Pesiridou out of the semi-finals in the 60m. obstacles

THE Elizabeth Pesiridou failed to qualify for the 60m hurdles semi-finals, at Glasgow World Indoor Championships. The 32-year-old sprinter, who participated in the event for the third time in her career, finished sixth in the third (out of six) heats with a performance of 8.28.

The athlete of the Ilioupoli Gymnastics Club came close to this year’s record (8.24), but did not manage to place among the 24 athletes who got the “ticket” for the semi-finals, to which the first three of each series and the six best times of all the series. Pesiridou she was ranked 34th in the qualifying event.

For the record, the first three places in the series of the Greek sprinter and the direct “tickets” to the semi-finals were taken by Devin Charlton (Bahamas, 7.93), Xenia Benacs (Spain, 8.08) and Mete Graversgaard (Denmark, 8.10).

It is worth noting that in the fourth qualifying round the Cypriot Dafni Georgiou took part, who finished fifth with 8.19, a performance that is this year’s record, and ranked 31st overall.

Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska was the fastest of all in the 60-meter hurdles qualifier with 7.80, a performance that is this year’s record.

“With an excellent 10, I give it a 7“, said Pesiridou. “Whenever I sit at the start of the 60m hurdles, I get heart palpitations! I think I’m going to die! Whereas at 100m I say “ok, I have time to get down there”. That’s why I prefer the 100m hurdles. Technically it was a very good race. Steady, but at a slow pace. I hadn’t written indoor races this year and I hadn’t picked up the fast pace, but I can’t say I’m not satisfied with a year with only two races before the World Championships. For the open I’m aiming for Rome and Paris, of course, but honestly what I want is to show a very good and consistent face, like last year when I was consistently under 13.10“, he added.