"Saudi Arabia's First Female Olympians" by Joboy Quintos

This is historic. Saudi Arabia will be sending two female athletes to the London Olympics. The oil-rich Middle Eastern kingdom was the last to heed the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) moves to end sexual discrimination in sport, following Qatar and Brunei. Judoka Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani and middle distance runner Sarah Attar will the first Saudi female Olympians.

Read: "Olympic first as Saudi Arabia names two women in London 2012 team"

Early this month, reports surfaced that the U.S.-born equestrienne Dalma Rushdi Malhas will be London-bound. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) clarified the rumors. It turns out that Malhas' horse sustained an injury, ruling her out of the London Olympics.

Read: "Dalma Rushdi Malhas (SAU, Equestrian)"

Although this is a groundbreaking move, the fact still remains that the rights of women in hardline Saudi Arabia are not at par with that of the more liberalized nations.

On a wider perspective, the statistics look promising. The IOC, according to a CNN report, noted the gradual rise in female participation in the Olympics through the years. The first time London hosted the quadrennial event in 1908, women comprised 1.8% of all athletes. The percentage rose to 9.5% in 1948 and, most recently, 42% in Beijing.

Article by Joboy Quintos

Source: 

CNN

"Dara Torres: An Inspiration!" by Joboy Quintos

Dara Torres at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. (Photo from Bryan Allison)

Dara Torres is a veteran of five Olympic Games, from the Seoul in 1988 all the way to Beijing in 2008. She had amassed a total of 12 Olympic medals, four of them gold. The then 41-year old Dara won three silver medals in Beijing. At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, the 45-year old placed fourth in the 50m freestyle finals, narrowly missing a ticket to her fifth straight Olympics.

Article by Joboy Quintos

Click here to read the full article

"The Fighting Filipinas: Toni Rivero and Annie Albania" by Joboy Quintos

As an athlete and a patriotic Filipino, it kills me to think that the Philippines has yet to win its first Olympic gold medal. The Philippines has a proud albeit forgotten sports tradition. Mediocrity has been the rule, not the exception. Back in the pre-World War II years, the Philippines - then a Commonwealth of the United States - had won bronze medals in swimming (Teofilo Yldefonso), athletics (Simeon Toribio and Miguel White) and boxing (Jose Villanueva). In the last half century, however, the Philippines had won only 4 Olympic medals, all from amateur boxing.

Read hurdler49's "World Beaters"

We had a couple of close shaves with the gold, with Anthony Villanueva (Jose Villanueva's son) and Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco yielding to their respective opponents at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1996 Atlanta Games, respectively.

Despite the dearth in Olympic-level talent, our best hopes for a landmark Olympic Gold are none other than our very own version of Superb Señoras. It's ironic to think that for a patriarchal society like the Philippines, the country's front liners in Olympic competition are its women.

Antoinette Rivero made her Olympic debut in Athens 2004. Even though she was just 16-years old at that time, her experience belied her competitive fire. In Athens, she narrowly lost to Greek fighter in the quarterfinals and to a South Korean in the repechage, missing out on a chance for an Olympic podium finish. 4 years later in Beijing, Rivero faltered in the opening round.

The inclusion of Women's Amateur Boxing at the 2012 London Olympics is a big boost to the Philippines' quest for a gold medal. The Filipina amateur boxers are bright hopes, with Annie Albania shining the brightest. Albania, fighting in the 51-kg category, is a three-time Southeast Asian Games medalist. In 2010, she beat hometown bet Ren Cancan to wrest the gold medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.

Let's just hope that Albania doesn't push through with her planned retirement.

Article by Joboy Quintos

Track Beauty of the Week: Goldie Sayers

Goldie Sayers is this week's Track Beauty!

Amidst the pouring British rain, Goldie stamped her class on a loaded javelin field a month before the London Olympic Games. Sayers threw a new personal best of 66.17m in Crystal Palace to snatch the win at that particular leg of the Diamond League. But her emphatic victory came at a huge cost, as Goldie injured her right arm in the process.

Sayers at the Crystal Palace. (Photo from Robbie Dale)

She still managed to compete at her home Olympic Games, albeit at a sub-par quality. Sayers crashed out of her third Olympics without reaching the final.

