Teddy Tamgho placed the exclamation point at the end of the final day of the 13th IAAF World Indoor Championships here in Doha, Qatar when he reached 17.90m in the Triple Jump to shatter the World Indoor record.*
Tamgho held second position at 17.41m from the very first round of competition in the Aspire Dome, but it was Yoandris Betanzos of Cuba who delivered the early leading mark. Moving out to a world-leading 17.69m in the first round, Betanzos dominated the competition well into the sixth round, even though Tamgho improved to 17.50m in the fifth round.
Tamgho and Betanzos were thus the only jumpers remaining, with the bronze medal (which went to Betanzos' team-mate Arnie Girat, who moved into third on the fifth round with a 17.36m hop) determined.
Tamgho wasted no time and arrived at the board with tremendous speed. It was clear from his second step off the board that the mark would be very long, and it looked possible that he had even bested the WR marker placed next to the pit. Indeed he had; when the measurement was announced, it was 17.90m, 7cm beyond the WR of 17.83m shared by Aliecer Urrutia (Sindelfingen, 1997) and Christian Olsson (whose mark came at the 2004 World Championships in Budapest). 
Tamgho knew it was long, and was already halfway around the track with the hope of gold. Betanzos had a tall act to follow, and in the end could not improve on his first mark. He would settle for silver. (Olsson, as it happened, was fourth with a first-round 17.23m leap.)
Commanding title defence by Kaki
If Saturday was the day of the defender, Sunday was much less kind to defending champions. The only individual champion from Valencia who retained a title Sunday was Sudan's Abubaker Kaki, who reprised his impressive wire-to-wire race by sprinting to the front of the men's 800m and simply holding off all challengers to win in 1:46.23. Kaki's pace was sufficiently ferocious that once Kenya's Boaz Lalang and Adam Kszczot of Poland fell in behind, the leading order did not change for the rest of the race - Lalang took silver and Kszczot bronze even in the face of a furious rush from Kaki's team-mate Ismail Ahmed Ismail.
Terrence Trammell lost the title to Dayron Robles in one of the fastest 60m Hurdles races ever seen indoors. Robles overhauled Trammell only at the finish line, clocking 7.34 to set a new Championship record and establish the third-fastest mark ever. Trammell, timed in 7.36, equalled the American record set by Allen Johnson and joined a three-way tie for third-fastest hurdler ever. David Oliver, third in 7.44, picked up a PB; Liu Xiang was seventh in 7.65.
First golden jump for Murer
Also among the less successful defenders was Yelena Isinbayeva. After her catastrophic no-height in Berlin and a scare in qualifying, Isinbayeva played it safe in Doha and entered the competition at 4.60m. She then passed to 4.75m, which is where the trouble began; when she failed to clear there, the World record holder fell to fourth behind Anna Rogowska of Poland, the outdoor champion, whose last clearance had been 4.70m. It was then down to Fabiana Murer of Brazil and former World champion Svetlana Feofanova of Russia; Murer cleared 4.80m on her first attempt and Feofanova on her second, so when both went out at 4.85m the gold went to Murer, silver to Feofanova.
Yaroslav Rybakov suffered a similar fate in the High Jump, though when he failed to clear 2.33m he at least had the comfort of taking silver ahead of Dusty Jonas. Ivan Ukhov, who cleared 2.33m on his first attempt, did the same at 2.36m and made two tries at a world-leading 2.41m before calling it a night and celebrating his first World title.
New PB gives one more title&nbsp;to Campbell-Brown 
Veronica Campbell-Brown delivered the women's 60m title to Jamaica, rolling up the early lead of Laverne Jones-Ferrette and running a PB 7.00 in that final. Jones-Ferrette took silver with 7.03 and Carmelita Jeter settled for bronze in 7.05.
Nadezya Ostapchuk launched a stunning last-round 20.85m toss in the Shot Put to recover the lead in that event and end Valerie Vili's nearly-three-year winning streak. Vili's 20.49m fifth-round effort gave her silver, with Natalia Mikhnevich taking bronze with a first-round 20.42m. Also on the infield, Berlin World champion Brittney Reese long-jumped 6.70m in the first round to take gold in that event, with defending champion Naide Gomes second with a 6.67m mark.
Yougest woman and oldest man
Defending champion Gelete Burka found herself upstaged by her younger compatriot Kalkidan Gezahegne in the women's 1500m. When Burka sprinted for home at the bell, Gezahegne was on her shoulder, and when Gezahegne pulled clear on the homestretch, Natalia Rodriguez, the Spaniard judged responsible for Burka's race-ending fall at the Berlin World Championships, also stole by to seize silver and leave Burka only bronze. Gezahegne is the youngest woman ever to win a World Indoor championship.
In the very next race, Bernard Lagat became the oldest man ever to win a World Indoor championship when he ended the title defence of Tariku Bekele in the men's 3000m. In a race which saw a lot of early position-changing as the contenders tried to find and defend just the right places for their late-race charges, Lagat turned out to find the best spot, which was on Bekele's shoulder as the Ethiopian cranked the pace faster and faster. With a bit more than a lap to go, Lagat moved out and around the tiring Bekele and glided away as though he had only just begun to race. Spain's Sergio Sanchez and Kenya's Sammy Mutahi caught Bekele in the homestretch to seize silver and bronze. Lagat added this gold medal to the one he won in this event in 2004, when he was a mere 29 years old.
USA dominate relays
On the track, the only other successful defence came from the USA men's 4x400m team, which ran the fastest time that event had seen since the 2006 championships in Moscow. The USA team's lead in the final laps was so commanding they ran nearly unnoticed over the closing leg, with all attention in the Aspire Dome focused on the battle between Great Britain, Belgium, and the Dominican Republic for silver and gold. Belgium took that silver with Great Britain close behind.
The women's 800m went to Russia's Mariya Savinova, who headed Jennifer Meadows only in the final strides to establish a new world-leading time of 1:58.26. Meadows, at 1:58.43, lowered the national record she set earlier this season; Alysia Johnson, the early leader, took bronze. Pre-race favourite Anna Pierce moved up to fourth at the end, and in fifth Egle Balciunaite set a Lithuanian national record of 2:01.37.
In the women's 4x400m, another defending champion was dethroned as the foursome from the USA, led by 400m champion Debbie Dunn and anchored by outdoor 200m champion Allyson Felix, held off the defending Russians, anchored by 400m silver-medallist Tatyana Firova. It was the first time the Russians had been defeated in this event since 1993, and the first time the USA had won it. Jamaica, who were the last team to win before the Russian's eight-championship streak began, set a national record of 3:28.49 in third.
Parker Morse for the IAAF
 &nbsp;

