Renowned Kazakhstani athlete Adelina Zems lived up to her status as the favourite by winning the women’s 400 metres hurdles on the opening day of the Gennady Arzumanov Memorial, held on 21 June in Tashkent.
In the Uzbek capital, the Karaganda native claimed victory in her main event—the 400 metres hurdles—with a time of 58.30 seconds. Runners from Uzbekistan took second and third place: Nurkhon Ochilova with 59.09, and Dinara Anvarova with 1:01.57. The race also featured two more Uzbekistani athletes and one participant from Tajikistan. For her first-place finish, the Kazakhstani athlete was awarded a $500 prize.
For 26-year-old Adelina Zems, the Arzumanov Memorial in Tashkent followed her performance at the Asian Athletics Championships in late May in Gumi, South Korea. There, she finished fourth in the 400 metres hurdles final, clocking a personal best of 56.73 seconds. In the preliminaries the day before, she had run 57.16.
The time she posted in Tashkent was slower than both of her “Korean” results. It’s understood that personal records can’t be broken at every meet. Nevertheless, Adelina is currently one of the leading figures in Kazakhstan’s national athletics team. As such, expectations for high-level performances and significant achievements continue to surround her.
In the photo: 21 June, Tashkent. Adelina Zems – winner of the Gennady Arzumanov Memorial.
