Czech bowler Tomáš Staněk.
Ostrava – The weekend indoor championships of the Republic are not only a chance for domestic titles for athletes, but also the last opportunity to fight for a nomination for the European Championships in Istanbul. The biggest star will be reigning European indoor champion Tomáš Staněk, who should strive for a fifth title.
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The championship will be the last test for the leaders of this year's European tables before the HME, which will take place at the beginning of March. “I'm looking forward to Ostrava. It will be my last start before the European Indoor Championships, so it will be important for me to race well. I was sick and had a high temperature, but I'm starting to feel better, so I'm curious myself performance as a result,” he said in the union's press release.
Petr Svoboda will also be a clear favorite in the hurdles, who will be aiming for his eighth title. He won the 60-meter hurdles race for the first time in 2007, the last time last year.
The pole vault sector should be dominated by Amálie Švábíková, who two weeks ago at the Czech Indoor Gala in Ostrava improved her indoor personal record to 457 centimeters and finished second.
The same place in the personal record of 51.57 seconds at the then prestigious Lada Vondrová also occupied the international meet, but she chose the 200 for the domestic championship. Tereza Petržilková will be the biggest favorite in the 400 meter race in her absence.
Among the men, Pavel Maslák, the former three-time world and European indoor champion, and Patrik Šorm, the fifth man of last year's HMS, had to miss the indoor season due to health problems. The fight for the title is therefore expected mainly from Matěj Krsko and Vít Müller, another member of the quarter-distance relays, Michal Desenský, could also join in.
For distance runner Radek Juška, in addition to the attack on the eighth indoor title, the main goal will be a performance of 790 centimeters, which would fulfill the union requirement for participation in HME. He holds a progressive position in the ranking. Kristtina Mäki, the finalist of last year's Olympic Games and the sixth woman of last year's European Championships in Munich, is in a similar position, who has not yet run a qualifying performance of 4:12.00 in the 15-meter this season.
Michael Hruba will start in two disciplines. In the high jump sector, she will attack for her eighth title, as a triple jumper she will try to at least upset the winner of the last four indoor championships, Emma Maštalířová. Another battle between Jan Veleba and Zdenek Stromšík, who have won nine of the last ten championships, is expected at the 60th.
Saturday's program will start in Ostrava at 1:00 p.m., on Sunday, races are scheduled from 11:00 a.m.