Teddy Tamgho placed the exclamation point at the end of the final day of the 13th IAAF World Indoor Championships here in Doha, Qatar when he reached 17.90m in the Triple Jump to shatter the World Indoor record.*

Doha 2010 - Tamgho's triple ends championships with a bang - Sunday Wrap

Coming into these Championships twotime winner Terrence Trammell was the season’s fastest hurdler, reigning US champion and undefeated all winter. 
Tonight, the 31-year-old American ran the best 60m Hurdles of his life, the equal fourth fastest ever in the world and became the co-owner of the American record with Greg Foster and Allen Johnson and yet it was not enough for the win.
As it turns out Dayron Robles was just that little bit faster winning his first World Indoor title at 7.34, the third fastest of all-time.
The final had been expected to be one of the highlights of the championships and together with so many incredible performances here in Doha it lived-up to the bill. Trammell and Robles were in a class of their own today so it was unavoidable that attention was drawn to these two. 
Trammell had the best reaction time and the best transition up to the first hurdle. On the other hand, Robles had the slowest reaction but don’t let this piece of information fool you, he was right there up in the mix. Trammell’s technique was impeccable and he managed to hold on, marginally yes, but he held on. 
Gritting his teeth Trammell was still marginally ahead as both touched the ground coming off the final barrier. And then with what looked like a move out of nowhere, Robles ate up on Trammell. With two of the most powerful steps, Robles made the difference and dipped oh-so-well to the line. It looked close to the naked eye but then the replay left no doubt as to who had won it. 
“I wanted to break the World record here,” commented Robles referring to Colin Jackson’s 7.30 mark. “Many people at home were expecting this gold. I did it here with the world's best hurdlers so I am very happy. I knew the race would be decided in the photo finish as Trammell is very fast and has a great start. 
“I love racing with him because every time we meet I run great times. I am as excited as breaking the world record. It is as important as winning the Olympic gold. Everyone was waiting for this.”
Trammell said: “I did a mistake coming up to the fifth hurdle. So I must be happy to run a US record after that. But it also shows that I can think about world records.” 
Trammell's time was by far the fastest losing time and would have won a gold at any of the 12 previous editions of these championships.
Olympic bronze medallist David Oliver won the race for the remaining medal in a personal best time 7.44 clearly ahead of Yevgeniy Borisov who could not repeat his bronze medal winning effort of two years ago.
Defending champion Liu Xiang who came to Doha although not fully recovered from a tendon injury still managed to improve his season’s best to 7.65 in seventh with Petr Svoboda and Maurice Wignall respectively fifth and sixth. 
Two years ago Robles was the outright favourite to win gold in the men’s 60m Hurdles in Valencia. As we know, a terrible misjudgment at the start of his first round heat cost him a place among the qualifiers, hence the gold medal all but himself had already awarded him with. 
It was a difficult competition for the then 21-year-old but one which would mark his career as the most important lesson an athlete can learn. Since, Robles has gone on to set a new outdoor World record and win the Olympic Games before an injury-plagued season in 2009.
Returning to Doha with a lot to prove and maybe with less pressure Robles proved that he can deliver even when the competition is tougher than it’s ever been. Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF

