EUGENE (from our correspondent) – She will enter the world championship with a start on Sunday at 21.40 CET, the lot awarded the reigning European under-23 champion the eighth track.
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Have you been to see the races at Hayward Field yet?
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I was at the 1500 starts. The stadium is beautiful, decorated to the last detail. It can be seen that people here really like athletics, they cheered.
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Did you enjoy saying goodbye to the most successful female athlete in history, Allyson Felix?
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I already watched the mixed relay final on TV, but the atmosphere was amazing. They love athletics and when one of the Americans runs, the roar is even bigger. And when Allyson ran, it was amazing.
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Are you glad that you experienced this athletic personality and that you also met him on the track?
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I ran with her in the heat at the Olympics in Tokyo. She is an icon of Thursday and athletics in general, I’m glad I still managed to see her.
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You sound a little cold when you tell it.
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From the air conditioning, almost everyone here struggled with it. I also underestimated it when I didn’t get properly dressed the first day, but oh well.
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So there were no complications in the final preparation?
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Everything went well. I had a bit of a problem with my front thigh, but nothing major. Maybe I at least rested more and tuned in even better.
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In both of your world senior events, you advanced from the heat. Does it give you confidence?
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Certainly. I think that the coach and I manage to tune in to those events. The goal remains the same, to advance to the semi-finals and then anything can happen.
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How do you like the opponents in the run-up? On paper, the strongest are Poland’s Anna Kielbasinská and Jamaican Candice McLeodová.
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I think I’m pretty lucky. In most heats, three girls are clear, here there are two clear and if I run well, I think I could fight for the third direct promotion place.
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Will you try to run the race faster than your personal record of 51.13 in Hodonín?
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Certainly. The track is fast, so far I’ve run very fast here, so I’ll give it a try. It’s just that since I won’t have anyone in front of me, I might not know it for a while. (smile) But I think I have the form, so I could start it faster and last until the end.
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Is the eighth track, when you will no longer have anyone in front of you at the start, a big disadvantage?
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I’ve been running for a long time on Thursday, I don’t care. I would rather have a second career, but I try to focus on myself. Kielbasinská will definitely start fast, so I think she will go in front of me almost immediately. Then I’ll try to stick to her tooth and nail, because when I’m with her, I’ll make progress.
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