2005 World Decathlon champion Bryan Clay (USA) had absolutely no problem in the last event of the Heptathlon 1000m, and grabbed his first major indoor championships win with a total of 6371 points, a personal best and world leading mark this season. Clay finished the 1000m race as the last of the remaining six competitors in 2:55.64.
Clay, who competed for Azusa Pacific during his college years, finally took the World Indoors gold after two silvers in 2004 and 2006. The American also won one outdoor gold in Decathlon at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. The series during two days was impressive with four event wins and a season’s best in five. Clay won the 60m in 6.71s, just 0.06s off personal best and then long jumped 7.75m just missing his personal best by 3cm. In Shot Put he set a personal best 16.21m and then cleared 2.09m in High Jump, just 1cm off his PB. He started the second day with a 7.86m 60m hurdles win in a race where other competitors were deeply affected by false starts, again only 0.09s off PB. A 5.00m Pole Vault was the only minor glitch in the series and 2:55.64 1000m was just a formality.
22-year-old Belarussian Andrei Krauchanka held his second place in the last event to grab his first major championships medal at the senior level. He had won the World Junior Championships in 2004, European Junior in 2005 and European U23 Champs in 2007. The Young talent set a national record with a total of 6234 points adding five points to his own record set this season. His best event was the Pole Vault where he added a huge 40cm to his indoor best. Krauchanka ran 1000m in 2:46.49 to easily hold off a challenge from Dmitriy Karpov (KAZ).
Karpov, who had been the co-world leader with Krauchanka before this competition, added a first indoor medal to his tally, a bronze. Karpov has earlier got bronze medals from two World Championships in 2003 and 2007 and an Olympic bronze as well in 2004. Karpov scored a total of 6131 points falling back a bit in first day events, but had a personal best in Pole Vault with a 5.20m result during day two.
Mikhail Logvinenko (RUS) was 4th with 5984p, Donovan Kilmartin (USA) 5th with 5951p and Andres Raja (EST) 6th with 5894p. It was the first World Indoor Championships for all three. Roman Sebrle (CZE), who had won a medal in each of his five previous World Indoors and Aleksandr Pogorelov (RUS), who had been 6th three times before at the World Indoor Championships, could not finish the competition.
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF
Click here for ALL <A class="" href="http://www.iaaf.org/WIC08/news/kind=108/index.html" mce_href="http://www.iaaf.org/WIC08/news/kind=108/index.html">Event Reports</A>

2005 World Decathlon champion Bryan Clay (USA) had absolutely no problem in the last event of the World Indoor Championships Heptathlon the 1000m, and grabbed his first major indoor championships win with a total of 6371 points, a personal best and world leading mark this season. Clay finished the 1000m race as the last of the remaining six competitors in 2:55.64.

World lead secures Heptathlon title for Clay

This was a simple competition. Valerie Vili was simply in another class altogether.
The final of the women&rsquo;s Shot Put on the final day of the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships was a parade of supremacy by the New Zealander, who came of age last summer when she wrestled the outdoor World title in the last round from the clutches of defending champion Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus. That was one of the highlights of those Osaka Worlds, a close head to head battle which went to the wire.
What a contrast a few months can make, as Vili never was challenged, never threatened for a moment today. Her 20.19m opening effort was never approached by the Belarussian let alone anyone else, and Vili&rsquo;s 20.07m in round three cemented that supremacy, as did her last put of 19.89m, each of which would have been good enough for the gold.
Vili had blasted 20.13 outdoors in New Zealand in February but Ostapchuk was the indoor season leader with 20.35. However, you would not have gained that impression this afternoon. With the exception of the giant silver fern of New Zealand emblazoned on her black body suit Vili was pure gold today.
"The competition was very tough," said Vili,&nbsp;"a very good one. I have had a good time. I feel really glad and satisfied to have come and taken part of this competition. Now I must go on and get ready for the Olympic Games."
Ostapchuk&rsquo;s third round 19.74m took the runners-up spot, with Meiju Li of China taking bronze in the sixth round with 19.09m which went past Cuban Misleydis Gonzalez third effort of 18.75m.
But today was all about one person, Valerie Vili.
Chris Turner for the IAAF
Note: Li and Gonz&aacute;lez were upgraded to silver and bronze in 2017 when Ostapchuk was punished for re-testing failures from the 2007 outdoor World Championships and 2008 Olympic Games. She had already failed tests from the 2005 Worlds and 2012 Olympics. This time she was stripped of results in 2007-2012, a period which included two world indoor silvers and the 2010 gold.

This was a simple competition. Valerie Vili was simply in another class altogether.