For the better part of the past decade, Sayers has been the poster girl of British javelin throwing. As a junior, she placed sixth at the World Junior Championships in Chile. [1] She did even better at the European Junior Championships in Grosetto a year later, winning the silver medal with a throw of 55.40m. [2]

Her first senior final came at the Helsinki World Championships in 2005, where she came in  at 12th place. Although she threw three centimeters shorter than at the Athens Olympics,  Goldie fared much better in Helsinki in terms of overall placing. Sayers almost barged into the medals in Beijing, but her impressive 65.75m throw was only good enough for fourth place.

Judging by her sterling performance in Crystal Palace, 2012 should have been Goldie's year had she not succumbed to injury.

References:

1. "Goldie Sayers." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldie_Sayers. Retrieved 10-7-2012.
2. Ibid.

Track Beauty of the Week: Tatiana Grigorieva Татьяна Григорьев

Tatiana Grigorieva Татьяна Григорьев is this week's Track Beauty!

As a 15-year old kid back in 2000, one of the very first athletics articles I've read was about the glamor couple of Grigorieva and Viktor Chistiakov Виктор Чистяков. Grigorieva was one of the most stunning female athletes ever to grace the sport. Hence, it is about time that she gets some air time in Track Beauty of the Week. More importantly, the Russian-born Australian was an early pole vault pioneer.

Prior to making the big shift to vaulting, Grigorieva was a talented intermediate hurdler [1]. She took up pole vaulting when the couple migrated to Australia in 1997. [2] In light of her hurdling background and natural athleticism, her improvement in the relatively new discipline took dramatic turns in her first few years. From clearing 3.90m in 1997, Grigorieva attained a new personal best of 4.50m in 1999, two years after taking up vaulting. [3]

Grigorieva won the silver medal for her adopted country at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, the first time the event was held for female athletes. Tatiana soared over 4.55m to clinch silver behind American Stacey Dragila (4.60m). In a pole vault career spanning almost 10 years, Tatiana had amassed two Australian titles (1999 and 2001), a Commonwealth Games silver (2006), and a Commonwealth Games title (2002). [4] 

References:

1. "Tatiana Grigorieva." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatiana_Grigorieva. Retrieved 10-3-2012.
2. Ibid. 
3. "Iaaf.org - Athletes - Tatiana Grigorieva." http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/letter=0/athcode=136035/index.html. Retrieved 10-3-2012.
4. "Tatiana Grigorieva."

Track Beauty of the Week: Emma Coburn

Emma Coburn is this week's Track Beauty!

The United States has the best athletics team in the planet, as shown by the results of the London Olympics. It is remarkable to note the credible American presence in a wide variety of track & field events, not just in the major crowd drawers. Up and coming athletes like Emma Coburn signify this formidable U.S. representation. 

Photo from All-Athletics.com

Coburn is an American middle distance runner who specializes in the 3,000m steeplechase. Still only 21-years old, Emma has competed at the Daegu World Championships and the London Olympic Games, making the final in both ocassions. Coburn finished in 12th place in Daegu, notching a time of 9:51.40. She fared much better in the Olympics, setting a new personal best of 9:23.54 in the final, good enough for a respectable 9th place. The University of Colorado student-athlete also won the 2011 Pan-American title in Guadalajara, Mexico.

As the 2012 outdoor season draws to a close, the American is the 12th fastest in her event this season, according to the IAAF Top List.

Emma has a sterling record in American competitions. After a second place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2010, Coburn wrested the U.S. collegiate title in 2011. She also holds the American junior steeplechase record (10:06.54), which the Colorado-based athlete set back in 2009. 

Sources:

USATF

IAAF

All-Athletics

Wikipedia

The Netherlands Olympic Hockey Team

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word hockey is the movie "The Mighty Ducks." Ice hockey, thanks to pop culture, is a more familiar subject. I must admit that the first time I saw its summer sport variant played on TV, I felt indifferent. 

Then the Dutch Women's Olympic Hockey Team took center stage in London.

They are more than just eye-candies, mind you. Women from the Netherlands have won eight out of the ten European Championship titles since 1984. Since the sport was introduced in the Olympics in 1984, the Netherlands topped the coveted podium thrice (1984, 2008, and 2012), on top of its lone silver medal (2004) and three bronzes (1988, 1996, and 2000),

The ladies' performance on the field more than measured up to their popularity in London, as they successfully defended their Olympic golds, blanking their Argentine opponents 2-0. 

