Muriel Hurtis about to become the big sprint star
The French athlete has one option - the option also to run the 100 meters. Her federation put Muriel on the 100 meters list although she had announced at the European Cup in Annecy to concentrate only on the 200 meters and the relay. Serious thoughts? The idea is quite seducing because by winning three titles the new European top sprinter could become the star of the European Championships and follow the path of her compatriote Christine Arron.
Muriel Hurtis (Photo: Chai)
If the 23-year-old athlete will not run the short sprint distance the Greek Ekaterina Thanou can reach for gold. Apart from her, Belgium sprinter Kim Gevaert, Italy´s Manuela Levorato or new-Spanish athlete Glory Alozie (ex-Nigeria) are hot medal candidates. The German hosts wish that their Sina Schielke will also play a role in the final hoping that the injury she got at the National Championships will not bother her any more. This year´s fastest sprinter, Zhanna Pintusevich from the Ukraine will not be seen at the track in the Olympic stadium as she prefers to concentrate on the Zurich meeting some days later where not only fame but a lot of money waits for the winner. Jamaica´s Merlene Ottey, the "grande dame of sprint who was recently allowed to run for Slovenia suffers from a foot injury and thus will not compete for the European title.If not Hurtis who could win the 200 meters?
The clear favourite for the 200 meter race is the tall French athlete being Europe´s fastest sprinter with 22.51 seconds this year. Only Austrian Karin Mayr (22.70 seconds) and Nora Güner from Turkey could endanger her victory. Again, Manuela Levorato and Kim Gevaert, as well as Russian Yuliya Tabakova and Germany´s darlings Sina Schielke and Gabi Rockmeier should not be underestimated.
Sprint relays – Germany against France
The German relay wants to win the gold in front of their home crowd. At the World Championships 2001 in Edmonton only the relay from the United States was faster than Melanie Paschke, Gabi Rockmeier, Sina Schielke and Marion Wagner. And luckily for them the Americans won´t compete at the European Championships. Yet, the French relay is decided to defend its title and is the hardest competitor for the German quartet. At the European Cup in Annecy they were only 0,08 seconds ahead of the German runners (42.41 against 42.49 seconds). The Russian, Ukrainian and Belarus sprinters will fight for the Bronze medal.
