21st European Athletics Championships - Preview

Men's javelin throw:

Pitkämäki and Thorkildsen set to feature in the most anticipated contest in Helsinki

Vitezslav Vesely heads the world rankings this season with 88.11m and the Czech will certainly be hopeful of winning his first major international medal in the much anticipated javelin final in Helsinki.

That certainly doesn't apply to defending champion Andreas Thorkildsen. The Norwegian has only thrown 84.72m this summer but he can boast two Olympic golds, a world title and three world silvers and two European golds.

Latvian Vadims Vasilevskis was second in the 2004 Olympics, but has generally finished fourth, achieving that in a previous European and two world championships but he should be a factor this time based on his 86.50m which only the Czech has bettered this year.

Ukraine's Oleksandr Pyatnytsya is another thrower in great shape this season with a 86.12m throw and he will be keen his better his fourth from 2010.

The 2010 runner-up and reigning world champion Matthias de Zordo is one of four Germans named but he has been struggling this season and won't be a medal challenger unless he substantially improves his 81.62m season's best.

Former world champion Tero Pitkämäki was third in Barcelona and has struggled with his form this year but he threw 83.87m at the weekend to be a late addition to the Finnish named quintet who are all capable of challenging for medals.

Antti Ruuskanen, Ari Mannio, Lassi Etelatalo and Teemu Wirkkala are his potential team-mates on an evening that should see the 40,000 capacity reached for the home nations favourite event.

Women's javelin throw:

Obergföll's moment of glory

In the javelin, there are rich possibilities of medals for a group of hugely talented throwers led by Germany's Christina Obergföll, who now has a big chance to add a major gold to the bronze she won at the last Olympics and the silvers she has collected at the 2005 and 2007 world championships and at the last European Championships.

Obergföll, whose 2007 personal best of 70.20m makes her the fourth furthest thrower of all-time, registered a season's best of 67.04m in St Wendel on June 10, which put her third in this year's listings behind the 69.35m reached by South Africa's Sunette Viljoen and Czech Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova's 68.73m.

With both Spotakova and world champion Mariya Abakumova of Russia opting out of Helsinki, Obergföll appears to be the strongest contender for gold – but she will not have it easy given the presence of other proven competitors such as Britain's Goldie Sayers, whose British record of 65.75m in the last Olympic final saw her miss out on a medal by just one place and who recorded 64.73m at the Rome Diamond League on May 31 to move to sixth in the season's European listings.

For the 29-year-old Suffolk-born athlete, these championships offer the chance to earn a well-merited first major championship medal.

Obergföll won the German national title at the weekend in 65.86m, but was challenged closely by the 2010 European champion Linda Stahl, whose effort of 64.35m indicates she could find herself on the podium again.

Vera Rebryk of the Ukraine will also fancy her medal chances, having thrown a national record of 66.53m in Yalta last month, as will Slovenia's Martina Ratej, who reached out to 65.24m in February.

source:european-athletics