Hurdler Sasha Zhoya, crowned European champion hopeful in the 110m hurdles on Saturday in Espoo (Finland), has regained “confidence” after eight weeks off due to a foot injury.
Injured in a toe during a training session in Florida in April, Zhoya had to cut eight weeks to resume hurdling sessions only at the beginning of July. Last week, he reassured himself by winning the title of European U23 champion in 13 sec 31 (0.5 m/s wind).
“The toe is better, I’m back to full training, but I was still on anti-inflammatories in Finland. We are still treating the toe at Insep, the pain is still present but not bothersome for training and racing,” he told AFP on Tuesday.
“I had good feelings in Finland, the speed is back, the technique is better, we had still worked well in the United States. Arriving in Finland I was not very confident for the first time in my career in a youth competition. But after the first round I understood that I was in good shape, then the semi-final boosted my confidence.
In the semi-finals, he had run in 13 sec 22 (0.3 m/s), a time which makes him selectable for the Paris Olympics in 2024, where his presence is not guaranteed given the French density at the level international.
Zhoya (21) has an appointment on Thursday at the meeting in Lucerne (Switzerland) before preparing for the French Championships in Albi (July 28-30) where the selection for the World Championships in Budapest (August 19-27) will be decided. ).
