8th July 2013 01:19
Sprints and hurdles
European heptathlon junior champion two years ago, the Netherlands Dafne Schippers, has been revising her sprint bests and is fastest over both 100m and 200m in 2013 with clockings of 11.09 and 22.84.
British sprint sensation from two years ago, Jodie Williams, has not hit the heights this year yet, but along with Germany's Tatyana Pinto the stage is set for a keen battle for top honours. Williams also goes in the 200m with France's Leonora Guion Firmin slightly faster on paper than the Briton.
Guion Firmin leads the rankings in the 400m followed by the Polish one-two in their U23 championships, Justina Swiety and Malgorzata Holub. Britain's Emily Diamond is within reach of the podium.
Double European junior silver medallist, Isabelle Pedersen of Norway, is favourite to take the 100m hurdles and has recently brought her career best close to the 13sec barrier. But there will be a lot of support for Finland's Nooralotta Neziri to claim a medal along with Spain's Caridad Jerez.
European and world junior 400m hurdles champion, Vera Rudakova of Russia, has won six of her seven outings this summer and finished a fine third in the European Team championships in Gateshead. Team-mate, Marina Reznikova, and France's Aurelie Chaboudez along with the Ukraine's Anastasiya Lebid are the main threats.
Endurance
Russia's Ayvika Malanova is the only sub-2min performer in Tampere but she will need to be on her best form to hold off the Ukraine's Olha Lyakhova and Anastasiya Tkachuk. France's hopes rest on the shoulders of Justine Fedronic who set new figures of 2:01.67 when she finished third at the NCAA championships in Eugene recently.
In the 1500m there is not much to choose between the Netherlands' Maureen Koster, Germany's Corinna Harrer (silver last time round) and Russia's Anna Shchagina, but it is as well for them all to be wary of Serbia's Amela Terzic, European junior cross country champion from Budapest as well as European junior 1500m champion from 2011. She does not have a particularly fast time to her credit this year but has set a career best over 800m this year and is clearly to be feared.
Azerbaijan's Layes Abdullayeva ran away with both 5000m and 10000m two years ago in Ostrava but is only entered for the shorter race this time. She appears not to have competed outdoors at all this year and she did not finish her last indoor race over 3000m so her form is unknown. European and Olympic 1500m silver medallist, Gamze Bulut of Türkiye, could give anyone a run for their money but she has not competed at all in 2013 though she does have a sub-16min time from last year.
Team-mate Esme Aydemir and Britain's Kate Avery and Beth Potter have aspirations to the podium. In the longer race there is no one within a minute of Russia's Gulshat Fazlitdinova, the Ukraine's Viktoriya Khapilina appearing to be the Russian's closest rival.
European junior steeplechase champion, Gesa-Felicitas Krause of Germany, has a fast time of 9:38.76 to her credit this summer though she went much faster at the Olympics to finish eighth in the final in London. Russians Yelena Sokolenko and Yevdokia Bukina along with Greece's Athina Koini will scrap for the minor medals.
Field events
Airiné Palšyt„— of Lithuania set a season's best 1.92 at the beginning of the month, well short of her national record of 1.96 set during the Olympic final, but an indication of an improvement in form. There is a strong Russian trio in Oksana Krasnokrutskaya, Yekaterina Fedotova and Anastasiya Andreeva but it is Italy's talented Alessia Trost who generated all the excitement in the winter when she leapt 2m for a national U23 record. She has not shown that kind of form outdoors this summer yet, but with that kind of background she cannot be ignored.
Second in the European Athletics Team championships in Gateshead, Anzhelika Sidorova of Russia also captured European indoor pole vault bronze this winter and she has able backing from team-mates Angelina Kruk-Krasnova and Lyudmila Yeryomina.
European junior champion, Angelica Bengtsson of Sweden, rose to the occasion to finish fourth in Bislett in a season's best 4.50 and will be looking to get amongst the Russians.
Britain's Lorraine Ugen set a lifetime best in the long jump winning the national collegiate championships in Eugene with a leap of 6.77 that puts her in the frame for gold. Any sign of weakness would let in Italy's Darya Derkach who set new national age-group figures with 6.67, Germany's Lena Malkus and Romania's Lena Mutaru. The Ukrainian duo of Krystyna Hryshutyna and Marharuta Tverdohlib could also threaten.
In the triple jump, Russians Yana Boradina and Viktoriya Dolgacheva are the only entrants to go over 14m this year with the latter the better of the two. Italy's Derkach, also entered for the Long Jump, has come closest of the rest with 13.92. Lithuania's Dovilé Dzindzaletait„— has a best of 14.17 to her name but has barely come within half a metre of that in 2013.
Valentina Mu…¾aric of Croatia and Olha Holodnaya of the Ukraine are well matched in the Shot, both having gone over 17.50m this year. But in the German championships at the weekend German second string, Lena Urbaniak, went out to a new lifetime best of 17.58 an improvement of 58cm which brings her to Tampere in dangerously high spirits as far as the opposition is concerned. Team-mate and world junior champion, Shanice Craft, finished behind Urbaniak in Ulm but is determined to rectify that in Finland.
Craft also goes in the discus, paired with the formidable team-mate and world junior champion Anna Rüh, who has thrown four metres further than anyone else in the U23 rankings this year. Kristin Pudenz could make it a clean sweep for the German squad.
Briton Sophie Hitchon, bronze in Ostrava, set a splendid new national record of 72.97 in the Hammer to finish third at the European Athletics Team Championships and send her on her way to Tampere in high spirits. Barbara Spiler of Slovenia and Alexandria Tavernier of France have both been over 70m this year. Anna Skydan of the Ukraine has had a quiet summer so far but she did win her national title last year with an age group record of 74.21 and might be saving her best for Finland.
The Ukraine's Hanna Habina went over 60m for the first time this year in the Javelin with a throw of 60.98 in Yalta in February. But in her last competition she could not break 55m and has not thrown at all since then. Belarus's Tatsiana Khaladovich threw a lifetime best of 59.37 in April but could manage no better than sixth in the Gateshead, almost six metres down on that mark. So this looks like an open competition and might let in the hosts to capitalise with Sanni Utriainen the pick of the Finns. Otherwise Lena Muse of Latvia has been showing most consistency in the upper 50s and could be the person to impose herself.
Combined events
Katerina Johnson-Thompson of Britain, the world junior long jump champion, has competed sparingly this summer and since she has not completed a full heptathlon is something of an unknown quantity. The battle for the medals could come from Germans Kira Biesenbach and Karolin Schaefer and the Ukraine's Anastasiya Mokhnyuk.
20km Walk
Three Russians spearhead the field on times led by the defending champion, Nina Ochotnikova, who performed so well in sweltering heat two years ago. She is accompanied by Svetlana Vasilyeva and Natalya Serezhkina. Attempting to split them will be the Ukraine's Lyudmila Olyanovska who lifted her national title this year with an age group record. Italy's Antonella Palmisano will be looking to improve on her fine bronze from Ostrava.