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| Frenchman Teddy Tamgho bounded out to a world leading 17.59m at a local meeting in Eaubonne on Saturday. |
France’s Teddy Tamgho emphasised his role as favourite for the men’s triple jump at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships in five weeks time when he bounded out to a world-leading 17.59m at a local meeting in Eaubonne on Saturday.
The 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships will be held in Paris at the Palais Omnisport Paris-Bercy from 4-6 March and Tamgho is expected to be one of the star attractions in the French capital.
The 21-year-old 2010 European Athletics Rising Star of the Year already lead the world after jumping 17.46m in Liévin a week ago.
He holds the world indoor record at 17.90m, which he set when winning the gold medal at the 2010 World Indoor Championships, and which could be under threat in the coming weeks.
In Eaubonne, Tamgho produced an impressive four-jump series which read: 17.33m, 17,59m, 17.56m, 17.13m. His next competition will be when he returns to Liévin to compete in the IAAF Indoor Permit Meeting there on February 8.
Elsewhere in France on Saturday, Yoann Kowal won the 1500m at an international indoor meeting in Bordeaux when he ran 3:39.35, the fastest time by a European runner this year.
Czech Republic’s Denisa Rosolova clocked new meeting 400m record of 52.49, the third best time by a European in 2011, while Ukraine’s 2011 European Athletics Championships pole vault silver medallist Maksim Mazuryk cleared 5.75m and beat all the top domestic jumpers apart from the absent world leader Renaud Lavillenie.
Across the border in Luxembourg, France’s 2010 European Athletics Championships 400m finalist Leslie Dhjone showed his form with a world-leading time of 46.24 over two laps of the track, coming home ahead of Belgium's Antoine Gillet, who clocked 46.95.
Belgium’s 21-year-old Lindsay De Grande, who just missed out on a medal when finishing fourth at the 2009 European Athletics Junior Championships, had arguably the best run of her career when she broke the national 1500m indoor record with 4:09.70. Czech middle-distance runner Lenka Masna won the 800m with 2:02.84.while The Netherlands’ former European indoor 60m hurdles champion Gregory Sedoc won in 7.67.
The Netherlands’ 2010 World Junior Championships heptathlon gold medallist champion Dafne Schippers also showed off her prowess as a sprinter when she won the 60m in a national junior 60m best of 7.28, having already broken the national junior best earlier in day with her run of 7.33 in the heats.
Schippers is only 18 and still eligible to compete in the 2011 European Athletics Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, this summer.