Posted: June 24, 2005

Athletics: Ceplak Cautiously Optimistic About World Championship Chances

From David Monti

© 2005 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

By Bob Ramsak

VELENJE, Slovenia – After a largely solo 1:59.98 win here at the MinersFest EAA meeting Thursday night, Olympic 800 meter bronze medallist Jolanda Ceplak remained cautiously optimistic six weeks before the World Championships commence in Helsinki.

“The first lap was a little too slow, and I ran a little conservatively at the end, but I was pleased with the effort,” Ceplak said after acknowledging the enthusiastic capacity crowd at Slovenia’s premiere annual athletics meeting in the same stadium, beautifully set among rolling hills, lush valleys and thick forests at the city’s northwestern edge, where she began her athletics career.

Running just a step behind compatriot Brigita Langerholc for the initial 500 meters, Ceplak took command of the race entering the second lap’s backstretch en route to her first sub-two minute effort of the season.

Her cautious approach to the race, Ceplak said, stems from a lingering ligament injury that was finally diagnosed earlier this week. “I had plenty of strength left in the last 200 meters.” Throughout the spring, Ceplak has also be plagued by an Achilles injury.

After intense daily sessions with her physiotherapist, Ceplak said the condition has improved and is now racing pain-free, but the ailment still significantly impacts her workouts. “I’ll have a better idea after this weekend, when I have a couple very heavy training sessions planned.”

Ceplak said races at Lausanne’s Athletissima Super Grand Prix of July 5, Rome’s Golden Gala Golden League meeting on July 8, and the Zagreb Grand Prix on July 11 are penciled into her schedule, before making her final preparations for the World Championships in Helsinki. She said she’ll decide within the next few days if she’ll be on the start line for next Friday’s Golden League opener in Paris.

“I need two or three strong competitions before the world championships.”

The 28-year-old, by far the most well-known athlete in this tiny Alpine country, is off to a modest start in her post-Olympic campaign. After a disappointing appearance at the European Indoor Championships in March, in which she failed to reach the final, Ceplak opened her outdoor season in late May with a 2:01.00 runner-up finish at the Qatar Super Grand Prix in Doha. At the Prefontaine Classic three weeks ago in Eugene, Ore., Ceplak was part of the seven-woman pile up in the 1500 meters, on the same track where she set her 4:02.44 national record in the event in 2003. Ceplak said the accident was caused by an inexperienced pacesetter who stopped suddenly in the middle of the lane when her pacing duties were completed. Several women did not finish the race, while Tatyana Tomashova of Russia, the reigning world champion, was hospitalized and received several stitches on her calf.

“It’s unbelievable to me that someone with no experience would be chosen to pace a race like Eugene.”

She followed up with a convincing win in Ulm, Germany on June 12, clocking 2:00.85, before finishing a badly beaten 10th at the Tsiklitiria Grand Prix in Athens Olympic stadium on June 14, reaching the finish in 2:01.43.

“Because of the Achilles problem, I was never able to get into my racing rhythm in Athens. So I just hope that this injury will be healed in time for the world championships.”

Despite the nagging problems, Ceplak remains upbeat about her chances in Helsinki as the August 6 date approaches, and is eagerly looking forward to change a pattern that has emerged in her career.

“Odd years haven’t been lucky for me,” said Ceplak, who set the world indoor record of 1:55.82 at the 2002 European Indoor championships and later that year won the continental outdoor title as well. At the 2003 World Indoor Championships, she missed a medal by just 1/100 of a second. A favorite for a medal at the world outdoor championships later that summer, Ceplak injured her heel during a training session, and never reached the start line.

“A world championships medal is something that’s missing. I don’t want to wait two more years until Osaka.”