The 60 m hurdles of the European Indoors: two great races

I will definitely write a full report on the 2019 European Indoors but in the meantime I cannot resist the temptation to write about the two races I enjoyed most: the 60 m hurdles finals for men and women. 

I have been following Milan Trajkovic for quite a few years now. He is a great hurdler. I remember how he managed to qualify for the 110 m olympic final in Rio, running in a heavy storm (which obliged the organisers to proceed to a repêchage, giving a second chance to some of the most renowned participants who otherwise would have been eliminated). That was not the first time Trajkovic was running in the rain. I recall the 110 m final in the 2016, Amsterdam, Europeans where Trajkovic used the jacket of this tracksuit to cover the girl who was assisting with the athletes's stuff and who was getting soaked under the rain.

Trajkovic in the rain-soaked 2016 final

In the 2018 World Indoors Trajkovic made it to the final and was, to my eyes, a very serious candidate for a medal. (His semi-final time would have sufficed for a bronze medal in the final). But then Trajkovic false-started and was disqualified. I was expecting him to do something in the 2018 European Outdoors but it turned out that 2018 was not a lucky year for him: he got injured in spring and thus was not in optimal condition at the Europeans.

Trajkovic and Douvalidis congratulating each other

He took his vengeance in this year's European Indoors. And the funny thing is that he almost went out in the semis where a series of technical mistakes (and, in particular, hitting hard the last hurdle) brought him to fourth place. Fortunately he was qualified on the basis of time. In the final he took an excellent start and never relinquished the first place. P. Martinot-Lagarde tried to make up his initial delay but did not quite manage, as for the favourite, R. Ortega, he was somehow not quite there. Be that as it may, Trajkovic won the european title and we where rewarded by a second (after that for Tentoglou) sounding of the greek national anthem, since the national anthem of Cyprus is that of Greece. 

Vetter, Visser and Broersen

I have already written about the three "wondermeisjes" (that's wondewomen in dutch) from Holland. And as the three musketeers they are in fact four. Dafne Schippers has world champion titles over 200 m (and an olympic silver over the same distance) as well as a world bronze medal for heptathlon. Nadine Broersen was world champion for indoor pentathlon and european vice-champion for heptathlon. (She missed this year's indoors due to injury). Annuk Vetter was european champion and world bronze medalist in heptathlon (but dropped out of this year's pentathlon due to injury). 

Visser winning hands down the 60 m hurdles final

Nadine Visser, the youngest of them all, did not have a title till this year. Several time finalist of global events in heptathlon, she decided, since last year, to focus on her best discipline, the hurdles. Already bronze medalist of last year's World indoors, she dominated completely this year's competition. C. Roleder, the reigning european champion, could only grab the silver medal, while E. Herman, last year's revelation when she won the european title over 100 m hurdles, had to contend herself with bronze.
I was already keeping an eye on Visser but now I have one more reason to do so.