Golden Gala: Women’s high jump in the spotlight

The women’s high jump starting at 20.15 in front of the Curva Sud near the 100 m finish-line will grab the headlines in the Rome’s Diamond League meeting, as it features a scintillating field. Some of the best high jump specialists in the world will square off against on the runway where Stefka Kostadinova broke the still-standing world record clearing 2.09 m on 30th August 1987. The stand-out name will be reigning Olympic and World champion Anna Chicherova. The 30-year-old Russian jumper is the best specialist in the world with a PB of 2.07 m set in Cheboksary in 2011. After skipping the Indoor season, Chicherova set the world seasonal best yesterday in Bejing clearing 2.02. Chicherova took part only once in 2008 when she did not clear higher than 1.90 m. That edition was won by Blanka Vlasic, one of the most successful athletes in the history of the Golden Gala with five wins (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011). The 29-year-old Croatian high jumper, twice a World Outdoor champion, is on her come-back trail from a 2012 plagued by injury problems which forced her to miss the Olympic Gmes in London. Before the Golden Gala Vlasic will come back in the New York Diamond League meeting on 25th May. Vlasic is the second best high jumper in history with her 2.08 clearance in Zagreb 2009. The only jumper who was able to break her winning streak in Rome was Antonietta Di Martino who cleared 2.00 to 1.97 in their head-to-head clash in 2009 meeting in the Eternal City. Waiting to Di Martino’s come-back, Italian fans will keenly support 20-year-old reigning Barcelona World Junior champion Alessia Trost who grabbed the headlines last winter when she cleared 2.00 metres in Trinec, which climbed her to the top of the world seasonal list at the age of 19. After finishing fourth at the European Indoor Championships last March in Gothenburg in her debut in a senior international major Championship, the young italian jumper, who appears as one of the four members of the athletics royal family on the poster of the meeting which promotes the Golden Gala meeting, will renew her rivalry against jumpers she faced only during the last last Indoor season.

The exclusive 2 metres club will be also represented by two more Russian stars: the reigning Olympic bronze medallists Svetlana Shkolina (PB 2.03) and Irina Gordeeva, who improved her PB to 2.04 in 2012. Not to be written off will be Sweden’s Emma Green Tregaro, European Outdoor silver medallist with 2.01 in 2010 and European Indoor silver medallist this year in Gothenburg.

Tickets – The tickets to attend the 2013 edition of the Golden Gala are available in allTicketone shops and online on www.ticketone.it. Ticketone is ticketing partner of the 2013 Golden Gala (in the sport section or seeking Golden Gala on the search engine on the Ticketone website. Ticket prices are as follows (pre-sell fee not included: Monte Mario Main Stand (100 m starting-line) 40 Euros, Tribuna Tevere 20 Euros, Distinti Arrivi 15 Euros; Curve and Distinti 5 Euros.

The Golden Gala pass – This year all athletics fans will have the chance to attend the Golden Gala moving around the different sections of the Stadium using a special Golden Gala Pass. The Golden Gala pass can be bought at only 30 Euros on Ticketone and will give the access to the following reserved seats: Curva Sud Sector 19, Distinti Sud Est sector 22, Tribuna Tevere sector 40, Distinti Nord Est sector 45, Curva Nord sector 48, Distinti Nord Ovest sector 51.