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| French poster boy Christophe Lemaitre will be hoping for sprints glory in front of his home crowd in Paris. |
European Athletics presents the third in a series of previews leading up to the Paris 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships to be held from 4-6 March.
60m
For the second successive major European championship event the men’s blue ribbon sprint event is set to be a mouth watering matchup between Great Britain’s Dwain Chambers and precocious French speedster Christophe Lemaitre.
Remember, last summer at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona it was Lemaitre who prevailed, blitzing to 100m gold with Chambers the pre-event favourite, albeit hampered by an injury issue, finishing down in fifth.
Lemaitre will, of cause, not only be buoyed by the confidence of landing triple European gold in Spain last summer (he also secured the 200m and 4x100m titles) he will also have the benefit of competing in front of passionate home support at the Palais Ominsport Bercy.
His indoor season started modestly but Lemaitre – who is not always the swiftest of starters – has gradually improved and a 6.58 season’s best performance to land the French title suggests he is more than capable of striking gold again.
Chambers is however a formidable opponent on the boards. He is the defending European and world 60m indoor champion and the 32-year-old Brit will not want to relinquish his crown without a fight.
At the 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Torino he recorded a blistering European record of 6.42 in the semi-finals and while not quite yet showing that level of form this year, his season’s best of 6.57 – set when winning his national title – places him No.1 in the European rankings.
While Lemaitre and Chambers have hogged much of the pre-race attention a number of other sprinters should not be ignored.
The 2009 European Indoor bronze medallist Emanuele Di Gregorio (6.62) was surprisingly defeated in the Italian Championships but remains a respected opponent. German champion Christian Blum (6.63) is another with medal potential as is his compatriot Tobias Unger (6.64). Meanwhile, rising Russian sprinter Aleksandr Shpayer (6.63) will be seeking to make an impact in the French capital.
Lemaitre’s French team-mate Martial Mbandjock may only have registered 6.66 this season but after winning European 100m and 200m bronze last summer he should not be discounted.
The British challenge is bolstered by Joel Fearon (6.63) and former world junior 100m champion Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (6.64). Meanwhile, another dark horse for the medal podium is Brian Mariano (6.63). The former Netherlands Antilles athlete who now represents the Netherlands is a 6.60 sprinter at his best. Another entrant worthy of mention is Portuguese veteran Francis Obikwelu (6.68), the 2004 Olympic 100m silver medallist.
400m
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| Veteran Swede Johann Wissman will have to contend with in-form local star Leslie Djhone, who is still looking for his first major international medal. |
Johan Wissman will bid to become only the third man in history to successfully defend this title. The stocky Swede triumphed in his one and only 400m indoor outing this season in Stockholm, however the winning time was a modest 47.41, so it is a little difficult to read his form.
Leslie Djhone the vastly experienced three-time World Championship finalist is the European leader after recording an eye-catching 46.13 clocking land the French title. However, Djhone is yet to land a major senior international title, a fact he will be determined to remedy in front of his home supporters.
A strong French challenge is bolstered by Yoan Decimus, who recorded a lifetime best of 46.31 to finish runner-up to Djhone at their national championships and the third string French athlete Ansoumane Fofana (46.71) is also no slouch.
The British too will be confident and their assault is led by Nigel Levine who has enjoyed a breakthrough season on the boards. The 2009 European Under-23 400m silver medallist, landed his national title and rocketed to a personal best 46.17 performance to win in Birmingham last month and it will be interesting to see how he performs at Paris-Bercy.
Richard Strachan (46.35) and Richard Buck (46.38), who finished fifth in the 2009 European Indoor 400m final, complete a strong-looking British team.
German champion Thomas Schneider (46.19) has the ability to also feature strongly and showed his ability to compete with the best Europe has to offer by defeating Levine in Glasgow in January. Irish champion Brian Gregan, 21, has recorded 46.82 this campaign and is another to be watched.
60m hurdles
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| Czech hurdler Petr Svoboda who missed out on a medal in Barcelona is looking to set the records straight in Paris. |
Petr Svoboda of the Czech Republic will hope to cap a hitherto flawless indoor campaign by landing his first major championship in the 60m hurdles the Paris-Bercy.
It is easy to see why Svoboda, who is unbeaten in six outings this year and leads the European lists with 7.48 is marked out as a clear favourite. However, the powerful Czech, who won European indoor bronze in 2009, will not be taking anything for granted. Last summer he was also fancied to strike gold in the men’s 110m hurdles at the outdoor European Championships, but after a technically poor display he wound up a disappointing sixth in the final and he will not want a repeat performance in Bercy.
France will also have plenty to cheer in this event thanks to the twin threat of Dmitri Bascou and Garfield Darien. Bascou set a personal best of 7.52 to land the national title in Aubiere in February and is currently in the form of his life while European 110m hurdles silver medallist Garfield Darien (7.56) is also a major threat.
Nothing separated Konstantin Shabanov and Yevgeniy Borisov at the Russian Championships last month after both were awarded equal first in 7.63 and the pair are not without medal chances in the French capital. Shabanov, 21, is a former World Junior 110m hurdles champion and Borisov a 7.44 performer at his very best.
The quick-starting Gregory Sedoc (7.66) of the Netherlands has carved out a reputation as a dangerous performer on the boards and the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Champion should never be discounted. Improving Belgian champion Adrian Deghelt (7.60) is another contender.
4x400m
Taking this season’s rankings into consideration Great Britain and France will expect a prominent showing yet Belgium should not be dismissed from striking European gold.
British and French occupy seven of the top eight positions in the European rankings with the latter team led by Leslie Djhone (46.13) and strongly supported by the likes of Yoan Decimus (46.31), Mamoudou Hanne (46.49) and Ansoumane Fofana (46.71).
The Brits will also be confident, boasting with four sub-46.5 400m performers this year in Nigel Levine (46.17), Richard Strachan (46.35), Richard Buck (46.37) and Nick Leavey (46.49).
However, it will be fascinating to see how a dangerous Belgian quartet, led by the Borlee twins, Jonathan and Kevin, perform. Kevin is the reigning European 400m outdoor champion while Jonathan topped the European outdoor 400m rankings in 2010 and the pair also inspired Belgium to a 4x400m silver medal at the World Indoor Championships and a 4x400m bronze at the European Athletics Championships last year.
The other entrants for a competition which will be competed as a straight final are European 4x400m outdoor champions Russia, Poland and the Netherlands.