Two weeks prior to the 64th Hanžeković Memorial the latest media information was revealed to the press by the meeting Director, Ivana Brkljačić, bronze high-jump medalist at the European Championships in Zürich Ana Šimić and the Mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandić.
„It’s a great joy for organizers when the stars of the competition are in fact domestic athletes, as in our case Sandra Perković, Blanka Vlašić, Ana Šimić and Stipe Žunić. In addition, I can also announce we’ll be welcoming numerous medalists from the recent European Championships in Zürich. For this occasion I’d like to mention the 400-metre runner Martyn Rooney, long jumper Darya Klishina and hurdler William Sharman. I especially would like to highlight the 100 metres sprint featuring former World Champion Kim Collins, silver Olympic medalist Ryan Bailey, Richard Thompson who this year achieved a time of 9,82 seconds, and bronze medalist at Zürich Harry Aikines…“, said Ivana Brkljačić, as she continued to announce the shot put competition:
„On Monday 1st September at 8 p.m. a set of the best shot put athletes will compete next to the city fountains in Hrvatske bratske zajednice street. This will be complemented by an attractive programme and is scheduled with a live TV broadcast which positively adds a new dimension to our meeting. Tickets for the meeting are on sale from 25th August at Mladost Sports Park, from 5 until 8 p.m. and also on 1st September, tickets can be purchased next to the fountains during the shot put competition.“
Ana Šimić comes to the Hanžek meeting with a European bronze, but equally with the added expectation from the athletics world to jump over two metres, here on the Sava, just as Blanka Vlašić achieved in 2003:
„I am always excited to jump at the Mladost Sports Park as there’s a special atmosphere. I would be extremely happy if I could jump over 200 cm here. Alongside Blanka and other world’s best high-jumpers, this is certainly possible. Until then, I still have three more meetings to jump.“
The Hanžeković Memorial is always highly ranked within the priority list of the City of Zagreb and the Mayor Milan Bandić, who also congratulated our athletes on their success in Zürich commenting:
„The Hanžeković Memorial will not feel the consequences of cutting costs as the meeting Director will have sufficient funds to cover all the meetings’ costs. I am pleased to hear that all of our stars – Sandra, Blanka and Ana will be ready to participate at the Hanžek meeting, along with many other of the world’s athletic elite. In addition to the names Ivana has already mentioned, I’d simply like to add one more to the list – the former 100 metres world record holder, Asafa Powell!“