By Jon Roe
As the Latin poet Virgil once said: “Go forth a conqueror and win great victories.”
Star Dinos athlete Jessica Zelinka must have had that quote in mind when she crossed the Atlantic to Gotzis, Austria to compete in the Hypo Bank Invitational, finishing fourth with 6,335 points and setting a new Canadian record in the process.
Zelinka was only 21 points off the podium, which featured reigning world champion Carolina Kluft of Sweden, Lyumila Blonska of Ukraine and Lilly Schwarzkopf of Germany.
This was Zelinka’s second time competing in the Hypo Bank Invitational; in 2005 she finished 11th with 6,137 points.
Zelinka’s 6,335 points–a personal best and new Canuck record–beats a mark she set earlier this year at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.
The competition, held May 27-28, was marred by poor weather, but Zelinka did not allow the rain to deter her as the heptathlete reached a personal best in four of the seven events, including an inhuman jump of 6.19 metres in the long jump and a shot put distance of 14.32 metres.
Results after the first day put her within medal contention, as she sat in second place with 3,781 points, 150 behind the leader, Kluft. Day two included two personal bests out of the three events, including one in the 800-metre. But, it was not enough to klamber over Kluft, blot out Blonska or schwing around Schwarzkopf.
Zelinka now moves on to a competition in Arles, France taking place June 3-4.