Monster races tonight in the European championships.
In the men’s 800 m semifinals starting at 2027 German time which is 1427 US East time. First three in each heat and two fastest times to the final.
Heat 1
fastest 3 - Dobek 1:43.73, Benny Robert 1:43.75, Rowden 1:44.09
Contenders: Ben 1:44.18, De Smet 1:44.89
Dobek is a mystery man to me because when he moved up to the 800 m after his career at the 400 m hurdles and the 400 m I thought he was going to be the next best thing to sliced bread but his career has not panned out that way and he’s more down than up. Maybe he can show his true worth tonight. The guy (Dobek) is a monster but will he really show his talent? If he does not show his hand tonight, perhaps people will conclude that he has psychological frailties like Mamede (27:13/10,000) in past (1984).
Heat 2
fastest three - Van Diepen 1:44.14, Wightman 1:44.18, Tual 1:44.23
Contenders: Crestan 1:44.84, Pattison 1:44.60, English 1:44.71,
In the second heat it should be very close between the Dutchman, the Englishman and the Frenchman.
women’s 1500 m (20:45)
Laura Muir is the class of the field, and she is somewhat in the equivalent position to Jakob so whichever way the field runs she should be able to cover any move and win.
fastest 3: Muir 3:54.50, Ennaoui 3:59.70, Mageean 4:00.15
Danger ladies: Maki 4:01.23, Bobocea 4:01.10, Sabbatini 4:01.93, Snowden 4:02.76, Trost 4:03.53, Klein 4:02.58, Baker 4:04.90
The way I see it is that any of those girls mentioned here from the Irish woman to any of the others, that is in the range from 4:00.00-4:04.00 could potentially get a medal. The two German girls in the field could also be elevated to a higher level and fight for medals.
Men 3000 m steeplechase 21:00
15 runners will take part in this race, including an interesting trio of three Italians, two of them twins Osama Zoghlani 8:11.00, and Ala Zoghlami 8:14.06, and one of the favorites also from Italy, Egyptian born Abdelwahed 8:10.29.
Bedrani’s season best is only 826 so I’m not sure he will have the legs to go with a fast pace.
Others: Bedrani 8:05.23, Arce 8:14.31, Ruiz 8:16.42, Martos 8:16.46, Raitanen 8:16.57.