Vili remains on the gold standard

Tahesia Harrigan paid tribute to the role her three-year-old son, Khamauri, has made in igniting her career after she wrote history at the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships by becoming the first ever World Championship medallist from the tiny Caribbean nation of the British Virgin Islands.
The unheralded Harrigan blitzed to a national record of 7.09 to win the bronze medal in the women’s 60m final, finishing just 0.03 behind gold medallist Angela Williams of the USA.
But the 26-year-old, who led for much of the race in Friday’s final, insisted the birth of her son has helped her become a more rounded individual.
“It helped me grow up a lot in sports,” said Harrigan, 26, who was pregnant with her son and missed the 2004 Athens Olympics. “It made me become a lot more appreciative.”
Just 10 minutes after sealing her bronze medal on Friday she rang her son, who was watching the race on the internet with her coach, Sidney Cartwright, from her home in Miami, Florida.
Although she giggles that Khamauri was a little confused with the outcome of the final.
“He thought I had won because he remembered me winning my semi-final,” she said smiling.
Harrigan was born in the neighbouring US Virgin Islands but raised in the British Virgin Island capital of Road Town, a place she describes as “very laidback where everybody knows everyone.” She later moved to live in the USA aged 11 with her mother who was studying criminology at the time, although to this day Harrigan describes the British Virgin Islands as home as makes at least two visits a year back to the British overseas territory. 
Despite her talent for athletics from a young age she preferred to concentrate on her studies and it was only in her later High School years did she start to realise her potential as a sprinter.
“I didn’t get really serious at 14 or 15, it was just for fun,” said Jones, who holds all the national records from 60m to 400m as well as the long jump and triple jump marks. “The first Olympic Games I ever watched was the last one.” 
She started studying psychology at the University of Minnesota and finished runner-up, ironically to Williams, at the 100m at the 2002 NCAA Championships, and later completed her degree at the University of Alabama to follow her coach.
In 2006 she ran a national record of 11.13 in El Paso and opted to take up athletics professionally but a broken toe in December 2006 proved deeply frustrating.
“The entire 2007 season was very hit and miss because of the toe,” she said. “I was away from my son for three or four months (based in Europe) and I went to the World Championships (where she reached the 100m quarter-finals) and said I’m going to have to go home because I’m self-defeating myself. I really think I was capable of going faster.”
With a fresh and invigorated approach to training this winter she decided to work harder on the technical aspects of her event and the results have been spectacular. “I’m starting to understand track and field,” she explained. “I started my season running 7.16 in Stuttgart, so I said to myself ‘Okay, you can do it.’”
Going into the competition here in Valencia she was ranked joint-fifth in the world and many experts would have dismissed her medal chances. Yet they did not reckon on Harrigan’s new-found confidence.
The British Virgin Islander stepped up a notch, clocking a new national record of 7.12 to win her semi-final and was drawn in lane three in the final.
Ignoring Nigerian Franca Idoko’s stumble out of the blocks, Harrigan kept a cool head a made a bullet-like start out of the blocks. She appeared to lead up until the 50m mark, however, in the final strides she was overtaken by eventual silver medallist Jeanette Kwakye and Williams the champion. 
“They are only three people on the podium so I’m pleased, although you strive for gold,” she explained. “It really boosts your confidence to know your country is really proud.”
The British Virgin Islands with a population of just 22,000 and only 59 sq miles in size has never before spurned a world finalist, let alone a world medallist and her success is huge news on the Caribbean island.
She knows the premier Ralph T O’Neal personally and although she is based in Miami she makes regularly visits back to her homeland which built its first ever synthetic track in December.
“I used to train on the grass track but I had to watch out for the pot holes and hope I didn’t twist my ankle,” she explained. “We also have a 200m track on gravel and the turns were so tight I’d run in lane one and I’d be in lane four around the bends.”
But, for the future, Harrigan has big ambitions. She is confident she can translate her outstanding indoor form to the 100m and is optimistic for the season ahead.
“I have had difficulty at the end of my race in the past, but I’m improving and I know I can go under 11 seconds,” she said. 
And for the Olympic Games later this summer?
“I want to be a finalist or a medallist,” she added. “I have big hopes.” &nbsp; Steve Landells for the IAAF

Tahesia Harrigan paid tribute to the role her three-year-old son, Khamauri, has made in igniting her career after she wrote history at the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships by becoming the first ever World Championship medallist from the tiny Caribbean nation of the British Virgin Islands.