time winner Terrence Trammell was the season’s fastest hurdler, reigning US champion and undefeated all winter.

Doha 2010 - Robles grabs first World gold in style

Is there a cooler guy in athletics than Bernard Lagat?
The US athlete regained the title he last won six years ago with a totally dominant display and after opening up a 10m lead on this well beaten rivals had the time midway down the home stretch to raise an arm in acknowledgment to the crowd. Beautiful.
It may have been one of the most competitive races in the programme, but as soon as Lagat took the lead from long-time leader and defending champion Tariku Bekele with a little over 200m remaining it was a demonstration.
The last lap was a mere formality as the silky-smooth Lagat, 35, became the oldest man in history to win gold at a World Indoor Championships - he is some 22 days older than the previous eldest - Gerard Lelievre of France, the 1985 5000m walk champion.
European Indoor record holder Sergio Sanchez of Spain capped a wonderful campaign on the boards by taking a brilliant silver medal in 7.39.55 with Kenya's emerging 20-year-old talent Sammy Mutahi taking bronze in 7.39.90 from a fading Bekele.
The race began to deafening chanting from the vociferous Ethiopian supporters, but was Kenya's Augustine Choge who took the field through the first kilometre in a healthy 2:36.19.
The second third of the race was dominated by Bekele and his Ethiopian team-mate Dejan Gebremeskel who shared the pace, the former hitting 2km in 5:12.32.
With 800m remaining Bekele notably cranked up the pace, so much so, that with two laps remaining the field was splintered. The Ethiopian was closely tracked by Lagat but the pair were five metres ahead of Sanchez who in turn was five metres clear of the chasing pack. 
Lagat&nbsp;chose his moment&nbsp;to strike for home with 220m remaining and smoothly rolled around the final circuit of the Aspire Dome to secure the most comfortable of victories.&nbsp; 
The battle for the minor medals was a more competitive affair. Sanchez caught and passed Bekele and earned Spain's first medal in the event since Alberto Garcia in 2003 and Mutahi timed his sprint to perfection to surge past a tiring Bekele for the bronze.
The Ethiopian, who had succeeded his older more famous brother as champion of this event in Valencia two years ago, recorded 7:40.10 for fourth. In fifth Galen Rupp of the US set a personal best of 7:42.10. There was disappointment for the two athletes from Qatar, James Kwalia, the World 5000m bronze medallist, was eighth (7:46.12) and Essa Ismail Rashed ninth in 7:47.94.
Steve Landells for the IAAF

Is there a cooler guy in athletics than Bernard Lagat?

