Abolins Competes at European Championships

Two-time NCAA champion Arturs Abolins competed for his home nation of Latvia in the men's long jump qualifying round Tuesday at the European Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. The competition marked Abolins' first career appearance in the championship meet.

The Husker concluded a tremendous 2006 outdoor track and field season with a 16th-place finish during preliminary flights of his specialty event. Abolins recorded a leap of 25-6 to place eighth among the 13-member Group A. Only the top 12 athletes from a combination of Groups A and B were eligible to compete in the finals, which will be held later Tuesday evening. While Italy's Andrew Howe notched the round's top mark of 27-4, only about three inches separated Abolins from the 12th-place individual, Russia's Ruslan Gataullin (25-9 1/4).

The competition capped a remarkable season for Abolins, who claimed Nebraska's first two NCAA men's long jump titles during his junior season. The Riga, Lativa, native also broke the Huskers' indoor long jump record with his win at the NCAA Indoor Championships (26-7 1/4), while adding his second career Big 12 indoor championship back in February. Abolins will return this fall for his senior season at NU, where he joins a solid foundation of four other Husker men's All-Americans.

Next up for the Huskers this summer is redshirt freshman Daniel Christensen, will participate at the World Junior Championships Aug. 15-20 in Beijing, China. Christensen is slated to compete for Denmark in the men’s 4x400-meter relay. Three incoming Nebraska recruits also are scheduled for action?Jaime Ryder (Canada) in the men’s 110-meter hurdles; Meagan Wheatley (Australia) in the women’s heptathlon; and Scott Wimms (United States) in the men’s 4x100-meter relay.