The London Olympics Netherlands Hockey Team:

Kitty van Male
Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel
Kelly Jonker
Maartje Goderie
Lidewij Welten
Maartje Paumen
Naomi van As
Ellen Hoog
Sophie Polkamp
Joyce Sombroek
Kim Lammers
Eva de Goede
Marilyn Agliotti
Merel de Blaeij
Margot van Geffen
Caia van Maasakker

Additional Videos:

Match highlights vs. Belgium (London 2012)

Photo and video montage (London 2012)

Source: 

Wikipedia

Track Beauty of the Week: Yuliya Zaripova Юлия Зарипова

Yuliya Zaripova (Yuliya Zarudneva Юлия Михайловна Зарипова) is this week's Track Beauty!

The women's 3000m steeplechase is one of the newest events in athletics. It made its first appearance in the World Championships in Helsinki back in 2005. Since then, the Russians have dominated the event, with Gulnara Galkina (Гульнара Самитова-Галкина) holding the world record of 8:58.81 set at the Beijing Olympics.

Yuliya Zaripova at the 2010 European Championships. (Photo from Erik van Leeuwen)

Zaripova is Galkina's heir apparent. She is the third fastest in the event, having a personal best of 9:07.03, which she set en route to bagging gold at the 2011 World Championships. Zaripova trails only Galkina and compatriot Ekaterina Volkova in the all-time list.

She made her major championship debut at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, snaring a silver medal behind Marta Domínguez of Spain. Galkina won bronze behind Zaripova. A year later, Yuliya topped the European Championships in Barcelona.

Coming into the London Olympics, the prolific Ethiopians and Kenyans have run faster times this season than Zaripova. Amidst the African challenge, Yuliya will be Russia's strongest bet for the Olympic title. 

Sources:
Yuliya' Wikipedia Profile
IAAF

An Iraqi Olympian: Dana Hussein Abdul Razzaq دانة حسين عبد الرزاق (Abdulrazaq Danah)

My blogs have been getting quite a lot of hits thanks to Iraqi sprinter Dana Hussein Abdul-Razzaq دانة حسين عبد الرزاق  (Abdulrazaq Danah). Dana had the honor of carrying the Iraqi flag at the London Olympics Opening Ceremonies.

Read: "Track Beauty of the Week - Dana Abdul Razzaq"

Dana definitely has the talent to excel in the world stage, having personal bests of 11.76s and 24.49s in the 100m and 200m. Remarkably, Dana trains in Iraq despite the security situation.

At the 2011 Arab Games, Dana came second to Lebanon's Gretta Taslakian. 

The Iraqi sprinter's hopes of an Olympic medal might be dim at the moment, but in light of the circumstances of her home country, her mere presence in London is an achievement in itself.

Godspeed, Dana!

EC2012 Triple Jump: Olha Saladukha (Olha Saladuha Ольга Саладуха) takes gold

I love watching the triple jump because of its highly technical nature. The way the athletes hop, skip, and step to amazing distances is a graceful exercise that evokes wonder for this athletics aficionado. 

However, the event has not been given the same attention as the more popular disciplines like the men's 100m dash. I got thoroughly pissed off while watching the Adidas Grand Prix, a Diamond League meeting, last month. The directors of the telecast opted to air round-after-round of a pedestrian long jump competition over the women's triple jump competition!

Thankfully, the same mistakes were not repeated during Eurosport's broadcast of the 2012 European Championships in Helsinki. Ukrainian Olga Saladukha (Olga Saladuha Ольга Саладуха) went tantalizingly close to the 15 meter barrier, as she leaped to 14.99m to outclass the rest of the field. Patricia Momona (14.52m) and Yana Borodina (14.56m) came in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Simona La Mantia (14.52m), Dana Velďáková (14.24m), and, Niki Paneta Νίκη Πανέτα (14.23m) comprised the subsequent places.

The 2011 European U23 Champion, Voula Papachristou (Paraskevi Papachristou Παρασκευή Παπαχρήστου) finished in a disappointing 11th place (13.89m).