Doha 2010 - Lagat makes 3000m win look easy

Capping a thrilling Triple Jump competition, Teddy Tamgho of France set a new World indoor record of 17.90m to clinch the gold medal at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships at the Aspire Dome in Doha. Tamgho's final round effort broke* the mark of 17.83 shared by Aliecer Urrutia of Cuba and Christian Olsson of Sweden. Urrutia set the mark in 1997 and Olsson equalled it at the 2004 World Indoor Championships in Budapest. Sometimes one has to wait until the end of the event for making statements. The men’s Triple Jump final seemed to be over after some sparkling jumping in round one, but the action finally came back to the same level and went a lot further too during the last two rounds. Tamgho, the 20-year-old Frenchman who jumped a marvellous 17.58m result indoors in 2009, but then didn’t come close to this result outdoors, seemed to surprise everyone with a 17.41m first jump adding 16 centimetres to his previous season’s best. Tamgho’s mark was also the world leader surpassing Italian Fabrizio Donato’s 17.39m mark from this winter. But the first round was far from over, seasoned 28-year-old Cuban Yoandri Betanzos producing a lifetime best 17.69m for a clear lead and another world leading mark. Betanzos, who won the World indoor bronze medal both in 2004 and 2006, had jumped 17.42m indoors and 17.65m outdoors before this competition. Swede Christian Olsson, coming back to the world’s top level in his first major competition since coming back from an injury late in 2009, also jumped well in the first round reaching 17.23m and third place. This was a very good opener for the World indoor record co-holder&nbsp; (17.83m in 2004), but his injury problems seem to be far from over as he was only able to jump twice today. David Giralt of Cuba, defending his 2008 World indoor silver medal from Valencia, moved to fourth place with 17.15m opener still in the same round one. After this the action seemed to freeze for a long time. Former world leader Donato moved to fifth place with a 16.88m mark and Giralt came closer to Olsson with a 17.21m jump in round two, but those were the only things happening before round five. With Olsson again passing his attempt it was Giralt moving to third place with a 17.36m season’s best result in round five. But that wasn’t all since Tamgho too got a better jump and closer to the gold medal with a 17.50m effort, another season’s best for the Frenchman. The best was still to come though. With the three medal finishers decided since Olsson couldn’t jump any more, Giralt wasn’t able to challenge the top duo finishing with a second successive medal at the World indoors, a bronze one this time. The best performance of these championships came when Tamgho jumped for the last time - and getting everything right. The French youngster landed well beyond the World indoor record marker next to the sandpit setting a new record of 17.90m surpassing the old one by seven centimetres. This also was the first and only World record of this meet. Not surprisingly, Tamgho himself was surprised by his result too. "I didn't think I'd be able to achieve such a performance today. I knew I had it in me, because last year in Bercy, I had a foul close to 18m. Today, I thought if I won, it would be around 17.60m. But after the Cuban jumped 17.69m, I had to react and give it all. I can't tell my emotions." Unbelievably Tamgho reached the record only in the tenth career 17 metres plus competition of his career and hopefully he will not lose his great form before the summer season like last year. Betanzos, who was able to answer Tamgho with a good 17.57m effort with his last jump, won his third World indoor medal getting a silver with a 17.69m personal best and David Giralt was third with a 17.36m season’s best. Former champion Olsson was dropped to fourth with 17.23m in competition where only four athletes went over 17 metres. Donato, who had come to Doha as the number one jumper in the world, was disappointed and could only jump 16.88m, more than a metre off the winner Tamgho. Jadel Gregório of Brazil was sixth with a 16.78m best and Slovak Dmitrij Valukevic and Russian Igor Spasovkhodskiy were seventh and eighth with 16.72m and 16.42m respectively. The reigning World junior champion from 2008 now became the World indoor champion, something that usually doesn’t happen in just two years time. Mirko Jalava for the IAAF *pending the usual ratification procedures

Capping a thrilling Triple Jump competition, Teddy Tamgho of France set a new World indoor record of 17.90m to clinch the gold medal at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships at the Aspire Dome in Doha.

Doha 2010 - Tamgho triples to 17.90 World Indoor record! - UPDATED

The men’s high jump final was a simple meet indeed and a Russian party as predicted after the qualification. 
In a way the competition was very similar to the women’s one, but Ivan Ukhov stepped up a bit further in terms of results than Croatian Blanka Vlasic did yesterday. 
The 23-year-old was a favourite at the World Championships in Berlin last summer, but there he just didn’t do what was expected finishing in 10th place with a lowly 2.23m result.
The competition today however offered very different feelings for Ukhov, who only had a small glitch in his wonderful series.&nbsp; 
All eight contestants continued the competition after 2.24m height with six of them clearing this height with their first attempts and American Jesse Williams passing. &nbsp; Ukhov’s composure was lost for a moment at 2.28m when the Russian, who won the European Indoor Championships last year in Turin, failed to clear the bar with his first try. 
With Cypriot Kyriakos Ioannou, the silver medalist from Berlin World Championships, American Dusty Jonas and another Russian favourite Yaroslav Rybakov, the reigning World champion from Berlin, all cleared 2.28m with their first attempts. 
Ukhov decided to move his two remaining jumps to the next height 2.31m and two more athletes, Jesse Williams with his second and Botswana’s Kabelo Kgosiemang with his third jump equalling his own national indoor record cleared 2.28m to move on in the competition.
2.31m was the height in this high jump final where medals were awarded. 
The Russian party started right here with Rybakov again making it with his first attempt, looking to add a World indoor title in addition to the outdoor one from last season.&nbsp; 
But Ukhov found his rhythm again, moving to second place with a first time clearance with Dusty Jonas joining the pair, clearing the bar with his second attempt. All the others were unable to follow with Jesse Williams leaving one jump to 2.33m, but he didn’t make it and Rybakov and Jonas were also unsuccessful with their three attempts. &nbsp; Ukhov on the other hand made it look easy winning the World indoor title with his first jump at 2.33m. The Russian then moved the bar to 2.36m, and cleared at the first time of asking to futher emphasise&nbsp;his dominance. 
Ukhov went on to raise the bar once more, now to 2.41m, but his two jumps at this height were unsuccessful. 
Yaroslav Rybakov, 29, with 2.31m bagged silver and to land added a fifth straight medal at a World Indoor Championships (one gold and four silvers). 
The 23-year-old American Dusty Jones won his first major medal, a bronze clearing 2.31m today. 
Kyriakos Ioannou was fourth with a best of 2.28m. Also clearing the same distance for fifth was Williams Kgosiemang in sixth place. Briton Samson Oni was seventh with 2.24m and Martin Günther clearing the same height for eighth.
Mirko Jarvala for the IAAF
&nbsp;

