15th July 2013 06:49
Chernova on the right path - and she is not alone
Making inroads in a season can happen at any moment, but when the summer of 2013 becomes just a distant memory, this past week could be the time which many track and field athletes look back on as the days that proved the key.
National championships normally have two criteria: selection for that year's major event and the honour of being the best in the country.
But equally, it is important to save a bit for what is ahead, this time being the IAAF World Championships in Moscow which start on August 10.
If that is the case, the performances of Tatyana Chernova, James Dasaolu, Jimmy Vicaut and Teddy Tamgho since Thursday of last week have signs that Europe will be making its mark in style once more on the world stage.
Chernova could be one of the biggest stars of the World Championships in her home country. And while the pressure will be on her to defend the heptathlon crown she won in Daegu in 2011, she is showing good form and now her progression towards Moscow is happening in style.
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THE WEEK JUST GONE
The European Athletics Under-23 Championships bridge that gap between junior and senior and one athlete who came shining through is following quite a tradition. Katrina Johnson-Thompson won gold in the heptathlon at the championships in Tampere on Sunday, less than a year after Jessica Ennis had won Olympic gold, to maintain a consistency in the multi-events for Great Britain that goes back to 1972 when Dame Mary Peters won the Olympic pentathlon in Munich.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Rieti, the venue for so many glorious moments in world athletics, is the stage for the 22ndEuropean Athletics Junior Championships which start on Thursday. The chance for new heroes to emerge in a competition which over the years has proved a golden foundation for countless senior medallists of the future.
EUROPEAN LEADERS – 100m
Men
1. James Dasaolu (GBR), 9.91 Birmingham
2. Jimmy Vicaut (FRA), 9.95 Paris
3. Churandy Martina (NED), 10.03 Lausanne
Women
1. Ivet Lalova (BUL), 11.04 Olso
2. Mariya Ryemyen (UKR), 11.06 Yalta
3. Niels Theijs (BEL), 11.06, Heusden
BIRTHDAYS
18.07.13 - Mikk Pahapill (EST) – Former European indoor champion turns 30
21.07.13 – Tatyana Lebedeva (RUS) – One of the most decorated horizontal jumpers of all time turns 37.
TOP TWEETS:
Kathrin Klaas @kathrinklaas
Great online coverage of the @Euro_U23s! really enjoying the two streaming channels plus live results. Thanks @EuroAthletics
Athletics Photo @AthleticsPhoto
@Euro_U23sThank you so much for the great broadcasting and the competition was really amazing! #Tampere2013
Isobel Pooley