Women's Shot Preview
Russia's Larisa Peleshenko finished 2nd in Sydney last year, but World Ranked No. 1 for an overall season which saw her hit 70-5 as 2000's only woman putter to exceed 70 feet. That effort was more than 2 feet better than the next-longest thrower.
So it is again this season. The 37-year-old Peleshenko has had an abbreviated schedule, competing only twice outdoors through the mid-July Russian Championships. But she took her national title with a world-leading 68-2 1/2, nearly 2 feet ahead of the 66-7 by Olympic champion Yanina Korolchik.
The Belarussian also has had a scaled-back season, competing in just three meets outdoors and not since mid-June. Yet she showed in Sydney she definitely can rise to the occasion when she pulled off her unexpected victory. Another gold-winning upset probably isn't in the cards in Edmonton, though, as Peleshenko has just been too consistent.
The German pair of Atlanta Olympic champion Astrid Kumbernuss and '01 European Cup winner Nadine Kleinert-Schmitt could push Korolchik for 2nd. K-S took the German title a week after winning the Cup, while Kumbernuss skipped the nationals. They will have to be sharp to best veteran Russian Svetlana Krivelyova, Sydney 4th-placer, and '97 Worlds winner Vita Pavlysh of Ukraine.
Korolchik's teammate Nadezhda Ostapchuk finished 2nd at the World Indoor won by Peleshenko, but lost twice to Korolchik in consecutive outdoor meets in June. She did win the European Under-23 title in mid-July.
The lone U.S. entrant, Seilala Sua, put her shot throwing on hold after the indoor season and concentrated on the discus. But she returned in May and then won USATF in a PR 58-11 1/2 to keep veteran Connie Price-Smith off the team (CPS retired after Eugene). Sua would need a career-long heave to advance to the final, probably beyond 60 feet. /Jon Hendershott/
Larisa Peleshenko (Rus)
20.01i 65-7 3/4 1)Moscow 01/27
20.12i 66-1/4 1)Rus Ind 02/17
19.84i 65-1 1/4 1)World Ind 03/10
18.77 61-7 2)Nice 03/17
20.79 68-2 1/2 1)Rus Ch 07/13Nadezhda Ostapchuk (Blr)
18.35i 60-2 1/2 3)Stuttgart 02/04
18.10i 59-4 3/4 1)Blr Ind 02/23
19.24i 63-1 1/2 2)World Ind 03/10
18.94 62-1 3/4 1)Rio GP 05/06
18.88 61-11 1/2 3)Doha GP 05/18
18.93 62-1 1/4 1)Madrid 05/26
19.53 64-1 2)Hengelo GP 06/04
18.75 61-6 1/4 2)Poznan 06/08
19.69 64-7 1/4 1)Nice GP 07/09
19.73 64-8 3/4 1)Euro U 23 07/12Astrid Kumbernuss (Ger)
19.51 64-1/4 1)Doha GP 05/18
19.41 63-8 1/4 1)Halle 05/19
19.18 62-11 1/4 4)Hengelo GP 06/04
18.76 61-6 3/4 2)Dortmund 06/09
19.02 62-5 2)Bratislava GP 06/12
19.27 63-2 3/4 2)Gotha 06/16
19.25 63-2 1)Hamburg 07/15
19.58 64-3 1)Cottbus 07/18Nadine Kleinert-Schmitt (Ger)
18.83i 61-9 1/2 1)Bad Segeberg 02/04
19.05i 62-6 1)Halle 02/16
18.83i 61-9 1/2 1)Ger Ind 02/25
18.87i 61-11 4)World Ind 03/10
19.05 62-6 2)Halle 05/19
19.10 62-8 1)Thun 05/20
18.85 61-10 1/4 1)Blankenburg 05/27
19.05 62-6 5)Hengelo GP 06/04
19.58 64-3 1)Dortmund 06/09
19.85 65-1 1/2 1)Gotha 06/16
19.30 63-4 1)Euro Cup 06/24
18.69 61-4 1)Ger Ch 07/01
19.26 63-2 1/4 1)Iffezheim 07/02Svetlana Krivelyova (Rus)
19.64i 64-5 1/4 2)Moscow 01/27
19.53i 64-1 2)Rus Ind 02/17
19.18i 62-11 1/4 3)World Ind 03/10
19.49 63-11 1/2 2)Doha GP 05/18
19.25 63-2 3)Hengelo GP 06/04
18.57 60-11 1/4 4)Dortmund 06/09
18.47 60-7 1/4 4)Bratislava GP 06/12
20.17 66-2 1/4 3)Rus Ch 07/13Vita Pavlysh (Ukr)
19.47 63-10 1/2 1)Nice 03/17
19.24 63-1 1/2 1)Koncha Zaspa 04/28
19.62 64-4 1/2 1)Ukr Ch 07/01Irina Korzhanenko (Rus)
18.93 62-1 1/4 6)Hengelo GP 06/04
19.23 63-1 1/4 1)Tula 06/08
18.82 61-9 3)Bratislava GP 06/12
19.27 63-2 3/4 2)Euro Cup 06/24
19.37 63-6 3/4 3)Rus Ch 07/13Yanina Korolchik (Blr)
17.42i 57-2 5)Stuttgart 02/04
17.52i 57-5 3/4 9)World Ind 03/10
20.29 66-7 1)Hengelo GP 06/04
19.28 63-3 1/4 1)Poznan 06/08
20.10 65-11 1/2 1)Bratislava GP 06/12Krystyna Zabawska (Pol)
18.12i 59-5 1/2 8)World Ind 03/10
17.80 58-4 3/4 1)Warsaw 05/12
18.70 61-4 1/4 1)Biala Podlaska 06/02
18.73 61-5 1/2 3)Poznan 06/08
18.34 60-2 5)Bratislava GP 06/12
19.10 62-8 1)Bydgoszcz 06/15
18.81 61-8 1/2 1)Warsaw 06/17
18.76 61-6 3/4 1)Vaasa 06/24
18.85 61-10 1/4 1)Pol Ch 06/29
18.49 60-8 2)Réthymnon 07/01
18.00 59-3/4 5)Nice GP 07/09Yumiliedi Cumbá (Cub)
18.70i 61-4 1/4 2)Stuttgart 02/04
19.10i 62-8 1)Piraeus 02/18
18.29i 60-1/4 1)Gre Ind 02/24
18.61i 61-3/4 5)World Ind 03/10
18.45 60-6 1/2 1)Las Tunas 03/18
18.28 59-11 3/4 1)Cuba Ch 05/27
18.30 60-1/2 1)Jena 06/02
18.67 61-3 3)Dortmund 06/09
18.61 61-3/4 1)Rivas 06/27
18.31 60-1 3)Réthymnon 07/01
18.81 61-8 1/2 3)Nice GP 07/09
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