The men’s high jump final was a simple meet indeed and a Russian party as predicted after the qualification.

EVENT REPORT - MEN's High Jump Final

Ethiopia did take another women’s 1500m title, but the gold didn’t go to defending champion Gelete Burka. Running with the grit and determination of a seasoned veteran, 18-year-old Kalkidan Gezahegne effortlessly kicked past Burka and Spaniard Natalia Rodriguez to become the youngest woman to ever win a World indoor title. “I was hesitating to attack after falling down in the heats,” said Gezahegne, whose tumble to the track and brave run to victory was perhaps the major highlight on the opening day of competition. “At the end my finish was enough.” Her spectacular comeback in the heats already displayed to the world the determination of Gezahegne, who at 18 years and 310 days old, outdid a very familiar name as the youngest ever World indoor champion: Gabriela Szabo of Romania who won her first 3000m title in 1995 when she was 19 years and just under four months old. That was a stat, though, that Gezahegne didn’t think about much at all. “Thank you for telling me,” she said. “That is an excellent feeling.” An excellent feeling to match a finely executed race. Kenyan Irene Jelagat took the early lead, controlling the tempo ahead of Burka, European champion Anna Alminova of Russia, Gezahegne and Sylwia Ejdys of Poland. With laps in the 33 to 35-second range, the order didn’t change until 700 metres remained, when Burka made her move for the front. She was immediately shadowed by her younger compatriot, with Jelagat and Ejdys following single fie just a few strides behind. The boldest move of the race came next when American Erin Donohue, just a 4:12 runner indoors and sitting near the tail end of the 10-woman field, went for broke and made her way to front. 
She managed to work her way into second place, but Burka held firm. Donohue couldn’t maintain the rapidly increasing pace for long, and was swallowed up first by Gezahegne, and then Natalia Rodriguez, who took the lead a few steps from the bell. But it wasn’t hers for long. Burka, who was knocked to the ground and out of contention at last year’s World Championships in Berlin by Rodriguez, retook the lead from the Spaniard as they entered the final turn, with Gezahegne following on the outside. Entering the homestretch it was the teenager who proved stronger, running wide to pass Burka and eventually reach the line in 4:08.14. It was among the slowest performances of the youngster’s career, but certainly the biggest victory. Rodriguez, who took silver behind Burka in Valencia two years ago, kicked past the Ethiopian over the final 50 metres to successfully defend her silver medal, clocking 4:08.30, 0.09 ahead of Burka. “I was very tense after Berlin and I really wanted to prove myself,” said Rodriguez, who was disqualified shortly after crossing the line first in Berlin last summer. Rising Polish star Ejdys was fourth in 4:09.24, while Jelagat just edged Donohue 4:09.57 to 4:09.59, personal bests for both. But the day belonged to Gezahegne. Perhaps the future, too. “I’ve been running and training for only three years,” said Gezahegne, who ran to World junior silver in the event in 2008 and reached the final in Berlin last summer. “And already being a World champion is very special. But my career is just beginning.” Bob Ramsak for IAAF

Ethiopia did take another women’s 1500m title, but the gold didn’t go to defending champion Gelete Burka.

