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Athletics
Beijing 2008
Nataliia delivers gold
Afp, Beijing
Ukraine's Nataliia Dobrynska competes during the javelin event of the women's heptathlon in the Beijing 2008 Olympics at the Bird's Nest on Saturday. She won the heptathlon gold. Photo: AFPNataliia Dobrynska of Ukraine fell back on her strength in field events to win the heptathlon gold medal at the Olympics on Saturday.The 26-year-old, who finished eighth at last year's world championships in Osaka, recorded a total of 6733 points after the gruelling two-day, seven-discipline event.Dobrynska's compatriot Lyudmila Blonska took silver, 33pts adrift, with overnight leader Hyleas Fountain of the United States claiming bronze at 6619pts."The Olympic Games is the main goal for every athlete, but today I think I wanted it more and that's why I won it," said Dobrynska."I had very strong opponents, but like every athlete, I had the goal to win the Olympic Games."Dobrynska's victory was based on two top performances in the shot put, in which she recorded a best of 17.29m, and the long jump, in which she jumped a lead of 6.63m.A poor 24.39sec in the 200m was masked by a solid 13.44sec in the 100m hurdles, a 10th-best 1.80m in the high jump and an impressive 48.50m in the javelin throw.She finished last in her 800m heat but fast enough to edge Blonska.Fountain's superiority in the track events was shown up by her lack of power in the field events, the American managing only 13.36m in the shot and 41.93m in the javelin."I'm very satisfied and very excited," said Blonska, the 2006 world indoor champion and reigning world silver medallist who was banned in 2003 for two years after testing positive for stanozolol, the anabolic steroid used by the disgraced sprinter Ben Johnson."I never thought I could win a silver medal in the Olympic Games. It has always been my dream to win a medal in the Olympics."Fountain added: "One of my goals was to get on the medal stand. In the heptathlon you have to take the good with the bad and the bad with the good."Pre-event favourite Kelly Sotherton of Britain, who has openly accused Blonska of being a cheat, finished fifth on 6517pts, with Russian Tatiana Chernova in fourth."I did three personal bests and in the end I came fifth," said the 31-year-old Sotherton, a bronze medallist in the worlds in 2007 and the Athens Games four years ago."If I had won here at the Olympics I probably would have quit, but I'm not satisfied."I will do another year - I want to go on and at least win the World Championships."
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR
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