History is inspired by Harrigan's special home support

Valencia, Spain“The new Russians, there are always new Russians.” That's not actually what former Algerian middle-distance king Noureddine Morceli once said when asked what athletes he feared (he cited the Kenyans), but if he had been a woman running between 400m and 1500m today, perhaps he might. With the 400m, 800m, and 1500m finals for women all on Sunday (9), the last day of the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships,&nbsp;chances are better than average that the Russian national anthem will be played at least once.
Olesya Zykina, for example, leads the world indoor list in the women's 400m, and has dominated each of her heats thus far. Zykina may not count as a "new" Russian, having been a regular finalist at international finals since 2001, though generally out of the medals. Zykina's teammate Natalya Nazarova ran the fastest semi-final time, 51.62, and her speed to the "break" after two bends has helped her to two previous World Indoor titles, in 2003 and 2004. After the athletes break from their lanes, it becomes difficult to pass, so a quick first lap can pay off.
Yulia Fomenko posted the fastest 1500m qualifying time, a 4:05, after taking over the weaker heat less than 600m in and blasting away simply to show that she could. Teammate Yelena Soboleva advanced from the tougher first heat, but in the process tangled with Bahrain's Maryam Yusuf Jamal, the outdoor World Champion who will be the primary obstacle to Russian dominance of the 1500m.
For the fastest semi-final qualifying time in the men's 800m, find Dmitry Bogdanov, who took on pre-event favourite Yusuf Saad Kamel of Bahrain by out-front-running, front-running American Khadevis Robinson in the first heat. Bogdanov will have a hard time with wily South African Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, but nobody is visualizing a gold medal for Sunday without visualizing beating Bogdanov to do it.
And in addition to these finals, there is yet the 4x400m Relay, where the Russian women hold the World record.
Vlasic looking for the right groove
Blanca Vlasic (CRO) will be hoping that her final is easier than qualifying on Saturday, where she actually required four jumps (three clearances and one miss.) Vlasic, normally an electric competitor, will face at least two jumpers - Marina Aitova (KAZ) and local favourite Ruth Beitia (ESP) - who cleared every attempt in qualifying.
Aitova brushed the last bar, at 1.96m, but if the spectators could lift Beitia from their seats Vlasic would have to reach record heights to beat her.
The Croatian&nbsp;may have looked uneven in qualifying, but her 2.05m leap on 27 February in Weinheim is the highest yet this year, and if anyone is to reach Kajsa Bergqvist's two-year-old World record of 2.08m, it's likely to be Vlasic. She will be pushed by defending World Indoor champion Yelena Slesarenko, who matched Vlasic's series exactly with one miss.
Slesarenko may hope to duplicate the duel she had with Vlasic in Moscow 2006, where Slesarenko came out on top.
Can Sebrle reel in Clay?
Bryan Clay (USA) has a reputation for a strong first day in the multi-events, and he enters the second day of the Heptathlon with a 174-point lead over Roman Sebrle. Clay is a good vaulter, however, and Sebrle has struggled with his hurdles and Pole Vault (two of Sunday's three disciplines) in 2007, which will make catching Clay challenging.
Champions Vili and Walker look for more
World Champion Valerie Vili seems to be in a class of the women's Shot Put, after pitching the ball out to 19.72m on Saturday when no other putter was able to crack 19m. Given how rarely Oceania athletes compete indoors, it's no surprise that Vili set an area record with that mark, and we can watch for another on Sunday. Don’t Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus, the 2005 World champion and this season’s indoor leader is the main danger to Vili
Brad Walker (USA) is the outdoor World champion in the men's Pole Vault, and defending champion here, only one of three men in the field with 6m PBs. Walker would like to win with as few vaults as Isinbayeva required for the women's event, but he'll have to jump a few more times to better Steven Hooker (AUS) and Tim Lobinger (GER).
Bekele looks for a family title
The men's 3000m is led, on paper, by Tariku Bekele (ETH), younger brother of the 2006 champion Kenenisa. Bekele will have his hands full with the Kenyan duo of Paul Kipsiele Koech and Edwin Cheruiyot Soi, not to mention the Australian Craig Mottram and his own teammate, Abreham Cherkos, all of whom ran confident and relaxed qualifying races on Friday.
Parker Morse for the IAAF

- Valencia, Spain – “The new Russians, there are always new Russians.” That's not actually what former Algerian middle-distance king Noureddine Morceli once said when asked what athletes he feared (he cited the Kenyans), but if he had been a woman running between 400m and 1500m today, perhaps he might. With the 400m, 800m, and 1500m finals for women all on Sunday (9), chances are better than average that the Russian national anthem will be played at least once.

The Russians are coming – Valencia PREVIEW, DAY 3

“That was a nice race for me, because it was easy. I was fully in control throughout the final and really only had to race properly for the final two laps,” said Meseret Defar after taking the 3000 m gold in style in Valencia. 
Clocking 8:38.79, she was well clear of Meselech Melkamu, who made it an Ethiopian double with 8:41.50. It was Meseret Defar’s third consecutive gold medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships. 
And that at just 24 years of age. 
Only one other woman has ever achieved a hat trick at this distance in these championships: Romania’s Gabriela Szabo had won this title between 1995 and 1999. Additionally Szabo was second in 2001. So there is one more to go to another unique achievement for Meseret Defar.
African Championships focus
But first there are other priorities for this year. And it is not only Beijing that is on the list. At the end of April the African Championships will be a home game for Defar as they&nbsp; will be held in Addis Ababa. 
“It is the first time that this event is staged in Ethiopia. So that is very important for me as well,” said Meseret Defar. 
She has already decided which distance she will run: the 5000 metres. “When I will come back from Valencia I will start preparing for the African Championships.” 
Defar also said that she has decided that 5000m will also be the distance she will contest in Beijing. This is the distance at which she had won the Olympic gold in Athens in 2004. “I will definitely not double this season – neither in Addis Ababa nor in Beijing.” 
Asked about her fiercest rival in recent years, Tirunesh Dibaba, Meseret Defar said: “I don’t know about her plans regarding Beijing. If she should go for the double and run the 5000 metres I will have no problem with that.” 
Asked if she would need even more speed on the last lap to win in Beijing, Defar said: “Naturally I want to run very fast in Beijing and will train hard for that. But on the other hand you never know what will happen on the final lap.”
Golden League also on programme
“Of course Beijing is the big one this year. But I will also run races of the AF Golden League this summer as part of the built up to the Olympic Games.” 
In Valencia Defar wore a white bracelet which she showed after the press conference. “This is in support of Ethiopian children,” she said.
Having broken one World record in 2006 and another four in 2007 (among them two World bests at two miles) Defar continued with this collection this winter. She ran 9:10.50 at the Boston indoor meeting, setting yet another two miles World best. 
She then missed improving her own 3000m World record in Stuttgart, but hoped to attack it again in Brimingham. 
“But I could not run there because of food poisoning,” Defar revealed in Valencia. ”I normally eat only fresh food at home. But one day I went to a restaurant in Addis Ababa. It was similar to Chinese style. Then I became ill. I tried to train but I could not run for eight days.” 
Last summer Defar had also talked about a possible chase for the 10,000m World record this summer. But she was much more reserved on that project after her Valencia win. 
“I cannot say at the moment if that will become a goal during the summer. I will decide with my coach some time after I am back from Valencia.”
Jörg Wenig for the IAAF