Doha 2010 - Gezahegne recovers from heat tumble to become youngest ever female champion

Doha, QatarThe third and final day of the 2010 World Indoor Championships at the Aspire Dome in Doha will be a three-hour streak of finals starting with the women's Long Jump at 16:00 AST through the 18:50 AST start of the men's 4x400m final. Yelena Isinbayeva in the women's Pole Vault is one of the faces Qatar has been waiting for. After surviving a qualifying scare where the Russian required three attempts to reach 4.55m, it's possible that the reigning champion may enter the competition before everyone else has reached their top height, but it's also possible the leading lady of elevation may simply wait out her aspiring challengers and vault for height when her victory is assured. Spotlight remains on Trammell, Robles and Liu in the 60m Hurdles The men's 60m Hurdles final is another event which caught the imagination of fans long before the athletes arrived in Doha, and with Terrence Trammell, Dayron Robles and Liu Xiang through the first round on Friday, Sunday is likely to see the first global final with all three star hurdlers in the blocks since Osaka in 2007. Though Ladji Doucoure was unable to advance, David Oliver will be just one of the other thirteen athletes hoping to capitalize on any missed chances between the first three. The hurdlers will run semi-final rounds early in the program, then their final as one of the last events of the Championships. Jones-Ferrette and Jeter square off Immediately before the hurdles will be the women's 60m dash final, and the year's leaders LaVerne Jones-Ferrette and Carmelita Jeter are on course to clash in the final. Their semi-finals are the first track event of the evening. Can Vili be dethroned? After qualifying rounds on Saturday a nine-woman final is set for the women's Shot Put, and the clash is almost certain to be between defending champion Valerie Vili, undefeated in this event since 2007, and the current world leader Nadzeya Ostapchuk, whose 21.70m toss earlier this year was the best mark seen since the 1980s. Also on the infield, the men's High Jump promises to be a two-way duel between the 2006 champion Yaroslav Rybakov and his Russian teammate Ivan Ukhov, owner of the best PB in the field with a 2.40m leap. The men's Triple Jump and women's Long Jump will round out field events, with defending champion Naide Gomes leading qualifying in the women's event and Yoandris Betanzos leading the men - but with 2004 World Indoor (and Olympic) champion Christian Olsson clearly also ready to challenge. Lagat v. T. Bekele in the 3000m On the track we'll see another Lagat/Bekele clash in the men's 3000m, this one between the Osaka 1500m/5000m double winner and defending champion Tariku Bekele, younger brother of the man who stopped Bernard Lagat's title defense at 5000m last summer in Berlin. Lagat displayed total control of his qualifying heat despite not moving for the lead until the last half-lap, but in addition to Bekele he'll face a tough field of young challengers. Burka puts title on the line The women's 1500m should be a chance for Gelete Burka to defend the title she earned in Valencia two years ago, but the rounds in that event on Friday saw plenty of jostling for position. Burka, who was taken out of title contention in Berlin due to aggressive positioning by another of Sunday's finalists, may wish to make the pace fast and keep herself out of trouble by staying well in front of the field. Pierce, Meadows and Savinova favourites in the women’s 800, can Kaki be stopped in the men’s? The women's 800m finalists will have had a full day of rest since their Friday rounds as well, unlike the men who ran a semi-final round on Saturday. Jennifer Meadows and Anna Pierce were the heat winners and are expected to be the leading contenders, but Russia's Mariya Savinova has the speed and savvy to challenge either or both in the final. The only country to send two men to the 800m final was Sudan, with defending champion Abubaker Kaki apparently unpassable in his qualifying and semi-final heats; the strongest challenge to Sudanese dominance is likely to come from Kenyan Boaz Lalang, a training partner of Lagat's. After open 400m defeat, can Russian women avenge in the 4x400? The evening and the championships will conclude with the traditional last event of indoor meets: the 4x400m relay. The women will run a straight final before the sprint finals; the men ran their rounds on Saturday, and will likely be a duel between the USA and Jamaica, who previewed that race in the first round as they ran to the two fastest qualifying times. Spoilers may be the speedy Dominican Republic team, which includes U.S. veteran Alvin Harrison and the Dominican Republic's only Olympic gold medalist, Felix Sanchez. With Kerron Clement and Bershawn Jackson on the U.S. team, the last five World Champions in the 400m hurdles will all be running the relay final; Jackson in particular will be spoiling for a fast race after his disappointing 400m final. Russia has their eye on yet another title in the women's relay, and their challenger as usual will be the foursome from the USA, including three-time 200m World Champion Allyson Felix as well as 400m individual champion Debbie Dunn. Russia will bring 400m runner-up Tatyana Firova. Parker Morse for the IAAF <A href="http://www.iaaf.org/wic10/news/kind=108/index.html" mce_href="http://www.iaaf.org/wic10/news/kind=108/index.html"> Click here for EVENT REPORTS</A>

The third and final day of the 2010 World Indoor Championships at the Aspire Dome in Doha will be a three-hour streak of finals starting with the women's Long Jump at 16:00 AST through the 18:50 AST start of the men's 4x400m final.

