Torun ready for first day of record-breaking Indoor Championship
With over 4,000 competitors entered, the largest ever recorded for an international Indoor Athletics Championships, the first day of competition on Sunday 24 March is at capacity level, but the 2019European City of Culture and Sport has already hosted a very successful European Masters Athletics Indoor on the same superb track in 2015.
Record entry and exciting Men’s Long Jump
This event has pitted together the best Masters long jumpers from around the world. Hiroto Goto from Japan tops the M35 list with 6.80m. Lukasz Sobora from the host nation has cleared 7.05m and he faces the Jamacian, James Beckford, in the 22-strong M40 group and Antonio Palacious from the USA, who currently holds the M45 Record at 6.98sec, has now moved into the M50 and has 6.50m to his credit.
The women’s High Jump will also be contested on Sunday. W45 Alison Wood,USA, has jumped 1.66m; that is superior to the current World 1.65 record credited to Dinah Heymans from the Republic of South Africa in Jyväskylä in 2012. W50 Aycan Kurtcan from Turkey has cleared 1.57m . W55 Wendy Laing GBR took the European title in Madrid last year in aWorld Record 1.55m and is set to take the World title here.
Spain and the host nation are likely to capture most of the 3000m medals here. From the 23 entries in the M35 race, the fastest man in the field is Artur Kern, Poland, who has a 8.06.25 mark to his credit. There is a huge entry in the M40-M50 age categories. British runners are likely to take both the M/W55 titles through Clare Elms who recently set anew World 10.13.40sec and the British Indoor champion, Guy Bracken. Angela Copson has a huge margin over her rivals in the W70 race.
Bridget Cushen
