There were some strong Swedish performances at the European Athletics Classic permit meeting in Karlstad on Wednesday.
After breaking her own 3000m steeplechase national record in Glasgow last week, Charlotta Fougberg took the 1500m race in 4:11.89 improving her personal best by almost two seconds.
“It’s amazing for the confidence to beat the 1500m girls. It’s very good to know I have this speed for the steeplechase,” she told aftonbladet.se.
Although Fougberg has now met the 1500m qualifying standards for the European Athletics Championships in Zurich, she will concentrate on the 3000m steeplechase which is her specialty event.
Rising Swedish sprinting star, Irene Ekelund, has confirmed she will run the 200m event in Zurich in less than one month’s time.
She finished twice second in both the 100m and 200m in Karlstad. Her time of 23.43 is a season’s best in the 200m, just behind Kinike Alexander of St Vincent and the Grenadines with 23.40.
It looked like she was even going to catch the Vincentian athlete down the final stretch which shows she still had some left in the tank.
“It felt really good. I still had energy and started to come back, but I still have to work on my turn,” Ekelund said.
The Swede has not competed much in the early part of the season and has recently changed coach.
“I have been training quite hard and still getting used to this new coaching style, but I feel it will be a big part in helping me become better.”
At 17, Ekelund will be one of the most noteworthy athletes competing at the IAAF World Championships next week in Eugene.