Doha 2010 – Isinbayeva tops the bill on action-packed Day 3 - Sunday preview

Team USA grabbed their seventh 4x400m World Indoor title and one that has been property of the stars and stripes nation since 2006 here in Doha courtesy of a 3:03.40 World leading time; and they didn’t even need to field 400m World Indoor record holder Kerron Clement who had anchored the first round to a comfortable heat win.
In what turned out to be a drama-packed final where only four teams eventually crossed the line and only three remained on the results sheet after examination by the judges, Belgium grabbed their first relay medal in the history of the competition in second at 3:06.94 and Great Britain took bronze in 3:07.52.
Individual bronze medallist Jamaal Torrance set the tone with a fine 45.80 leg, an effort worth a small lead over Bahamas and Jamaica with Belgium, Great Britain and the Dominican Republic another few strides behind. 
The US changeover was by far the smoothest and just by virtue of a clear exchange Greg Nixon found himself with over five metres to spare halfway through the backstretch. It was game over; the US would have an easy run from then on.
It was far from over for the rest of the field. Kévin Borlée was the first to make a move taking Belgium from fourth to second approaching the second bend with Alvin Harrison now running for the Dominican Republic in close third. 
In a desperate effort to put the Bahamas back into medal position Andretti Bain moved to the outside, however halfway through the bend he pulled his hamstring in what looked like quite a serious injury and went down some ten metres later. Unrelated and almost unnoticed, Jeremy Wariner’s training partner Sanjay Ayre also went down injured. 
In the space of a few seconds, it was game over for Jamaica and Bahamas.
Meanwhile, the race for silver was still in full flow with Belgium handing over in second and Nigel Levin putting Great Britain in medal position for the first time in the race when handing over to former World Junior champion Christopher Clarke.
Clarke moved to the front (behind the US that is) with three laps to go while Belgium’s slowest runner Antoine Gillet was holding off former World 400m Hurdles champion Felix Sanchez. 
More drama was to happen at the final exchange; a fast finishing Sanchez struggled to find anchor leg Joel Tapia who was waiting for him on the outside and although they did manage to hand the baton they would later be disqualified for changing position at the beginning of the take off zone.
While Bershawn Jackson, a disappointing last in the individual event yesterday, was speeding to his first World Indoor title unchallenged, Tapia positioned himself in second at the bell only to be counter attacked by Jonathan Borlée coming into the final bend and eventually Richard Burk some five metres to the finish.
Although he later found the strength to celebrate with his team-mates, Jackson lied down with what looked to be yet another hamstring injury for some long minutes. It thankfully didn’t take Jackson long to recover and just like the Belgian and British quartets, all four Americans set off for a well deserved lap of honour. Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF

Team USA grabbed their seventh 4x400m World Indoor title and one that has been property of the stars and stripes nation since 2006 here in Doha courtesy of a 3:03.40 World leading time; and they didn’t even need to field 400m World Indoor record holder Kerron Clement who had anchored the first round to a comfortable heat win.

