Preview: Kluft and Obikwelu start quest for Euro-titles

By John Bagratuni Aug 6, 2006, 16:20 GMT

Gothenburg, Sweden - Carolina Kluft starts her heptathlon quest in front of a home crowd on Monday and Francis Obikwelu his 100 metres bid for a second European title two months after being awarded the first one from 2002.

The opening day of the 19th European athletics championships also sees two finals, the men's shot put and women's 10,000m, with Rutger Smith of the Netherlands and Turkey's Elvan Abeylegesse the top favourites, respectively. Defending 10,000m champ Paula Radcliffe is absent as she is expecting a child.

But most attention will go to Kluft and the sprinters, who have the first and second round Monday ahead of Tuesday's semi-final and final.

Obikwelu, who runs for Portugal, originally finished second behind Briton Dwain Chambers 2002 in Munich, but got the title this June when the EAA nullified Chambers' 2002 results after he admitted to drug-using in that year prior to a positive doping test in 2003 for the designer steroid THG.

Now the two are the top favourites again, but season-leader Obikwelu (10.03 seconds) doesn't want to see the Gothenburg races as revenge and also isn't comfortable to have the 2002 title in this way.

'This is no revenge. We are not at war. We want to run fast and have fun. I just want to make sure that I beat him in the final,' the Nigeria-born Obikwelu said.

'I didn't run a good race (in 2002). I consider myself the silver medallist,' he said. 'I am happy for Dwain that he is back and I am looking forward to running against him again.'

Chambers says he has put the past behind him. He returned to competition with a 10.07-second run in Gateshead in June, but his Gothenburg form is somewhat in doubt due to a recent thigh strain.

Kluft, meanwhile, is to kickstart Sweden's bid for a possible five golds, the others expected from high-jumpers Kajsa Bergqvist and Stefan Holm, triple jumper Christian Olsson and 100m hurdler Susanna Kallur.

'It is my first big event at home. I am not sure what it will be like. It is very special, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There will be extra pressure, but I hope that it will push me on even more towards a good result,' Kluft told a news conference Saturday.

'I definitely hope to go over 7,000 points. But everything has to be good and come together,' she said ahead of the two-day event.

Kluft, whose personal best is 7,001 points, has not lost a heptathlon since 2001, winning Euro 2002, the worlds 2003 and 2005 and the 2004 Olympics.

Her main rival is Eunice Braber of France. The 1999 world champion lost to Kluft at the 2003 and 2005 worlds, but appears not to be intimidated as she she firmly believes that 'Kluft is beatable.'