February 6, 2008

For the past eight years his name has embellished the result lists of major international athletics events, no 800m final was complete without the athlete famed for his "sit-and-kick tactic", the 2004 Olympic Champion, Yuriy Borzakovskyi.

This unpredictable Russian athlete is set to headline this Friday at the European Athletics permitted International Athletics PSD Bank Meeting Dusseldorf 2008, in what will be something of an indicator of the 26-year-olds form for the World Indoor Championships in Valencia in March.

The 26-year-old Olympic Champion first demonstrated his middle distance skills by taking gold at the 1999 European Junior Championships, then quickly following this up with his first senior title at the European Indoor Championships in Ghent, Belgium in 2002. 

Borzakovskyi's devastating sprint finish defeated Nils Schumann of Germany, and it was this unusual race tactic of running close to the back until his final burst on the homestraight that made Borzakovskyi stand out and win medals.