Sarajevo, 31 May 2008
Sport chased away the ghosts of the past!
The Olympic bob track in Sarajevo was after more than 15 years of forced rest
revived last year. After removing the piles of greenery and partly patching war
injuries, the best in-line skaters competed against each other on the track. The story
about it quickly travelled the world, but the bitter aftertaste remained. The
competition was organized and carried out in secrecy. There were no spectators,
only media representatives were invited, and the reason for that was both simple
and dreadful -- the track surroundings were still a dangerous mine field!
But young European athletes' initiative turned things in Sarajevo upside down and the will
got its wings! In only a year, the track surroundings were cleared of any danger, and today,
the second edition of Red Bull Hot Run took place in front of approximately five thousand
spectators who chased away the ghosts of the past, and the Trebevic hill once more
became the home of sport!
At the top of the 1570-meter-long track, which was already in the time of the Olympics in
1984 known as one of the toughest tracks, 28 competitors from 9 countries gathered to
race against each other for the prize of altogether 2,400 EUR down the concrete track,
reaching speeds up to 90 km/h. The winding track with long and quick turns demanded
some contribution in the form of never-ending falls. There were no hard injuries,
nevertheless some of the riders will have to peel their crusts from elbows, knees, and
buttocks for quite some time. Each rider had 4 runs, and the best two results were
considered. Just like last year, the fastest rider was Daniel Ladurner from Austria, four time
world champion in downhill in-line skating, followed by Phillip Auerswald (GER) and
Romain Guigent (SUI).
Special attention should be given to the three female competitors from Croatia, France and
Italy who joined their male colleagues and proved that also this extreme sports discipline is
not reserved for males only. The best rider was the Croatian girl of German origin and
former skier Yvonne Schnock who was placed fourth in the semi-finals in absolute
competition but did not take part in the finals as she was not familiar enough with the
track's upper part. Marjorie Philipotteau (FRA) and Valentina Liguori (ITA) were placed
20th and 23rd in the semi-finals.
RESULTS and best time:
1. Daniel Ladurner, Austria -- 1:08:57
2. Phillip Auerswald, Germany -- 1:13:48
3. Romain Guigent, Switzerland -- 1:13:57
4. Yvon Labarthe, Switzerland -- 1:14:89
5. Juan Rey, Switzerland -- 1:15:08
6. Christian Lins, Austria -- 1:16:34
7. David Lenoir, Switzerland -- 1:17:11
8. Angelo Vecchi, Italy -- 1:17:43
9. Urban Markic, Slovenia -- 1:17:53
10. Mathieu Prudent, France -- 1:18:38
11. Greg Pinto, France -- 1:18:72
12. Nikola Krneta, Bosnia and Herzegovina -- 1:19:72
13. Christian Montavon, Switzerland -- 1:19:87
14. Josef Jobst, Germany -- 1:21:61
15. Markus Huber, Austria -- 1:22:48
16. Matevz Pokorn, Slovenia -- 1:24:31
17. Marjorie Philippoteau, France -- 1:28:02
18. Nino Batagelj, Slovenia -- 1:29:43
19. Dalibor Frankovic, Croatia -- 1:36:25
20. Edis Salkic, Bosnia and Herzegovina -- 1:40:66
21. Nebojša Simic, Serbia -- 2:06:79
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super course romain le podium cool
dane146 3 years ago
predobro
kramari 3 years ago
Super...
AsterZG 3 years ago