“That was a nice race for me, because it was easy. I was fully in control throughout the final and really only had to race properly for the final two laps,” said Meseret Defar after taking the 3000 m gold in style in Valencia.

After third consecutive gold in Valencia, 5000 will be the distance for Defar in Beijing

Valencia, SpainStefan Holm and Yaroslav Rybakov have reduced the World Indoor Championships High Jump title to their own private derby, as Holm won the title in 2001, 2003, and 2004, with Rybakov second in 2003 and 2004, then Rybakov won in 2006.
The competition came down to the pair yet again Saturday evening in Valencia, with no other jumper clearing 2.32m. From that height, Rybakov and Holm used all their skill and strategy in their struggle for the gold.
Rybakov jumped first, and after he cleared 2.34m Holm passed up to take him on at 2.36m. There, Holm cleared and Rybakov passed, this time to 2.38. This would be the final height, as Rybakov used his two remaining misses there, and Holm's 2.36m clearance stood as the winning mark.
"From the beginning of the competition, all my hopes were set on winning," Holm said after claiming his fourth title. "As I get older, it gets a bit harder to win medals."
"I'm very disappointed," said Rybakov. "I hope and I'm sure that at the Olympic Games everything will be different."
Behind Rybakov, two bronze medals will be awarded, as Kyriakos Ioannou (CYP) and Andra Manson (USA) both cleared 2.30m.
Defar dominant in women's 3000m
There was nobody in the women's 3,000m with the closing speed to contend with Meseret Defar. After letting everyone else control the race and the pace, she took charge with 400m remaining, then at the bell accelerated to a speed which would be the envy of an 800m runner, bounding to the finish in 8:38.79.
Countrywoman Meselech Melkamu, the second-fastest woman in history at this distance, was simply unable to respond, taking silver in 8:41.50 with Morocco's Mariem Alaoui Selsouli close behind in 8:41.66. Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet ran a Kenyan national record of 8:41.82, but it was not enough for a medal.
"Today was an easy race for me," said Defar afterward, words which should serve as warning to any other woman hoping for 5000m gold in Beijing.
This was Defar's third consecutive victory in the World Indoor Championships 3000m, and extends an indoor unbeaten streak which goes back to the 2003 World Indoor Championships, where she placed third in this race.
Isinbayeva first on misses
As she had in the qualifying rounds, Yelena Isinbayeva arrived, warmed up a bit, then started a nap. Once the nine-strong field was reduced to six, she entered the competition at 4.65m, cleared it with room to spare, passed to 4.75m, cleared that, and then... missed three times at 4.85m.
"I felt that I could jump higher, I don't know what happened," said Isinbayeva afterward. Fortunately for Isinbayeva, her remaining rival, Jennifer Stuczynski (USA) had similar difficulty at 4.85m, and one miss at 4.75m, so Isinbayeva won the gold on the strength of that miss.
"I passed on 4.80m because I was after the American record of 4.85m," said Stuczynski, who might have upset Isinbayeva with a clearance at the lower height.
With Kallur gone, Jones is ready
The women's 60m Hurdles field was rocked when new World Record holder (pending ratification) Susanna Kallur injured a hamstring during her warm-up for the semi-final. With the outdoor season and the ÅF Golden League just around the corner, Kallur opted not to risk compounding the injury by competing, and LoLo Jones (USA) became the favorite.
Jones justified the expectations in the final, storming away from the gun to win in 7.80. Behind her, teammate Candice Davis picked up her first international medal with a 7.93 performance to take the silver; Anay Tejeda of Cuba took bronze in 7.98. Josephine Onyia (ESP), the fastest through the preliminary rounds and a resident of Valencia, struck the last hurdle disastrously and crossed the line only after lying on the ground for some seconds.
Xiang has all the titles
Like Jones, Liu Xiang benefited from an unexpected lack of competition, but unlike Jones, he arrived in Valencia with a World record and World and Olympic gold medals on his resume. When Dayron Robles' misjudgement of the start in the preliminaries took him out of contention, Xiang became the favorite, and he came through with a 7.46 to win in the final. The apparently ageless Allen Johnson was second in 7.55, and yet a third double bronze will be awarded in the hurdles as Evgeniy Borisov (RUS) and Stanislavs Olijars (LAT) both ran 7.60.
Savigne at the last minute
Hrysopiyi Devetzi's given name, we're told, means "Source of Gold" in Greek, and indeed anyone wanting the women's Triple Jump gold this evening would have to go through Devetzi to get there. She opened with a 14.93m leap in the first round and improved it to 15.00m even in the fourth, at no point conceding the lead, but on the last round outdoor World Champion Yargelis Savigne (CUB) bounded out to 15.05m, vaulting from her second-place 14.89m into the lead.
"I risked everything on the last jump," said Savigne. "I feel so good I can't explain it."
Devetzi's 14.91m final attempt was a valiant one, but not enough to regain the lead or even improve her mark. If Devetzi was the source of gold, it was for Savigne tonight.
"I feel very unlucky," said Devetzi. "I always seem to lose the gold medal on the last jump."
Mokoena a late leader as well
Chris Tomlinson (GBR) set the standard for the men's long jump in the first round with an 8.06m leap which stood until the end of the last round. It was then that Godfrey Khotso Mokoena of South Africa, who had hit four previous jumps over 8m and a best of 8.05m, finally reached 8.08, enough to best Tomlinson. In the sixth round, Mokoena tried for a big mark, but risked too much and fouled; Tomlinson, however, was unable to improve his own mark and reclaim the gold.
After initial uncertaintly Mekonnen takes men's 1500m
After a protest for lane infraction was rejected, Ethiopian Deresse Mekonnen was the surprise winner of the men’s 1500, holding off Kenyan Daniel Kipchirchir Komen. Spaniards Juan Carlos "The Lion" Higuero and Arturo Casado finished third and fourth, with Higuero taking the first medal for the hosts this weekend.
Heptathlon standings
After four events in the Heptathlon, Bryan Clay (USA), normally a first-day athlete, has a lead of 174 points over Roman Sebrle (CZE). Clay led three of the four events, and only gave up 28 points to Sebrle in the High Jump.
Preliminary action
World Champions Blanka Vlasic (CRO), Valerie Vili (NZL), and Brad Walker (USA) all led qualifying for the finals of their events, the women's High Jump, women's Shot Put, and men's Pole Vault, respectively.
Parker Morse for the IAAF

