Mariya Abakumova threw a world season's best 65.12m in Adler

Russia and Ukraine’s traditional winter throws championships saw some excellent early season performances on Thursday and Friday, notably from Russia’s 2008 Olympic Games silver medalist Mariya Abakumova, who threw the javelin 65.12m in the Russian Black Sea resort of Adler.

Abakumova’s effort was the best in the world this year and never before has she opened the season with such a long throw. Igor Sukhomlinov won the men’s competition with 78.03m.

There was also some outstanding hammer throwing in Adler.

The 2009 World Championships bronze medallist Aleksey Zagornyi launched his implement out to 79.99m, another world leading mark for 2011.

Behind him was Sergei Litvinov with 78.90m while Kiril Ikonnikov was third with 77.07m. The 2006 European Athletics Championships gold medallist Tatyana Lysenko won the women’s competition with 71.46m.

Olesya Korotkova was the only women over 60 metres in the discus with a winning throw of 61.48m, the second best mark of her career, while Bogdan Pishchalnikov took the men’s competition with 61.85m.

Across the border in the Ukraine city of Yalta, it was the men who showed off their skills in the javelin.

Dmytro Kosynskyy, still only 21, went over 80 metres for the first time in his career and won with 81.22m. The experienced Oleksandr Pyatnytsa, who had four throws over the 80-metre line but his best of 81.00 was not quite enough to win.

In the women’s javelin, Hanna Hatsko threw over 60 metres for the first time to win with 60.10m and leave the former world junior champion Vira Rebryk in second place with 59.56m.

Oleksiy Sokirskiy won the men’s hammer with 74.10m while the men’s and women’s discus victories went to Oleksiy Semenov with 62.20m and Kateryna Karsak with 60.22m.

Many of the winners in Adler and Yalta will be in action next month at the 2011 European Cup Winter Throwing event, which will be held in the Bulgarian capital Sofia from 19-20 March.

source: www.european-athletics.org