Russian Women Win against the Wind
The fourth day of the world athletics championship in Osaka ended triumphantly for Russian sportswomen. Elena Isinbaeva remains undefeated in pole vaulting, and Svetlana Feofanova took the bronze medal in that event. All three top places in the long jump were taken by Russians: Tatyana Lebedeva came in first, Lyudmila Kolchanova second and Tatyana Kotova third.
Ten-time record holder Feofana came in third in Helsinki in 2005, then sat out an entire season because of an injury. She had the same result yesterday, 4.75 m., as in Helsinki, a remarkable comeback. Isinbaev tried to break her own two-year-old world record of 5.01 m. but, after three tries, it became clear that she would not succeed.
Kotova noted that Irina Simagina had a higher seasonal result than she did (7.11 m. vs. 6.90 m.), but managers decided to send her instead. She jumped 6.90 m. on her sixth try in Osaka. Kolchanova, who holds the world's record with 7.21 m., managed 6.92 m. on her sixth try. Lebedeva complained of the wind.
Champions of Europe in the 800-m. dash Olga Kotlyarova and Svetlana Klyuka, unfortunately, came in fourth and seventh, respectively, in Osaka with strong competition. Spaniard Mayte Martinez passed Kotlyarova at the very end of the race to take third place. Kenyan Janeth Jepkosgei came in first and Moroccan Hasna Benhassi took second place.
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All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 29, 2007
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