Read: "London Olympics Preview - The Triple Jump"

I am particularly excited about the upcoming slug fest in the women's triple jump in London. An in-form Saladukha will be hard to beat. But with the likes of 2010 World Indoor Champion Olga Rypakova Ольга Рыпакова, two-time World Champion Yargelis Savigne, the South American Champion Caterine Ibargüen, and the inspired hometown bet Yamilé Aldama in the fore, the competition has the makings of classic.

Track Beauty of the Week: Olga Rypakova Ольга Сергеевна Рыпакова

Olga Rypakova Ольга Сергеевна Рыпакова is this week's Track Beauty!

The Kazakh triple jumper is one of the best in her event. Rypakova has jumped 15.25m outdoors and 15.14m indoors, both Asian records. She also has a world-class personal best in the long jump at 6.85m. Olga is the 7th best triple jumper all-time. 

Photo from Erik van Leeuwen

Aside from the triple jump, the Kazakh has had respectable performances in the long jump and the heptathlon. In fact, she started out as a long jumper, making her international debut at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Chile. As a youth heptathlete, Rypakova missed the podium at the World Youth Championships in Debrecen back in 2001.A year later at the World Junior Championships in Kingston, the then 18-year old Rypakova snared a silver medal in the heptathlon.

Learn more about Rypakova

The Kazakh had won Asian Games titles in the triple jump and heptathlon and an Asian Games silver and bronze in the long jump, demonstrating her dominance in continental competition.

She came into prominence at the 2010 World Indoor Championships in Doha, outclassing Cuba's Yargelis Savigne in the final. Rypakova's two best jumps of 15.14m and 14.93m were enough to put the Cuban out of contention. With her victory in Doha, Rypakova climbed up to third place in the World indoor all-time list.

Read: "London Olympics Preview - The Triple Jump"

Since her breakout 2010 season, Olga has yet to go beyond 15 meters. In the runup to the London Olympics, Olga (14.73m SB) is trailing world leader Olha Saladukha Ольга Саладуха (14.99m SB), Cathrine Ibarguen (14.95A SB), and Kseniya Dziatsuk (14.76m SB) in terms of season's bests. Nevertheless, her strong showing at the Daegu World Championships (2nd place) and the Istanbul World Indoor Championships (2nd) puts her in strong contention for Olympic gold.

Additional Link:
Focus on Athletes - Olga Rypakova

Sources:

Olga's IAAF profile

Wikipedia

Holly Bleasdale vs. Yelena Isinbayeva

Pole vault world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva (Елена Исинбаева) always makes her first jump when everyone else had made theirs. The Russian usually isolates herself from the other competitors, opting to cover her face with a towel and nap. British Olympic hopeful Holly Bleasdale was not amused. She called Isinbayeva "disrespectful" and likened her to a "tramp."

Read Tom Battaglia's column on Bleasdale's comments 

Holly Bleasdale at the Palais des Sports d'Orléans. (Photo from Defeder)

Track athletes nowadays feature non of the banter and trash talk prevalent in other sports. Although Bleasdale's words could somewhat help in drumming up interest in the sport, it would have been better if she had been a little more respectful of Isinbayeva.

Yelena Isinbayeva at the Doha World Indoors. (Photo from Erik van Leeuwen)

The sight of tens of thousands of British spectators cheering for a Bleasdale victory would be a sight to behold. I would love to see Bleasdale on top of the Olympic podium, but I'll have to root for Isinbayeva on this one. Despite Yelena's tag as the most dominant female vaulter in history, she has not been in top form of late, showing chinks in her armor the past few years.

Read: "London Olympics Preview - The Pole Vault"

After everything that Yelena has been through it would seem just for the Russian to strike gold one last time.

Christine Sonali Merrill’s Balancing Act and Olympic Hopes

Christine Sonali Merrill deserves a shoutout.

Christine Merrill. (Photo from Djh57/Wikimedia Commons)

The American-born Sri Lankan hurdler will compete in the London Olympics as a wild card, having missed the Olympic “B” standard by almost two-hundredths of a second. She has a personal best of 56.83s, set during the preliminary rounds of the Asian Athletics Championships last year in Kobe. Merrill eventually wound up in 3rd place, thanks to a strong finish.

Click this link to read the full article...

Expelled

London-bound Triple Jumper Voula Papachristou (Paraskevi Papachristou Παρασκευή Παπαχρήστου) has been expelled from the Greek Olympic Team because of a racist tweet.

The following was translated using Google:

 She also retweeted a post by a right-wing Greek politician.

