Pobjedom na 66. Memorijalu Borisa Hanžekovića najbolja hrvatska sportašica Sandra Perković okončala je olimpijsku sezonu bez poraza! Sandra je u zagrebu pobijedila hucem od 67.86 metara, ispred Njrmice Nadine Müller (62.46) i Francuskinje Melina Roberet-Michon (61.42).
„Izuzetno sam zadovoljna što sam sezonu koja je bila duga završila bez poraza i ispunila svoja velika očekivanja. Bilo je malo hladno za postići bolji rezultat, ali bi sa svakim svojim hicem pobijedila, a vidjela sam da suparnice to nisu mogle pratiti. Sada mi slijede dva tjedna terapije, pa dva tjedna odmora nakon kojih će početi pripreme za novu koje ću, kako sada stvari stoje, u cijelosti obaviti u Hrvatskoj”, rekla je Perković i napomenula da sljedeće godine neće forsirati pobjede na svim natjecanjima.
“Počet ću s mitingom Dijamantne lige u Dohi i neću odmah krenuti oštro nego ću postepeno dizati formu kulminacija koje bi trebala doći na SP u Londonu”.
Ugodno iznenađenje priredio je Ivan Horvat koji je pobijedio u natjecanju skakača s motkom izjednačivši pritom sa 5.70. Nakon toga je Osječanin odlučio podići letvicu 5.80, no to se u ovom trenutku pokazalo nedostižnim. Drugo je mjesto s 5.50 zauzeo Latvijac Mareks Arents, a treće Francuz Valentin Lavillenie sa 5.30.
Pobjednik Memorijalne utrke “Boris Hanžeković” na 110 metara s preponama je Francuz Pascal Martinot-Lagarde. On je po vrlo hladnom vremenu slavio s 13.35 sekundi, dvije stotinke sporiji bio je njegov sunarodnjak Wilhelm Belocian, dok je treće mjesto zauzeo Mađar Balasz Baji sa 13.49.
„Ja sam izuzetno sretan što sam pobijedio na jednom od najboljih mitinga. To uistinu mislim jer je tijekom mitinga bilo puno glazbe koja nas je opustila. Hladnoća me nije smetala jer se na utrci ide čovjek protiv čovjeka. Najvažnije je pobijediti, a kada pobijediš zaboraviš hladnoću“, kazao je Martinot-Lagarde.
U utrci atletičarki na 100 metara s preponama najbrža je bila olimpijska pobjdnica iz Pekinga Dawn Harper-Nelson s 12.71 ispred hrvatske rekorderke Andree Ivančević koja je trčala 12.88, što je za samo stotinku sporije od njezina hrvatskog rekorda, ali je i njen najbolji rezultat sezone.
„Kada sam prošla ciljem mislila sam da sam srušila rekord, tome sam se i nadala. Ali, za bolje rezultate nedostaje mi utrka. One mi fale zbog brojnih ozljeda koje me ometaju. No, imat ću još jednu šansu za rekord u petak u Bruxellesu na posljednjem mitingu Dijamantne lige“, izjavila je Ivančević.
Jedini rekord mitinga u utorak postavila je srpska skakačica u dalj Ivana Španović. Osvajačica brončane medalje iz Rija u Zagrebu je bila najbolja sa 7.03, no zbog malo prejakog vjetra (+2.5 m/s) kao rekord mitinga će se pisati njezin drugi najbolji skok, onaj od 6.96.
„Da, bilo je hladno, pa nisam uopće razmišljala o skokovima blizu 7 metara tako da je ovo…. super“, rekla je brončana olimpijka iz Rija.
Odličan rezultat s obzirom na hladnoću ostvario je 33-godišnji Jamajčanin Asafa Powell na 100 metara. On je slavio s vremenom 10.01 sekundi ispred tri Britanca, Joela Fearona sa 10.06, Jamesa Dasaloua (10.10) i Adama Gemilija (10.11).
U natjecanju skakačica u vis hrvatska predstavnica Ana Šimić bila peta s preskočenih 1.85. Pobijedila je Uzbekistanka Svetlana Radživil s 1.89 ispred Ukrajinki Julije Levčenko i Irine Gerašničenko koje su preskočile istu visinu.
