Vlasic & Idowu are European Athletes of the Month of June
Date: Thursday, July 17 @ 21:57:08 CDT
Topic: Track & Field
Croatian High Jump queen Blanka Vlasic and Britain's latest Triple Jump star Phillips Idowu have been voted the European Athletes of the Month for June.
Vlasic, who is the current World Indoor & Outdoor High Jump Champion and European Athlete of the Year for 2007, is currently dominating not only her event but the sport in general with a winning streak of 32 competitions.
In June, the 24-year-old won not only all five of the competitions she entered, but cleared the 2m barrier in each one with 2.03m her least successful competition!
She started the month with a 2.03m victory at the Golden League in Berlin, followed up with a 2.04m victory in Oslo, then cleared 2.05 in Ostrava, had another 2.03m clearance in Russia and ended the month with a World leading 2.06m clearance at the European Cup in Istanbul.
Barring injury, she is one of the hottest of hot favourites to win the Olympic Gold in Beijing.
29-year-old Idowu is no less a likely winner of the gold in Beijing and has outstanding major championship credentials to his name already as he is the current European and World Indoor Triple Jump champion.
Taking over the considerable mantle of his fellow country man Jonathan Edwards, Idowu is leading the World in his event in 2008, and is also unbeaten this season.
In June he jumped a then World leading distance of 17.55m to win a European Athletics permit meeting in Chania, Greece and followed this with a scintillating 17.46m victory at the Spar European Cup in Annecy in June, a performance which won him the Athlete of the Cup award.
The runners-up in the women's poll were Polish pole vaulter Monika Pyrek and Spain's latest hurdles sensation Josephine Onyia while Norwegian Javelin thrower Andreas Thorkildsen and Ireland's 400m star David Gillick were the runners up on the men's side.
The European Athlete of the Month initiative was launched in January 2007 and is designed to recognise outstanding performers at all levels of the sport in Europe.
European Athletics will name a male and female winner each month and feature the athlete on the European Athletics website. Selections are based on votes by the public, the media and a panel of European Athletics experts with each counting for 33.3% of the final vote.
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