on, she decided to go for 2.07m, which did not prove to be a difficult task for the inform
athlete as she succeeded in grabbing the national Russian record from Yelena Slesarenko, who had posted a 2.06m effort.
Quite tired by the time she decided to try for a national record, it was a difficult decision Chicherova opted for. Moving towards achieving the uphill task inch by inch, she cleared the height of 2.07m in her third attempt. With these new results, she has
become the fourth all-time best performer of the discipline, as the top place is possessed by Stefka Kostadinova for marking 2.09m.
Marking the tremendous victory, the Russian athlete said, “Now I’m in the know that to clear 2.10 is possible.” Given her present performance, expecting a 2.10m from her in Daegu will not be too much. However, how her rivals in the mega athletics event opt
to counter her is yet to be seen.
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