Decanation - There is no I in Team

A true team competition, Decanation 2010 awards prize money only to the teams scoring the most combined points of the 10 events - no individual prize money here. But the athletes who agreed to stick around for this late-in-the-season meet are rewarded by a trip to one of the most beautiful places in the world and a chance to finish the 2010 season off at a low-key but still fun and exciting meet.

The countries competing are France, USA, Germany, Italy, Russia and Finland.

Women's Steeplechase:

I talked to Women Talk Sports member and steeplechaser Lisa Aguilera today, and she said she took over the duty of representing the USA at this meet after Bridget Franek decided to call it a season (Franek just finished her collegiate eligibility in June, so she is coming off of a long year). Aguilera was happy to do so, and is enjoying the scenery and the chance to extend her longest European stint ever just a bit longer. She did mention that she may have had to decline if the Jay-Z/Eminem concert in New York was earlier, but it all worked out perfect - Decanation on September 11th, fly to NY on the 12th, concert on the 13th. Rough life, eh Lis?

Aguilera's strategy is to "stay with the pack and have tons of fun," and that should server her well, as she is the best steepler in the field and will just need to stay in contention and have a strong finish. Her best competition include Liudmila Kuzmina, who placed 2nd at the Russian Championships in 9:34 and France's Sophia Duarte, who was 9th at the Continental Cup last week and won last year's Decanation steeple.

Other events to watch:

• Men's 100m - The young Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre should wow his countrymen and women in the stands, just as he did from afar in winning last week's Continental Cup.
• 800m - Watch for lovebirds Nick Symmonds and Maggie Vessey to possibly sweep the 800m for Team USA.
• In the women's 1500m, World Leader Anna Alminova takes on Frenchwoman and Continental Cup Champion Hind Dehiba, both of whom have just recently come off of drug suspensions (more on Dehiba and drugs here). I'm rooting for USA's Erin Donohue to upset them both!
• Men's 110m Hurdles - David Oliver is a champion who loves to compete, and this time is no different. Watch for him to close 2010 with a bang.
• Women's Hammer - I'm rooting for Indoor VISA Champion Amber Campbell to upset drug cheat and Continental Cup champion Tatyana Lysenko of Russia.

No word on if we'll be able to watch this meet live, but check here for the meet's website, where the results should be posted.

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This post is related to an event on our Calendar:

• Decanation 2010