- Stefan Holm and Yaroslav Rybakov have reduced the World Indoor Championships High Jump title to their own private derby, as Holm won the title in 2001, 2003, and 2004, with Rybakov second in 2003 and 2004, then Rybakov won in 2006.

Valencia 2008 – HIGHLIGHTS Day 2

Ask an athlete at which point tension feels the greatest and more often than not the answer is during the fifteen to twenty minutes spent in the call room, waiting to be led like gladiators into the arena.
American hurdler Lolo Jones confirmed that she had felt added pressure to perform after heavy favourite, world record holder, Susanna Kallur withdrew from the 60m hurdles competition on this the second day of the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships citing a slight muscle tear. In the call room she wished American teammate Candice Davis good luck and then prepared herself for the battle.
“I wished Candice Davis good luck and then I was talking to myself more than anybody else,” she reveals with a long laugh. ”They probably thought I was loco!”
“Half of the time between the semi-final and final is spent on mental preparation. It’s telling yourself ‘you have done this all year, you can do it again.’&nbsp; And you keep on telling yourself that. Because that’s where people lose the race it’s sitting in that call room for fifteen minutes.”
This indoor season has been a coming out party for the 25-year-old Baton Rouge, resident. She was the second fastest in the world with her time of 7.77 seconds. Only Kallur ran faster.&nbsp; Other than winning the 2007 US indoor championship the Louisiana State University graduate has been largely an also ran, not that a 6th place in last year’s World outdoor championships in Osaka is anything to be ashamed of. But some things will change now.
“The only thing it’s going to help is when people announce my name at the beginning of a meet,” she concedes. “I mean, you know how they announce the athletes? it’s like "Michelle Perry - two time world champion’, It takes about five minutes to get through it and then it’s ‘Lolo jones lane 6.’&nbsp; I will finally have something other than that.”
Clearly Jones possesses a self deprecating sense of humour which goes a long way in enhancing her popularity. From the dozens of Valencia school children whom she obliged with autographs and the volunteers with whom she happily posed for pictures following her race she was the model professional. When she finally made her way through the athlete/media 'Mixed Zone' to talk with the waiting press she was greeted by former World 100m champion Maurice Greene who gave her a hug. Waiting in the wings was her manager Mark Block.
She also received glowing praise from Susanna Kallur who sat in the athletes section during the hurdles final hoping her friend would emerge the victor.
“We were competing against each other in college,” Kallur said with a genuine smile. “ I went to the University of Illinois for three semesters and I competed against her in the nationals. So we have been seeing a lot of each other at the outdoor season and the previous indoor season. She is a great athlete. And we are good friends. Absolutely!”
The Swede’s withdrawal spoiled the victory somewhat for Jones’ and her outlook changed the moment she learned she was now the favourite. That moment came while giving a television interview following before the semi finals.
“You always expect to win,” Jones admits, “but then it’s a different ball game when you are running against the world record holder and she’s like a tenth of a second ahead of you.”
“I knew coming here I was going to run fast. This was when I though Susanna was running and that we would push each other to new national records so that’s what I was looking forward to, coming into the competition. Then when I found out she wasn’t running it was a whole different ball game because all the pressure that was on her was right on me.”
Jones refuses to be drawn into the theory that her Valencia victory will give her a psychological lift come the outdoor season. Quickly she points out 2007 World champion Michelle Perry was absent from these World championships and so to were others.
“I could name five people off the top of my head that didn’t run,” she declares, as if pleading to remain obscure. “Some of the girls who will be at the Olympics didn’t make (the final) like the Canadians. One girl got sick the night before (Angela Whyte), so she didn’t make it. Another one fell (Priscilla Lopes- Schliep). I will definitely take my medal. But............”
Then the girl who describes herself as a ‘house hermit” who watches television, plays video games and regularly goes to church rushes off to be taken to dinner by her shoe sponsors at Asics. But not without one final comment:
“My first medal is gold. How cool is that?”
Paul Gains for the IAAF

- Ask an athlete at which point tension feels the greatest and more often than not the answer is during the fifteen to twenty minutes spent in the call room, waiting to be led like gladiators into the arena.

