Jõhvi Athletics Meeting will be in high level

June 21, 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Heino Lipp, legendary Estonian track and field athlete, the best shot putter in Europe of his time, and one of the world’s top performers in combined track and field events. Heino Lipp would have been the main favorite for the Olympic victory in decathlon in London (1948) and a potential Olympic medalist in Helsinki (1952); regrettably, politics intervened and the outstanding athlete was not allowed to compete overseas.

 

On the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great sportsman who was born in Virumaa and attended school in the town of Jõhvi, the first full-featured international track and field competition will take place at the brand new Jõhvi Athletics Stadium named after Heino Lipp. Sports enthusiasts from Ida-Viru County will enjoy this first-ever opportunity to cheer on such a high-level competition right at their home stadium.

 

The Jõhvi Meeting kicks off on Tuesday, June 21 at 6:05 PM with 4x100 meter relay race for fiery men where the Estonian national sprint team lead by Karl Erik Nazarov, the fourth best at the World Indoor Championships, will set their sights on the fastest time to secure a place at the European Championships Munich. The competition includes the corresponding Latvian team and Estonia’s B-team. Rumor has it that the men are undergoing special training for the relay, looking to break the Estonian record time of 39.52 seconds. The sprinters running the relay race will also appear at the start of the 100 meter race. Seeing as Karl Erik Nazarov has not been able to harness the tailwind to materialize his best shape this year, the spectators at Jõhvi, if they’re lucky, may get to witness the breaking of the Estonian record (10.19) set by Marek Niit.

 

Men’s discus throw promises to emerge as one of the main event at the Jõhvi Meeting as the start list proudly includes Kiristjan Čeh from Slovenia, first on the world’s leaderboard and winner of three consecutive rounds at the Diamond League, who is basically competing in front of his home crowd. After all, Čeh’s girlfriend is Estonian hammer thrower Anna Maria Orel and the Slovenian’s coach is Olympic gold medalist Gerd Kanter from Estonia whose mother attended school in Jõhvi. The Slovenian record of 71 meters and 27 centimeters, thrown this spring by this giant of more than two meters in height, falls short of the German Jürgen Schult’s world record (74.08) by less than three meters. Čeh is viewed as the most likely contender to break the world record in the very close future. The organizers of the Jõhvi Meeting as well have considered this possibility and stand ready to award a prize worthy of a new world record. A special bonus will also be awarded if a new Estonian record is born in discus throw, breaking the current best of 71.64 thrown in 2009 by Gerd Kanter during a round at Kohila BIG Golden League.

 

An exciting “Kanter-Alekna duel” may well take place in discus throw as it’s more than likely that Mykolas Alekna (personal best 68.73), 19 year-old son of two-time Olymic gold medalist and World Champion Virgilijus Alekna, will take a stand in Jõhvi as the reigning World and European U20 Discus Throw Champion. Seven-time discus throw Islandic Champion Gudni Valur Gudnasson (personal best 69.35) will grace the competition with some Nordic exotics.

 

In women’s high jump, World Championships silver medalist Yuliya Levchenko (personal best 2.02) from Ukraine will appear at her first competition this season. Her competitors include former gold medalist at the European Junior Championships Kateryna Tabaschnyk (1.99) and Estonian high jumpers.

 

Members of the Estonian national team that have promised to participate in Jõhvi include Keiso Pedriks, Kreete Verlin and Grit Šadeiko in sprint hurdles, Hans-Christian Hausenberg in long jump, Karel Tilga in discus, Ida-Viru County’s best track and field athletes Viktor Morozov and Anna Panenko in triple jump, and many others. The best three athletes in each sport receive a HEINO LIPP 100 memorial medal as well as monetary prizes. Athletes that achieve an Estonian record enjoy a sizeable special prize.

 

The competition event draws to its close with an open air concert by Boamadu, a well-known Ida-Viru County band and semi-finalist at the Eesti Laul song contest.