The initial outings of the Cuban triple jumper
Yargelis Savigne and the 110 m hurdle runner Dayron Robles
during the winter season have been terrific. Both won on
Wednesday February 3, in the Track and Field In-door Tournament
in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Savigne, who was world champion in 2009, in
Berlin, and who is about to once again be crowned in-door
champion (in March this year in Doha), as she was in Valencia in
2008, had an excellent performance, as usual, and jumped 14.84m,
the best jump in the world this season. The runners-up were Dana
Veldakova (SVK-14.29) and the Cuban Mabel Gay (14.26). This
season was being led by Olga Rypakova from Kazakhstan (14.40).
Dayron Robles, for his part, exceeded
expectations on his return to competition after his injury
during the last world championships in Berlin.
His debutant time of 7.50 sec for the 60m
hurdles (7.59 in series), placed him among the best times of the
season, which are led by Terrence Trammel (7.49) and Petr
Svoboda (7.50).
Neither of them participated in this event. The
other competitors were Eric Mitchum (USA-7.55) and Shamar Sands
(BAH-7.62), second and third place respectively. The Cuban
Dayron Capetillo was in fourth place with 7.64, a life time
best.
For the 22-year-old Cuban athlete Capetillo,
this was the second competition in the European preparation tour
for the World Championship, as he finished sixth in the
Karlsruhe competition with a time of 7.76.
There, in Düsseldorf, in 2008, Robles registered
7.33 (second world best ever) after the Britain Colin Jackson
(7.30).
In the hurdle competition for women, Anay Tejeda
was third with her best time of the year (7.98, with a previous
of 8.03). The Americans Lolo Jones and Ivette Lewis held first
and second place (7.85 and 7.91 respectively). Anay had debuted
sixth in Karlsruhe, with 8.11.