“Loco” Jones going home with gold

Olympic champion Stefan Holm regained the World Indoor title he had secured for the third consecutive time four years ago in Budapest with a first time clearance at 2.36m after the Swede had all but a flawless competition in Valencia’s Velodrome tonight.
For a while it looked like defending champion Yaroslav Rybakov was going to retain his title with the lowest ever winning mark after he cleared 2.30m at his first attempt and none of the seven other athletes still in contention was able to master that height.
Indeed, as the third round at 2.30m started Holm, World bronze medallist Kyriakos Ioannou, 2005 World silver medallist Victor Moya, Americans Andra Manson and Jesse Williams and Canada’s Michael Mason had all registered two failures at this height.
Sitting patiently in the infield, and maybe with his thoughts already on a medal, Rybakov saw only three of his rivals remain in contention as Manson, Ioannou and Holm had a third time successful jump.
A two-time European Indoor champion, Holm seemed to be a whole different athlete from then on and managed to respond to Rybakov’s first time clearance at 2.32m with a massive first round effort at the same height.
Meanwhile Ioannou and Manson both failed quite badly and with 1990 European champion Dragutin Topic who had passed at 2.30 also failing, the final result saw the Cypriot and the American share the bronze medal.
The season’s World leader at 2.38, Rybakov needed two attempts to master 2.34 but that wasn’t going to be enough for the Russian to hold onto his World Indoor crown as the very experienced Holm started playing tactics. 
He passed his second attempt at 2.34 in a desperate attempt to win his country’s first medal of the championships at a moment when it became public that World Indoor record holder Susanna Kallur had pulled out of the women’s 60m Hurdles semi final with a hamstring injury.
Holm had a superb attempt at 2.36 which ended Rybakov’s dream, the Russian failing once at 2.36 and twice at 2.38.
With victory secured, and while a Swedish flag was thrown at him from the crowd, Holm approached the judges to ask for the bar to be raised at a would be national record 2.41.
But it wasn’t going to be and Holm’s personal best will remain his memorable 2.40m clearance on the Madrid Indoor track to win the 2005 European Indoor Championships.
Spain seems to be a lucky country for the 31-year-old Swede.
"From the beginning of the competition all my hopes were set on winning," said Holm.&nbsp;"I got more and more confident, especially after the second jump. The Spanish spectators were as excellent in Valencia as they were in Madrid." "It's a fact that, as I get older, it gets a bit harder to win medals. I wanted to improve my PB, but in the end I had to give up. I am really satisfied with my title and I keep myself motivated."
Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF
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Olympic champion Stefan Holm regained the World Indoor title he had secured for the third consecutive time four years ago in Budapest with a first time clearance at 2.36m after the Swede had all but a flawless competition in Valencia’s Velodrome tonight.

Fourth title for Holm!

Meseret Defar added yet another chapter in her remarkable journal of athletics success by matching the achievements of Gabriela Szabo and completing a hat-trick of World Indoor 3000m titles.
The gold-laden Ethiopian remains head and shoulders clear of the world’s best and extended her five-year unbeaten indoor record to 17 consecutive victories with yet another masterful performance.
Indeed, the last time Defar tasted defeat on an indoor track it was back at the 2003 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, when she had to settle for the bronze medal then aged 19 behind her countrywoman Berhane Adere.
It was somewhat inevitable the multi-talented Defar would prevail, and so it proved as she simply destroyed the field by winding up the pace from 400m out and unleashing her legendary kick-finish over the final lap.
And even Defar herself conceded in a post-race interview victory here at the Palau Velodromo Luis Puig was not the most testing of her career. “Today it was an easy race for me, because of that I didn’t have to run too fast,” she explained. “I feel that I’m ready for Beijing (Olympic Games) now.”
Portugal’s Jessica Augusto took the field through 1km in 2:59.33 before Morocco’s Mariem Alaoui Selsouli decided it was her turn to take on the pace 1200m out. 
With three laps to go six athletes – Selsouli, Defar, her Ethiopian team-mate Meselech Melkamu, Russia’s Olga Komyagina, New Zealand’s Kim Smith and Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet of Kenya were all in contention – but on the penultimate lap it was time for Defar, the 2007 IAAF World Athlete of the Year, to take command. 
From that point on there was only ever one outcome and she kicked clear of her nearest rival Melkamu around the first bend of the final lap. Game over. 
Defar, the Olympic and World 5000m champion stopped the clock in 8:38.79 having run a 2:43.29 last 1km. Second was Melkamu 8:41.50 with Selsoluli (8.41.66) holding off a late charge from Kibet to cling on to the bronze medal. But it was all about Defar, yet again.
Steve Landells for the IAAF
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Meseret Defar added yet another chapter in her remarkable journal of athletics success by matching the achievements of Gabriela Szabo and completing a hat-trick of World Indoor 3000m titles.

