Kazakh 400-metre runners claimed two podium finishes on the second and final day of the Gennady Arzumanov Memorial, which concluded on June 22 in Uzbekistan's capital, Tashkent.
Representing Kazakhstan in the men’s 400 metres at the Arzumanov Memorial in Tashkent were Andrey Sokolov and Elnor Mukhitdinov — both seasoned athletes. Sokolov is 30 years old, and Mukhitdinov is 32.
Their main rival was seen as Uzbekistan’s Abbos Toshtemirov — a young and promising sprinter. At 21 years old, he had recently delivered a stronger performance than Kazakhstan’s sole 400m entrant, Elnor Mukhitdinov, at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea. Neither of them made it into the top 16 semi-finalists.
Incidentally, at the Gennady Arzumanov Memorial, all three favourites ran in adjacent lanes: Sokolov in lane four, Toshtemirov in five, and Mukhitdinov in six. The race turned out to be highly competitive. It's quite possible that the strategic advantage of being able to see his rivals ahead gave Sokolov an extra edge. One way or another, he crossed the finish line first — 47.50 seconds. Toshtemirov came second with 47.65, and Elnor Mukhitdinov took third with 47.74.
Both Sokolov and Mukhitdinov met the national standard for Master of Sport, which is 47.80. However, as the recent Asian Championships in Gumi showed, a time like that isn’t even enough to break into the top 16. Another key takeaway from the Arzumanov Memorial is that Uzbekistan now has a rising 400-metre talent in Abbos Toshtemirov. In fact, at the UNG Meeting in Tashkent this May, he ran the 400 in 47.29 seconds. So, we can certainly expect this neighbourly rivalry to continue.
In the photo: June 22, Gennady Arzumanov Memorial. 400m race. #111 – Elnor Mukhitdinov, #203 – Abbos Toshtemirov, #105 – Andrey Sokolov.