Papachristou has apologized publicly, but the Greek authorities seem steadfast with their decision:

“I would like to apologize to all my friends and fellow athletes, who I may have insulted or shamed, the National Team, as well as the people and companies who support my athletic career. Finally, I would like to apologize to my coach and my family.”

Things do get lost in transation. If you can read Greek, read the original tweet below:

Xue Chen 薛晨 and Zhang Xi (CHN, Beach Volleyball)

Beach volleyball is one of the youngest sports in the Olympics. Because of its unique setting and interesting play, the event has seen its following grow the past few years. 

 

Xue and Zhang at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. (Photos from leon li)

The duo of Xue Chen  薛晨 and Zhang Xi are China's best beach volleyball pair. Since their partnership began in 2006, Xue and Zhang had won bronze medals in the Beijing Olympics and the 2011 World Championships, on top of an Asian Games gold in 2006. The Chinese duo also have two Asian Beach Volleyball Championships titles.

Xue, the more popular of the pair, is younger by Zhang by four years. In 2006, the then 17-year old Xue grabbed Women's FIVB World Tour "Top Rookie" award.

They had a memorable run in 2010, when they broke the winning streak of the Brazilian pair of Franca-Silva at the FIVB World Tour Women's Final in Finland. 

Xue and Zhang will again compete for flag and country at the London Olympics. Grouped in Pool C of the preliminary round, the Chinese pair is slated to go head-to-head with Russia (Vasina – Vozakova), Switzerland (Kuhn – Zumkehr), and Greece (Arvaniti – Tsiartsiani).

Source:

Wikipedia

Track Beauty of the Week: Irina Davydova Ирина Давыдова

Irina Davydova Ирина Давыдова is this week's Track Beauty!

Irina with her European Championships gold medal. (Photo from sport.mos.ru)

Coming into 2012, Daydova had a relatively humble personal best of 55.48s in the 400m hurdles. Davydova made heads turn when she made her outdoor debut in Sochi last May. The Russian clocked 53.87s for her first ever foray under 54-seconds, shedding 1.61 seconds off her erstwhile lifetime best. In fact, she had yet to go under 55 seconds prior to this year! Her performance in Sochi propelled the 24-year old to the top of the 2012 world rankings.

Click here to watch the ECH 400mH W Final

Davydova lived up to her favorite tag at the Helskinki European Championships late last June. Irina was dominant, stopping the clock at yet another personal best of 53.77s, the fastest time in the world as of that month. Denisa Rosolová (54.24s) and Anna Yaroshchuk Ханна Ярощук (54.35s) were far off Davydova's pace. Yaroschuk beat Daydova to the World University Games hurdles gold in 2011.

Perhaps the indication for the newly-crowned European Champion's sudden rise is the improvement in her flat out 400m speed, which merited a selection to the Russian squad to the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, where Irina made it as far as the semifinals. 

Considering the fact that Helsinki was Davydova's major championship debut, the maturity that she displayed was impressive. 

Read: "London Olympics Preview - The 400m Hurdles"

With the Opening Ceremonies of the London Olympics barely a week away, Davydova is ranked as the second fastest intermediate hurdler this season, behind compatriot Natalya Antyukh (53.40s). Should Irina maintain her momentum, an Olympic gold medal is within reach.

Additional Link:

Irina's IAAF Biography 

Sources:

IAAF

Wikipedia

Ivet Lalova's Comeback

Ivet Lalova at the 2009 Berlin World Championships. (Photo from Erik van Leeuwen)

Ivet Lalova Ивет Лалова was one of the favorites to win a medal coming into the 2004 Athens Olympics. She had just set a new personal time of 10.77s, drawing level with Irina Privalova as the sixth fastest sprinter of all-time. Ivet, however, fell short of the podium in Athens. She finished in fourth place behind Yulia Nestsiarenka (10.93s), Lauryn Williams (10.96s), and Veronica Campbell-Brown (10.97s). 

Read: "Track Beauty of the Week - Ivet Lalova"

Unfortunately, Lalova's career was sidetracked by a freak injury. While warming up for a competition in Greece, Lalova accidentally collided with another athlete. Ivet broke her femur, as a result. 

She struggled to recover in the subsequent years, as her performance dramatically dipped. Lalova's hard work and perseverance finally paid off when she won the European 100m title in Helsinki.

