Svetlana Feofanova celebrates winning the women's pole vault (© Getty Images)
Several leading Russian athletes opened the season by the participation at the finals of the European Champion Clubs Cup held in Moscow on Saturday.
They were competing for the biggest and prosperous Moscow athletics club “Luch”. It was easily predictable that “Luch” would win both the men’s and the women’s Cups. Prague based club Duckla was second in men’s overall standings while Valencia’s “Terra y Mar” took the second place in women’s Cup.
The Russian athletes entered the competition at a time when they have just finished their most intensive period of training. Former World Indoor record holder Svetlana Feofanova was aiming at a season opening 4.70m in the women’s Pole Vault but managed to jump only 4.60m failing her three attempts at 4.70m.
Her coach Yevgeniy Bondarenko said Svetlana was just testing her form after her heaviest training period and he is satisfied with her competition.
400m Russian specialist Natalia Nazarova was second with 51.98 behind Ionela Manolache (51.25). Her coach Liudmila Fedoriva was pleased with her athlete’s performance and confirmed Natalia was still in a period of very hard training.
She participated in the Cup only to support her club and she is not planning any competition in the nearest weeks. She prepares only for the Russian Championships which will determine the Russian team for the Olympic Games.
“Now she is going through very hard training,” says Fedoriva. “She is getting ready to fight with the same well known rivals. We do not expect any surprises from them. And it is too early for everybody to reach a top form now.”
Tatiana Kotova won the competition in the Long Jump with 6.52m. Her coach Vladimir Kudriavcev confirmed the competition was just like a training session for Kotova who is still building up for the more important competitions yet to come. Her training schedule included a two-month period at high altitude (1800m) in the mountains in Uzbekistan, not far from Tadjikistan where she was born and lived 15 years.
“It is best for everyone to train where you were born, we lived at the mountains in the villa of our good friend and each day drove down to the stadium,” said Kudriavcev. “Our next competition will be in Ostrava (June 8). I hope Tatiana will improve her jump there and will win the competition with any result she will need to do that.”
Among her rivals in Ostrava, Kotova will face compatriot Tatiana Lebedeva who defeated her at the World Indoor Championships in Budapest.
Former World championship medallist Viacheslav Voronin seems to be back at his best and won at the Cup with 2.31m.
Olga Kusenkova threw the Hammer at 69.80m and Aleksandr Ivanov the javelin at 82.61m.
Nigerian Francis Obikwelu ran the 100m in 10.14 while Jolanda Ceplak won the 800m with 1:58.80.
Nikolay Ivanov for the IAAF
