800 metres
Rebecca Lyne in action
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Wednesday, 09, Aug 2006 11:57
World records.
Men: 1min 41.11secs - Wilson Kipketer (DEN)
Women: 1min 53.28secs - Jarmila Kratochvilova (TCH)
European records.
Men: 1min 41.11secs - Wilson Kipketer (DEN)
Women: 1min 53.28secs - Jarmila Kratochvilova (TCH)
Day four sees the start to the eagerly-anticipated men's 800m but it will be the ladies' 800m final which will dominate attention.
Russian ace Svetlana Klyuka is favourite to romp to the gold but Britain's Rebecca Lyne pushed her hard during the semis and is now a hot tip for a podium finish.
Klyuka was the fastest of the semi-finalists in 1min 58.80secs but Lyne was second quickest after clocking a time of 1min 59.11secs.
Olga Kotlyarova and Svetlana Cherkasova, two more Russian stars in thee final, will both be expected to challenge as will Slovenian Brigita Langerholc after she stormed through via an impressive 1min 59.45secs time.
The men's event, due to be concluded on the final day of competition, is an intriguing prospect.
Defending champion Mehdi Baala is arguably the favourite but Latvian Dmitrijs Milkevics and Russian Dmitriy Bogdanov have both been in useful form this season.
Britain have four athletes in the running, of whom Richard Hill is the most likely to cause a few waves.
Michael Rimmer, Sam Ellis and Jeremy Watkins have all run PBs this season and will threaten but may fall short of the latter stages.