Adrienn Tóth (HUN, Modern Pentathlon)

The Modern Pentathlon is unique since it was invented especially for the Olympic Games. Modern pentathletes, as the name suggest, compete in five disciplines that aim to demonstrate the skills of a 19th century cavalry officer. The event was invented by Baron Pierre de Coubertin as "a test for an ideal, well-rounded soldier... [consisting] of shooting, one-touch épée fencing, a 200-meter swim, show jumping on an unfamiliar horse and a 3-kilometer run."

Photo from ujeuropaalapitvany.hu

Adrienn Tóth is an up and coming modern pentathlete. The Hungarian is currently ranked 21st in the Senior Pentathlon World Ranking, after notching respectable finishes at the World Championships held in Rome and in two editions of the World Cup. Tóth also placed second at the 2011 Senior European Championships in Medway. She was part of the silver medal winning Hungarian team during last year's World Modern Pentathlon Championships.

As a junior, she topped the World and European competitions for her age group back in 2007.

Tóth, according to the Pentathlon.org website, particularly excels in fencing. The Hungarian, in fact, scored her highest points tally to date (5596)  en route to winning the 2007 World Junior title. She has been involved with the unique sport since 2004.

Track Beauty of the Week: Mary Onyali-Omagbemi

Mary Onyali-Omagbemi is this week's Track Beauty!

The retired Nigerian sprinter is an athletics legend. It is difficult enough to qualify for one or two Olympic Games, but Onyali-Omagbemi represented her country at the Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney and Athens Olympics. She had also won seven All-Africa sprinting titles and two Commonwealth Games gold medals. 

Photo from MaryOnyali.com

Mary was part of the bronze medal-winning Nigerian 4x100m relay squad at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. Despite a doping suspension months prior to the Atlanta Olympics, Onyali-Omagbemi bucked these difficulties to land third at the 200m dash. The 1992 Nigerian 4x100m relay team was featured in the Celebrate Humanity advertisement series:

The Nigerian has personal bests of 10.97s in the 100m (1993) and 22.01 (1996) in the 200m. She still holds the Nigerian national record in the 200m dash, her best event.

Onyali-Omagbemi is considered as a pioneer in Nigerian and African women's sports. She came from a time when it was not normal for a woman take part in professional sports. Her winning ways, according to an article by the Ladybrille magazine, "opened the door for many women" to do the same. 

Sources:

Wikipedia Profile

Ladybrille Interview

Mary Onyali's Official Website

Godspeed, Darya!

Photo from Nigel Chadwick

Russia and the former Soviet Union has a storied history in women's long jumping. The 7.52m world record of Galina Chistayakova Галина Чистякова still stands. Tatyana Kotova Татьяна Котова, and Tatyana Lebedeva Татьяна Лебедева occupy prominent positions in the all-time list. Out of the nine Olympic medals at stake the last three Olympic Games, Russian women had won a staggering five. The troika of  Lebedeva, Irina Meleshina, and Kotova even made a clean sweep of the podium at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Hence, it is hardly surprising that the recently concluded Russian National Championships in Chekosbary featured so much depth. The top six athletes all had personal bests of beyond seven meters. Yelena Sokolova Елена Соколова won gold with a best mark of 7.06m. Anna Nazarova Анна Назарова (6.88m), Lyudmila Kolchanova Людмила Колчанова (6.87m), Olga Kucherenko Ольга Кучеренко (6.81m), Darya Klishina Дарья Клишина (6.81m) and Kotova (6.66m) rounded up the next five places.

Read: "London Olympics Preview - The Long Jump"

For all the advantages of having a solid field, it is also a selector's nightmare. 

As a big Darya fan, I am particularly concerned about her Olympic prospects*. Nazarova, Kucherenko and Sokolova are amongst the very best long jumpers this season. Although Klishina is a veteran of several major championships and is the reigning European Indoor Champion, the credentials of the aforesaid jumpers are not particularly far behind.

Read: "Darya Klishina and Superb Senora"

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for decision favorable to Darya. A healthy Klishina has what it takes to leap the winning distances in major events. 

*Note: Klishina and Kucherenko failed to make the final cut. Read the full story here.

Additional Links:

IAAF Long Jump All-Time List

IAAF article on Russian Championships