Posted: February 24, 2006

Athletics: World Indoor Championships Combined Events - Competitors Confirmed

Monte-Carlo - The names of the sixteen athletes who will compete in the Combined Events at the 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships, Moscow, Russia, 10 -12 March 2006, (eight invited for the men’s Heptathlon and eight for the women’s Pentathlon) have been confirmed.

The list of eight participants for each of the two disciplines in Moscow is composed of four athletes from the current indoor season's world top-10 and four from the 2005 outdoor world top-10 list. The invitations have been based upon the best athletes available for competition irrespective of how many athletes per nation compete.

The Heptathlon pitches the top-six finishers from last year's World Championship Decathlon together in what should be an epic encounter. The first and second place finishers in Helsinki last summer, Bryan Clay (USA) and Roman Sebrle (CZE), are also the defending World Indoor silver and gold medallists from 2004. The Czech who was the victor in the Heptathlon on that occasion in Budapest, also won over the American in the Olympic Decathlon of the same year.

Aleksandr Pogorelov (RUS) is so far this season's best (6229pts), and seven of the eight Moscow competitors led by Sebrle, the number one, are positioned in the current Top-8 of the IAAF World Rankings for the Event.

The women's Pentathlon line-up will also bring back some memories of Budapest 2004, as the third and fourth placers, Austra Skujyte (LTU) and Karin Ruckstuhl (NED), are competing. The favourite should be the Lithuanian who was the 2004 Olympic Heptathlon silver medallist, came fourth in Helsinki last summer, and is the reigning World record holder for the women's Decathlon.

Olga Levenkova (RUS) is so far this season's best (4713), and four of the competitors are positioned in the current Top-10 of the IAAF World Rankings for the Event.

 Men’s Heptathlon:
Indoor
Aleksandr Pogorelov (RUS)
Aleksey Drozdov (RUS)
André Niklaus (GER)
Konstantin Smirnov (RUS) 
Outdoor
Bryan Clay (USA)  
Roman Šebrle (CZE)
Kristjan Rahnu (EST) 
Attila Zsivóczky (HUN)

Women’s Pentathlon:
Indoor
Olga Levenkova (RUS)
Yuliya Ignatkina (RUS)
Svetlana Ladokhina (RUS)
Sonja Kesselschlager (GER) 
Outdoor 
Hyleas Fountain (USA) 
Austra Skujyte (LTU)
Lyudmila Blonska (UKR)
Karin Ruckstuhl (NED)

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