Russia’s Sergey Shubenkov’s game plan for the biggest race of the summer is pretty straightforward as he contemplates how close the men’s 110m hurdles could be in Zurich.
“The main thing is to run faster,” says Shubenkov. “It solves everything.”He repeats this point regularly during an interview with European Athletics, and chuckles every time.
It is, indeed, obvious, and no matter how many finer details are dissected on how he can improve, he knows speed is the essence.Shubenkov, 23, will be the defending champion at the European Athletics Championships next month but the race is boiling up into something special, as was demonstrated a week ago in Braunschweig.
At the European Athletics Team Championships, a classic sprint ensued which saw Shubenkov just edging victory - 13.20 to 13.21 - from Great Britain’s William Sharman with Frenchman Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, the world leader, in third in 13.35.It is fair to say that this trio could be the men who make the podium in Zurich, but it might not be in the same order.
Shubenkov knows well enough the small margins between first and second, as was proven in Germany where he came through to pinch it on the line.And so it goes back to speed again.
“One detail is to go a bit quicker at the finish,” he says.He will go to Zurich as the favourite, having won in Helsinki in 2012 in 13.16, adding the European Athletics Indoor 60m hurdles title to his list in Gothenburg the following March before last summer finishing third at the IAAF World Championships at home in Moscow.
But it is Novi Sad in Serbia in 2009 and the European Athletics Junior Championships when he was second to where his mind is wandering back as he counts down to Zurich.Shubenkov, who speaks perfect English, says: “My coach and I are preparing ourselves by considering all the mistakes and sum up all the experiences we have had since 2009.
“I have looked back over the last five years and in general there were not that many mistakes. It is all about details, they are viciously important.”Such as that electric burst once the final barrier has been cleared, which so often can be about the balance and the rhythm that has been generated during the race. If an athlete is flowing, then the finish will arrive; if not, it needs even more power from the moment you land over the hurdle.
When he reflects on Moscow - he was third in 13.24 as American David Oliver won in 13.00 - Shubenkov knows the occasion of competing in his home country was so important.“I did not gain some divine wisdom, but it was a very precious experience,” he says. “It was important to step up to third in the world, though I did not have the best performance.
“It had a lesson in itself: how to win at the top competitions and bring the best performance that you can.”With a personal best of 13.09 from Monaco in 2012, Shubenkov might need to break that in Zurich with the way Sharman performed in Braunschweig with his quickest time of the year and the fact Martinot-Lagarde has run 13.12 and 13.13 on the Diamond League circuit in the last few weeks.
“Pascal is running very well and Sharman is having a good season,” adds Shubenkov.“It is harder to defend a title because in 2012, I was a young and promising athlete, just rising.”
Now he is the champion, with others hot on his heels.