Defar makes it three in a row

The opening round set the high tone for the competition, as &lsquo;Piyi&rsquo; Devetzi of Greece opened with a national record of 14.93 (her previous indoor best was 4cm lower) and a few minutes later was closely challenged by the 14.89m Area record (her previous indoor best was 9cm lower) of Cuba&rsquo;s World outdoor champion Yargelis Savigne.
The Greek who is the Olympic silver medallist and who took bronze at these championships in 2004, backed-up her opening with a mark of 14.83m, while the Cuba could not improve (14.44m) in the second series of efforts.
Going virtually unnoticed, except by the Slovenian colleague sitting next to me, was the solid opening built by Marija Sestak who started with 14.60m and produced 14.68m with her follow-up to take hold of the bronze medal position.
None of the top-3 players improved in a lack luster third round, though Savigne landed at 14.68m to indicate something more might still be in the tank. The one significant improvement in the third round came from Yamile Aldama of Sudan, who took the bronze in 2006 and silver in 2004, who though staying in fourth improved from her first round 14.35m (12.29 in the second round) to 14.47m.
Sestak remained very consistent, and in the fourth as Aldama&rsquo;s challenge faltered (14.37m) she threw in a 14.65m effort. Two jumps later &ndash; Savigne having produced 14.58m so continuing her own even higher class series &ndash; the leader Devetzi crossed into another class altogether. Her 15.00m performance improved her first round national record. The Greek&rsquo;s effort making her then the sixth furthest jumper on the all-time world indoor list.
The fifth round brought a shift in fourth position as Kazakh Olga Rypakova registered a 14.48m leap to move ahead of Aldama by one centimetre. There was no improvement in the medal positions, Sestak and Devetzi fouling and 14.60m for Savigne.
Rypakova went even better with her next with 14.58m but that of course kept her in fourth, while Sestak secure in bronze could not improve with her last.
Savigne finally got fired up, and having built a high class platform with her previous five attempts lifted off from those firm foundations and landed five centimetres beyond Devetzi&rsquo;s lead, improving her Area record of the opening round. The stadium rose in appreciation of a gold medal won and a great competition overall, and their wild applause was not premature as when the Greek landed on hers&rsquo; and the final&rsquo;s last jump a few minutes later the scoreboard showed 14.91m. Again Devetzi was the major championship bridesmaid, while Savigne had added the indoor crown to last summer&rsquo;s Osaka gold.
Savigne's 15.05m win makes her the fourth longest jumper in indoor history.
"I risked everything in the last jump, I didn't know if I was going to be good or not but I concentrated&nbsp;as much as&nbsp;I could and ran fast," said Savigne.
Devetzi was distraught: "I feel a very unlucky athlete. I always seem to lose the gold medal on the last jump."
Chris Turner for the IAAF
Note: In September 2016 it was confirmed that Devetz&iacute; had failed a doping re-test of her sample from the 2007 outdoor World Championships when she&rsquo;d won a bronze medal. On top of a four-year suspension, all her results from August 2007 to August 2009 were wiped. &Scaron;estak was promoted to silver and Rypakova bronze.

The opening round set the high tone for the competition, as ‘Piyi’ Devetzi of Greece opened with a national record of 14.93 (her previous indoor best was 4cm lower) and a few minutes later was closely challenged by the 14.89m Area record (her previous indoor best was 9cm lower) of Cuba’s World outdoor champion Yargelis Savigne. 

