Zigismunds Sirmais and Angelica Bengtsson favourites for European Athletics Junior Championships
Latvian javelin thrower, Zigismunds Sirmais and pole-vaulter from Sweden, Angelica Bengtsson, are all set to claim major share of the spot light in the four-day event of the European Athletics Junior Championships. The 21st edition of the meet
will kick-off on Thursday, July 21, in the Estonian capital, Tallinn.
Beside these two pre-favourites for the event, there will be athletes like Jimmy Vicaut, the sprinter from France along with English hurdler, Andy Pozzi and high jumper from Russia, Mariya Kuchina, who will strive to win the hearts of spectators at this
year’s contest.
Sirmais, the 19-year-old boy, who for marking an impressive throw of 84.69m on June 22 in Bauska, has become the reigning world junior record holder. He is being trained in a local club known as Arkadija, where he is supervised by 74-year-old veteran javelin
thrower, Valentina Eiduka.
The young thrower, who loves to display his dominating instinct on the field, while sharing his ambitions for the European junior championships said, “My target at the European Juniors is not only the gold medal but also to get over 85 metres. I’m excited
because the competition will be held close to Latvia, Estonia is our neighbour on the Baltic, so I’m sure I will have my family and friends there.”
On the other hand, Angelica Bengtsson, the track and field athlete from Sweden, who is a pole vault specialist and the first winner to emerge in her discipline at the Summer Youth Olympic back in 2010, has been always regarded as a tremendous and successful
junior athlete. The 18-year-old girl already boasts of two gold medals bagged at the 2009 World Youth Championships and in the following year’s World Junior Championships in Athletics.
For marking a massive leap of 4.47m, she already marked a youth world record and later in 2011, she established a new world junior record after a staggering 4.63m effort. Leaving equally impressive footprints at senior level competitions, the young girl
has also become Sweden’s national record holder for the discipline. For appearing at Tallinn, Bengtsson has just recovered from some minor injuries and is expected to overcome these glitches and prevail at the prestigious event.
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