Expectations were high for Perkovic, the Zagreb native and meeting poster girl who made her first home appearance since successfully defending her Olympic title in Rio 21 days ago. The 26-year-old didn’t disappoint, producing a commanding performance in a competition she dominated from the first round.
Opening with a 66.41m effort, the Diamond Race winner in the event improved to 67.62m in the second round and 67.86m in the third to win by more than five metres over Nadine Muller of Germany.
“I wanted to break 70 metres but it didn’t work out,” said Perkovic, whose victory extended her latest win streak to 13. “It was cold and I’m tired. This season involved lots of travel from one part of the world to another. It was a hard season but I ended it undefeated which was another of my ultimate goals.”
Muller was a distant second with 62.46m, followed by Olympic silver medallist Melina Robert-Michon of France, who reached 61.42m.
The performance of the evening was saved until the last round of the women’s long jump, the meeting-capping event, where Spanovic reached a wind-assisted 7.03m (2.3m/s), her third meeting record of the night. Her second-best leap on the evening, a 6.96m effort in round three, was at 1.1m/s wind-legal, marking the fifth-best jump of her career, indoors or out.
A shoulder injury forced Croatia’s newly-minted Olympic champion Sara Kolak to the sidelines and with it the cancellation of the javelin competition. But that didn’t preclude Zagreb’s fans from watching another local rising star in the making.
Ivan Horvat equalled his 5.70m national record with a fine second-attempt clearance, and continued on with a pair of solid attempts at 5.80m, suggesting that height isn’t too far away for the 23-year-old.
Frenchman Pascal Martinot-Lagarde added his name to the illustrious winners of the Zagreb 110m hurdles, named to honour Croatian hurdles hero Boris Hanzekovic.
Martinot-Lagarde was running a close second to compatriot Wilhem Belocian at the ninth hurdle, and didn’t eke out the victory until he produced his winning lean. Martinot-Lagarde clocked 13.35 to win by 0.02 with Balazs Baji of Hungary third in 13.49.
In the women’s contest, 2008 Olympic champion Dawn Harper Nelson of the US broke from the tight field after the sixth hurdle to win in a wind-assisted 12.74 (2.3m/s), well clear of an inspired Andrea Ivancevic, who dipped past Jasmin Stowers to take second, 12.88 to 12.90. Germany’s European champion Cindy Roleder was fourth in 12.96.
Two-time world champion Zuzana Hejnova kicked things off on the track with a solid victory in the 400m hurdles, clocking 55.61 in just her third competition this injury-shortened season, and her first since finishing fourth in Rio.
Running conservatively over the first half, the Czech carried a small lead into the final straight, one she extended to a full stride as she approached the final hurdle. Jamaican Kaliese Spencer was second in 55.77.
Courtney Okolo followed up with a victory in the 400m flat in 51.19, running down fast-starting Natasha Hastings who clocked 51.35.
Former world record-holder Asafa Powell didn’t collect his 98th career legal sub-10 clocking, but he came close, clocking 10.01 for his third straight 100m victory, impressive given the dramatically cooling temperatures in the meeting’s second half. The next three across the line were from Great Britain with Joel Fearon second in 10.06, just ahead of James Dasaolu and Adam Gemili, who clocked 10.10 and 10.11, season’s bests for both.
Less than an hour after his 10.17 run and fifth-place finish in the 100m, Canadian Aaron Brown produced a convincing 20.15 victory in the 200m, well clear of Ramil Guliyev of Turkey, last year’s winner here, who clocked 20.23. Christophe Lemaitre of France, the Olympic bronze medallist, was a distant fourth in 20.43.
Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi bided her time in the women’s 3000m, taking the lead with two laps to go and holding on for a convincing 8:45.69, two steps clear of her Kenyan compatriot Agnes Tirop, the world cross-country champion, who clocked a season’s best of 8:46.38.
A similar scenario played out in the men’s 1500m where Robert Biwott held off compatriot Vincent Kibet and Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski over the final lap en route to his 3:37.35 victory. Kibet clocked 3:37.51 and Lewandowski 3:37.69, an outdoor career best for the 800m specialist.
Elsewhere, Fabrice Lapierre led an Australian 1-2 in the men’s long jump with his 8.06m victory, just ahead of Henry Frayne’s 7.99m best. Svetlana Radzivil of Uzbekistan won the high jump with a modest 1.89m.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF