World leads for Cichocka and Germany’s relay stars

In Amsterdam three weeks ago Angelika Cichocka produced a brilliant performance to win 1500m gold – and Poland’s middle-distance star is gearing up for Rio in fine fashion.

Showing blistering form heading into the Olympic Games, Cichocka ran a world-leading 1000m of 2:34.84 for victory at the 19th Janusz Sidlo Memorial in Sopot.

She is set to compete in both the 800m and 1500m in Rio and with this sort of speed base behind her so close to the Games, she will surely go to Brazil confident she can make her mark again.

The race was the perfect preparation for the top three, as fellow Poles Joanna Jozwik (2:34.93) and Sofia Ennaoui (2:35.15) both ran personal best times.

Ennaoui is also doubling up in the middle-distances at the Olympics while Jozwik is in the 800m.

But Cichocka is not the only European who will have their Rio rivals taking note.

In Mannheim on Friday, Germany’s 4x100m women’s relay team sent a message out of their own as Tatjana Pinto, Lisa Mayer, Gina Luckenkemper and Rebekka …

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