Savigne secures last round gold with 15.05m

No one could have expected a worse scenario to unfold during the morning’s heats of what has been billed as the highlight event of the 12th World Indoor Championships, the men’s 60m Hurdles. 
World leader Dayron Robles who clocked eight of the ten fastest times this winter failed to advance past the first round after erroneously thinking that World record holder Liu Xiang, running on his inside, had jumped the gun.
Liu Xiang - I can't believe it
With the two fastest men from last year’s outdoor season Liu and Robles drawn in the same heat; it was expected that both would do just as little as needed to secure one of the four automatic qualifying positions.
Unfortunately this morning’s experience proved that nothing is ever for granted in athletics and the Cuban 21-year-old was the one to pay the price. Liu’s reaction time of 0.105 left Robles doubtful but instead of keeping on running he stopped. 
Robles eventually finished the race but it was too late, the damage was done.
“I feel really sorry for Dayron,” said World and Olympic champion Liu. “It is a shame because I wanted to run against him, he is my reference in the 60m Hurdles. Sincerely it is a real shame that we are not together in the semi finals.”&nbsp; 
Liu and Robles are known for being close friends despite the language barrier and no later than two days ago at the IAAF Official Press Conference, they both praised each other’s careers and achievements.
Unlike Robles who has had an extremely busy schedule this winter, this morning’s was Liu’s first outing of the season and as announced the Chinese wanted to “concentrate on taking a great start.”
And that’s just what he achieved this morning, a feat which ironically may have been the cause for Robles’ fatal mistake.
“I got a really fast start and I feel that this put him off. I think that it has been a lack of experience on his part because in the case of doubt it is better to continue running until you hear the second pistol.”
After the incident Liu was the first one to try and show some support to his Cuban arch rival.
“I went up to him and patted him on the back,” said Liu. “I said a few words to him but no matter what I was going to say it was never going to be enough.”
“I’m very surprised by what happened. I was just trying to do a good job on my start; I think that was my best reaction time ever. I just can’t believe he’s not going to be in the semi final.”
Allen Johnson - I know exactly what he's feeling
Three-time World Indoor champion Allen Johnson who raced just minutes after Robles’ incident was equally disappointed. “I really feel for him because I can relate to him. I fell at the Athens Olympics and know exactly what he must be feeling like,” said Johnson who also won four World titles outdoors.
“It’s always a pity when the best guys don’t make it to the final and this year he’s the best by far. His absence is certainly going to take a little bit away from the final.”
Johnson who could not see Robles’ mistake as he was in the call room tried to analyze the situation.
“You always have to continue running especially when it’s the first round and they take the top four. But he’s young and it’s just a mistake that can happen.”
“If I see him I will tell him that’s it’s just an indoor race and that he should concentrate on getting ready for the outdoors.”
At 37, Johnson is running for a fourth World Indoor title, a feat previously achieved by the Cuban legendary pair of Javier Sotomayor and Ivan Pedroso, Haile Gebrselassie, Sergey Bubka and Mikhail Shchennikov&nbsp;in the men’s events.
“It was an okay race,” said the American. “I’m happy with the way I ran towards the end of the race. It will be important to run a good semi-final. I will be happy if I finish in the top 2.”
Understandably Robles was devastated and refused to make any comment. Last summer, the 1.92m tall Cuban experienced a similar disappointment when he failed to win a medal at the World Championships in Osaka where he was expected to be Liu’s main challenger only to come back and set an Area record 12.92 three weeks later in Stuttgart.
All we can hope for is that Valencia’s mishap can be a stepping stone towards a brighter performance at Beijing’s Olympic Games. 
Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF

No one could have expected a worse scenario to unfold during the morning’s heats of what has been billed as the highlight event of the 12th World Indoor Championships, the men’s 60m Hurdles.

Robles’ elimination a disappointment for all hurdlers

During Friday (7th) evening's competition at the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships, some top athletes visited the press tribune and contributed to the competition blog.
Jeremy Wariner, two-time 400m World champion, visited during the men's 400m heats, where he pointed out familiar faces among the athletes on the track, including Sean Wroe, who raced Wariner in Melbourne in February.
"Sean was smart to get out fast; there was too much bumping in that heat. He was entered with no time because he hadn't run indoors before."
Wariner also watched the end of the men's Shot Put final with interest, having been on national teams with both Cantwell and Hoffa in the past. As the final puts were happening, though, Wariner noted a 400m heat standing behind their blocks and noted, "If I was down there, I'd be mad by now. They've been standing and waiting to run for over five minutes."
Wariner has studied the form of his competitors enough to know when they're strong and when they're hurting. About Michael Mathieu (BAH), who was one of the fastest non-qualifiers, Wariner quipped, "He's not struggling, that's just how he runs." Wariner paid particular attention to that heat, where he picked out Tyler Christopher of Canada to "take the break," an important strategic point in the indoor 400m.
Sanya Richards expanded on "the break" when she came by for the women's 400m rounds. Richards watched a former University of Texas teammate, Moushami Robinson, qualify in the early heat, then explained the break during the second heat. 
"I was impressed with Shareese Woods at the US Nationals. I want to see how she does internationally. You have to get the break in this race, [because] it's so hard to pass indoors. Shareese is definitely running to get the break."
"I don't know why the 400 indoors is so much harder than it is outdoors. The women are having such a hard time recovering."
"For a first round, these times are pretty impressive. The Russians have a great command of the indoor races, they've won the last 3 or 4.
“But I really hope Moushami can get a medal and upset the Russians. She has a good shot."
Richards added, "It's really exciting to be a spectator at a meet like this. It's making my blood bubble for the Olympics."
Finally, Maurice Greene, World record holder in the men's 60m (among many other honours) visited during the 60m final. Greene immediately announced his picks for the final:
"I'm picking Fasuba, Chambers and Collins for the final." Though Rodgers was heavily favoured before the meet, Greene said, "This is Rodgers' first time here. Kim is a pro, especially in finals. Rodgers looks like he's asleep. He needs to be awake. Dwain (Chambers) looks asleep, but he just has a lot on his mind."
Greene's picks turned out to be prescient, as he had all three medallists in the correct order - particularly perceptive as few others were picking Fasuba to win. Greene's assessment of Fasuba's chances in Beijing were, "That's about a 10.0 race. He'll be good for that outdoors. First and second is already sewn up [between Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell]. We just don't know which way it will go."
A new IAAF Ambassador, Greene is clearly cut out for the job, because while he admits he misses the competition, he still loves watching the races, and his enthusiasm is infectious, just as it was in his competitive days.
Parker Morse for the IAAF

- During Friday (7th) evening's competition at the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships, some top athletes visited the press tribune and contributed to the competition blog.

WORLD ATHLETICS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Valencia 2008 - HIGHLIGHTS Day 3

With elusive title in hand, Soboleva breaks the 'deadlock'

Believe it Tamsyn!

Gun-to-tape, Kaki dominates

World indoor 1500m record for Soboleva!