8th May 2013 07:10
The strength of the Russian women's team at the European Cup Race Walking in Dudince on May 19 will be immense.
In the 20km event they will be led by Anisya Kirdyapkina, the 2010 European silver medallist and 2011 world bronze medallist, and she will be joined by Vera Sokolova, who finished in third behind her at those European Athletics Championships in Barcelona almost three years ago.
Kirdyapkina is among the biggest names, who will be in Slovakia in a season where the Russian national championships have brought the best times so far in this discipline.
As Yelena Lashmanova, the Olympic champion, took gold in 1:25:49 in Sochi in February, Kirdyapkina was second in 1:25:59 with Sokolova third in 1:26:00.
Turning back the clock to London last summer, Kirdyapkina's 1:26:26 saw her cross the line in fifth, 1:24 behind her teammate whose victory came in a world record performance.
At 23, Kirdyapkina, is one of Europe's most consistent walkers at the major events, and now she has a chance to stamp that authority on the European Race Walking Cup.
It was an ability she first demonstrated at the European Athletics Junior Championships in Hengelo in 2007 when she triumphed in 10,000m track walk in 43:27.20.
Moving to the 20km, two years later she was fourth at the World Championships in Berlin before another brilliant display in Barcelona.
It was a race that was very much an all-Russian affair.
Olga Kaniskina won gold in 1:27:44 with Kirdyapkina second in 1:28:55, 37 seconds ahead of Sokolova.
But 12 months later as Kaniskina won the world title, Kirdyapkina was third and on Sunday week will be par of a European Cup Race Walking where 30 countries, comprising of 292 athletes, have entered teams.
The German squad for Dudince will be made up of five senior and five juniors.
Hagen Pohle, Christopher Linke, Carl Dohmann and Nils Brembach will compete in the 20km and Nils Gloger in the 50km.
In the junior 10km, Jonathan Hilbert, Karl Junghannss and Nathaniel Seiler make up their team and in the girls event, Maxi Woelke and Janine Bandt.
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