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| Germany's Verena Sailer has blossomed into one of the fastest sprinters in Europe today. |
Sprints
Like the men's 100m, the women's field has provided a rich vein of future stars. Gold medallist, Verena Sailer of Germany, went on three years later to snatch European gold in Barcelona, adding to two major Games medals, one in the relay at the Berlin World Championships in 2009 as well as European indoor bronze the same year.
Third in Debrecen was France's Myriam Soumaré who emerged as one of the stars of the French squad at last year's European championships collecting a full set of medals when she triumphed in the 200m, took bronze in the 100m as well as relay silver.
200m gold medallist, Yulia Chermoshanskaya of Russia, who also anchored the victorious relay squad in Debrecen, found herself as Olympic champion one year later when she anchored the Russian quartet to a wonderful gold medal.
Russian Lyudmila Litvinova, winner of the 400m, ran the second leg of the silver medal winning quartet in Beijing one year later. 12 months further on she was part of the squad to take bronze at the Berlin World championships. Bronze medallist, Kseniya Zadorina, helped Russia to relay gold at last year's European championships and continued her rich vein of form this year with relay gold in the European Indoors to add to an individual bronze.
High hurdles champion, Nevin Yanit of Türkiye, progressed three years later to outright European champion in Barcelona. Behind her in Debrecen was a wealth of future talent. Silver went to Norway's Christina Vukicevic who was just outside the medals in Barcelona, but lifted bronze in the European Indoors this winter. Collecting bronze in Hungary was Britain's Jessica Ennis who was to excel at the multi-events. In Berlin she lifted World Heptathlon gold before becoming European champion last year after adding the World Indoor title to her list of achievements. She is currently favourite to retain her world title as well as the Olympic title on home soil in London.
Eline Berings of Belgium was outside the medals in Hungary, but it did not stop her going on to claim the European indoor title 2009. Down the field in sixth was Germany's Carolyn Nytra who was to blossom into Europe's newly minted indoor champion in Paris this winter, coming a few months after her European outdoor bronze medal in Barcelona.
She only got bronze in Debrecen, but Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic has blossomed this year into one of the best one-lap hurdlers in the world. After reaching the final in Beijing, three years later Hejnova is burning up the tracks on the Diamond League circuit and is one of the favourites to take a medal at the upcoming World Championships. Her latest exploit was to defeat a quality field in Paris last Friday in an excellent 53.29 for the World lead and her second Czech national record of the season.
Field events
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| Polish hammer thrower Anita Wlodarczyk failed miserably in 2007 but two years later she went on to win the world title in Berlin with a world record throw of 77.96m. |
High Jump gold, Svetlana Shkolina of Russia, made the 2009 World Championship final and just missed a medal at the world indoors 2010. This year she has competed prolifically, taking her national indoor title before finishing fourth at the European indoors.
Pole vault winner, Aleksandra Kiryashova of Russia, made the world championship final of 2009, but fourth placer, Silke Spiegelburg, has enjoyed more success. In Barcelona she bagged European outdoor silver to add to two European Indoor silvers. She currently owns the second highest jump in the world of 4.75 and has seven wins to her name on the international circuit in 2011.
Russian Anna Nazarova won the long jump with an excellent career best 6.81, a performance she beat indoors this winter when she went out to a world-class 6.89 for second on the world lists. Her best performance outdoors this season was third place in the Doha Diamond league. Silver medallist and then known as Denisa Scerbova is the prolific, Denisa Rosolova. Already possessor of a European Indoor bronze in the Long Jump before she travelled to Debrecen, Rosolova has gone on to distinguish herself as a formidable quarter miler, culminating in European Indoor gold this winter. Bronze medallist, Yelena Sokolova of Russia, became European Indoor silver medallist two years later.
In the shot, silver medallist, Denise Hinrichs of Germany replicated her medal at a higher level when she struck silver at the European indoor championships two years later. Bronze medallist, Anna Avdeyeva of Russia, has enjoyed more success, graduating to European outdoor bronze in 2010 before lifting European Indoor gold this winter.
Like the men's pole vault, the women's hammer is fascinating for how someone in the lower echelons can blossom into a world beater. Languishing in ninth with a throw of 62.11 is Poland's Anita W…‚odarczyk. Two years later, she was proclaimed world champion with a world record 77.96, just one of three world records that W…‚odarczyk has set. Last summer she added European bronze to her credentials.
Javelin winner, Linda Stahl of Germany, competed in the World Championships of 2007 and 2007 before hitting pay-dirt in Barcelona last year, in a lifetime best 66.81, to clinch gold. Down in an anonymous fifth was the now famous Russian Mariya Abakumova. One year later she was to launch the spear over the 70m-mark to take silver in Beijing. Another year on, she added a world bronze. Among her wins on the circuit this year are the Rome Golden Gala and the Golden Spike here in Ostrava.
Heptathlon
Second in the heptathlon was the Netherlands' Yolanda Keizer who won silver in the 2009 European indoors. Just behind Keizer in that competition was France's Antoinette Nana Djimou who this winter was elevated to a delirious gold in Paris Bercy. In Debrecen, she could finish no higher than seventh. Just out of the medals in Hungary was Poland's Kamila Chudzik, but she made up for it in the Berlin World Championships where she collected bronze.
20km walk
20km walk winner, Tatyana Shemyakina of Russia, did not waste much time maturing and went straight to the Osaka World Championships later that summer to pick up silver.