18th July 2013 10:47
Anezda and Eliska Drahotová not only gave the Czech Republic its first medals of the European Junior Championships but produced the first family affair of Rieti 2013 when the sisters claimed gold and bronze in the women's 10,000m walk this morning.
Both wearing bright, white backward caps, the tall, long-haired twins produced the performances of their lives to upset the favoured Russians, Oxana Golyatkina and Nadezhda Leontyeva.
Anezka Drahotová led for the entire 25 laps before breaking the tape in 44:15.87, a personal best by more than two minutes, beating her own national junior record.
Golyatkina was rewarded for her perseverence with her own PB of 44:21.03, while the winner's joy doubled 30 seconds after she'd crossed the line when she turned to see her sister Eliska finishing third ahead of Leontyeva in 44:45.27, a PB by nearly four minutes.
Drahotová's strategy was simple: 'I tried to go faster each lap and I'm really happy for my gold medal,' she said, while her sister was delighted to win an unexpected medal of her own.
'I started fast with my sister,' said Eliska. 'I was with a Russian girl who had a better PB, so this medal has a great value for me.'
As for Golyatkina, she had to accept defeat. 'It was a very hard race, and too difficult for me,' she said. 'I hoped for first place, I had to push harder.'
After winning the international junior race on the roads in Dudince earlier this year, Golyatkina was expected to follow Tallinn champion Yelena Lashmanova as a Russian gold medallist. But the Czech sisters had their own ideas and it was Anezda who strode to the front as soon as the gun fired.
The two Russians settled in between the twins and these four reached half way in 22:30 in the same sandwich formation. Eliska Drahotová eventually came loose after 6k and Leontyeva followed a lap later to be caught by the second Czech shortly after 7k.
Golyatkina briefly moved in front of Drahotova at 9k, but the Czech was having none of it and with two laps to go she strode back into the lead and immediately opened a gap on her long-time shadow which grew to a healthy five seconds by the finish.
Further evidence that the Raul Guidobaldi's new blue track is a fast one came in the opening heptathlon event when the three hurdles heats produced 11 PBs from 20 athletes, topped by Dutchwoman Nadine Visser's 13.21.
Gold medal favourite Nafissatou Thiam also had a good start as she broke her PB by half a second to clock 13.87. She followed with 1.89 in the high jump to lead the contest overall after two events.
Thiam has 2090 points, just 16 ahead of her Belgian teammate Marjolein Lindemans who followed a PB of 13.45 in the hurdles with a high jump of 1.83.
Visser lies third with 2034 after producing a second PB in the high jump of 1.77.
Quick times came thick and fast in the women's 100m heats too, where Stella Akakpo stood out. The French sprinter clocked a blistering 11.26 in the first of the four races, a PB by 0.15s and just eight hundredths slower than Jodie Williams' championships record from Tallinn.
Phil Healy of Ireland and Britain's Sophie Papps were equal second quickest overall after winning heats two and three respectively in 11.63.
Bulgaria's Denis Dimitrov eased through to the men's 100m semi-finals in 10.49. Dimitrov is the number one junior this year, but it was Britain's Chijundu Ujah and Zdenek Stromsik of the Czech Republic who took the round one plaudits.
Ujah goes into this evening's semi-finals as the quickest man after winning heat five in a season's best of 10.32, while Stromsik took heat six in 10.38.
Erik Hagberg broke the Swedish junior record to place third overall with 10.42 while Germany's Robert Polkowski was just a fraction slower, winning heat four in 10.44.
There were few more dominant victors on the first morning than Russia's Pavel Ivashko who confirmed his status as favourite for the men's 400m. The Russian won from the outside lane by some 15 metres in 46.24, a PB by 0.15s and nearly half a second quicker than anyone else in the round.
Frenchman Thomas Jordier was the best of the rest, winning heat four in a PB of 46.71 ahead of Poland's relaxed medal hope Patryk Dobek who also dipped under 47s.
Event favourite Mesud Pezer led the men's shot put qualification with a single effort of 19.40, the Bosnia and Herzogovina athlete topping the list by 18cm from Matti Sivonen of Finland as all the main medal contenders made it through to this evening's final.
Bence Pásztor was the best of the hammer throwers with 75.61 while Russia's gold medal hope Valeriy Pronkin needed two to advance with 73.17. Eight men reached the automatic qualification mark of 70 metres.