Majewski gears up for Torino after setting a national record in Chemnitz

Olympic Shot Put champion Tomasz Majewski has set the tone for Torino 2009 with a record breaking performance at the 14th Erdgas Indoor Meeting in Chemnitz on Friday.


Buoyed by his new national record of 21.10, the Polish athlete has decided to throw his hat in the ring at the European Athletic Indoor Championship to be held in Torino from March 6-8. Majewski had earlier planned to skip Torino in order to prepare for the outdoor season.

But now he has postponed his training in US Olympic Centre San Diego till after Torino.

This is the first time that the 27-year-old has cleared the 21-meter mark indoors. Only American Christian Cantwell, at 21.47, has thrown farther this year.

Erdgas Indoor Meeting was the last full-programme meeting on the European schedule before the European Athletics Indoor Championships, the meet served as the ideal opportunity for athletes to get into form. Polish athletes made the most of it with sprinter Dariusz Kuc also registering a win with a recorded a pair of 6.60 times in the heats and final.

There was more good news in the wings for the Poles, with Sebastian Papuga finishing second in the women's 800m clocking 1:50.25, while Marcin Jedrusinski finished second behind Germany's Sebastian Ernst in the men's 200m.

Polish federation had released a preliminary line-up for Torino after the conclusion of the Polish Indoor Championships in Spala earlier this week. The performance of Polish athletes in Chemnitz could alter that squad a bit, the federation is likely to come-up with a final list early next week.

Poland (Preliminary line-up):
Men
60 metres: Dariusz Kuc, Jacek Roszko, 400 metres: Jan Ciepiela, Piotr Klimczak, 800 metres: Marcin Lewandowski, Adam Kszczot, Pawel Czapiewski, 4x400 metres: Ciepiela, Klimczak, Marcin Sobiech, Jaroslaw Wasiak, Marcin Marciniszyn, Rafal Wieruszewski, High jump: Sylwester Bednarek, Pole vault: Lukasz Michalski, Long jump: Marcin Starzak

Women
1500 metres: Sylwia Ejdys, Lidia Chojecka, 3000 metres: Sylwia Ejdys, Lidia Chojecka, High jump: Kamila Stepaniuk, Pole vault: Anna Rogowska, Joanna Piwowarska, Long jump: Joanna Skibinska, Triple jump: Joanna Skibinska, Pentathlon: Kamila Chudzik, Karolina Tyminska.