EVENT REPORT - MEN's 4x400 Metres Relay Final

Coming into these Championships twotime winner Terrence Trammell was the season’s fastest hurdler, reigning US champion and undefeated all winter. 
Tonight, the 31-year-old American ran the best 60m Hurdles of his life, the equal fourth fastest ever in the world and became the co-owner of the American record with Greg Foster and Allen Johnson and yet it was not enough for the win.
As it turns out Dayron Robles was just that little bit faster winning his first World Indoor title at 7.34, the third fastest of all-time.
The final had been expected to be one of the highlights of the championships and together with so many incredible performances here in Doha it lived-up to the bill. Trammell and Robles were in a class of their own today so it was unavoidable that attention was drawn to these two. 
Trammell had the best reaction time and the best transition up to the first hurdle. On the other hand, Robles had the slowest reaction but don’t let this piece of information fool you, he was right there up in the mix. Trammell’s technique was impeccable and he managed to hold on, marginally yes, but he held on. 
Gritting his teeth Trammell was still marginally ahead as both touched the ground coming off the final barrier. And then with what looked like a move out of nowhere, Robles ate up on Trammell. With two of the most powerful steps, Robles made the difference and dipped oh-so-well to the line. It looked close to the naked eye but then the replay left no doubt as to who had won it. 
“I wanted to break the World record here,” commented Robles referring to Colin Jackson’s 7.30 mark. “Many people at home were expecting this gold. I did it here with the world's best hurdlers so I am very happy. I knew the race would be decided in the photo finish as Trammell is very fast and has a great start. 
“I love racing with him because every time we meet I run great times. I am as excited as breaking the world record. It is as important as winning the Olympic gold. Everyone was waiting for this.”
Trammell said: “I did a mistake coming up to the fifth hurdle. So I must be happy to run a US record after that. But it also shows that I can think about world records.” 
Trammell's time was by far the fastest losing time and would have won a gold at any of the 12 previous editions of these championships.
Olympic bronze medallist David Oliver won the race for the remaining medal in a personal best time 7.44 clearly ahead of Yevgeniy Borisov who could not repeat his bronze medal winning effort of two years ago.
Defending champion Liu Xiang who came to Doha although not fully recovered from a tendon injury still managed to improve his season’s best to 7.65 in seventh with Petr Svoboda and Maurice Wignall respectively fifth and sixth. 
Two years ago Robles was the outright favourite to win gold in the men’s 60m Hurdles in Valencia. As we know, a terrible misjudgment at the start of his first round heat cost him a place among the qualifiers, hence the gold medal all but himself had already awarded him with. 
It was a difficult competition for the then 21-year-old but one which would mark his career as the most important lesson an athlete can learn. Since, Robles has gone on to set a new outdoor World record and win the Olympic Games before an injury-plagued season in 2009.
Returning to Doha with a lot to prove and maybe with less pressure Robles proved that he can deliver even when the competition is tougher than it’s ever been. Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF

time winner Terrence Trammell was the season’s fastest hurdler, reigning US champion and undefeated all winter.

EVENT REPORT - MEN's 60 Metres Hurdles Final

One thing we have learned from today is never discount Veronica Campbell-Brown.
The two-time Olympic 200m champion and 2007 World 100m champion flew under the radar coming into these championships as LaVerne Jones-Ferrette of the US Virgin Islands and Carmelita Jeter of the USA&nbsp;hogged much of the pre-race attention.
Yet it was Campbell-Brown, the World No.4 before the event,&nbsp;who delivered when it mattered most, blitzing to victory in 7.00 - the fastest winning time at a World Indoor final for 11 years.
Jones-Ferrette and Jeter put in a spirited display, claiming the silver and bronze in 7.03 and 7.05, respectively but this was the&nbsp;Jamaican's day, as it so often is.
Campbell-Brown, who landed Jamaica's first medal in the event since Merlene Ottey struck gold in 1995, said: "I knew the race would be very competitive. I am very confident and mentally focused. I came here with a mindset that I would I come out and execute. It is a very short race, by far the most technical." 
Jones-Ferrette, the&nbsp;world No.1 following her stunning 6.97 in Stuttgart, the fastest women's 60m time for 11 years,&nbsp;was elated to have made history and land her country's first precious metal at a global championships.
"I just wanted a medal," she said. "When I leaned up through the finish line, that was my only thinking, a medal. And it happened, so I'm happy. First ever for my country.&nbsp;This is a great boost for the summer and my next goal is to break 11 seconds at 100m."
Jones-Ferrette and Campbell-Brown were level out of the blocks, but Jeter made a slugglish start out in lane seven and was some way down. The 28-year-old from the US Virgin Islands held a slight lead at 20m before Campbell-Brown edged level and inched ahead by the 40m mark.
Jeter was starting to pick up speed and finishing like an express train, yet she ran out of both time and distance. The popular Campbell-Brown dipped for the line to take her first major indoor title with&nbsp;Jones-Ferrette just holding on&nbsp;to silver&nbsp;from Jeter, the second fastest 100m women in history after her 10.64 in Shanghai.
Jamaica's Sheri-Ann Brooks equalled her personal best set in the semi-finals to finish equal fourth in 7.14 alongside Ruddy Zang Milama of Gabon.
The 38-year-old Chandra Sturrup finished sixth in a season's best 7.16 with the 2008 World Indoor bronze medallist Tahesia Harrigan (7.17) in seventh. The order was complete with Myriam Soumare of France (7.29) in eighth.&nbsp;
Steve Landells for the IAAF
Note: In December 2010 it was confirmed that Jones-Ferrette had failed a doping control test on February 16 that year. She was suspended for six months and all her results between February 16 and September 30 were annulled. So Jeter was promoted to silver and Brooks shared the bronze with Milama.&nbsp; &nbsp;

One thing we have learned from today is never discount Veronica Campbell-Brown.

2010 World Indoor Championships - women's 60m final

The most impressive streak in World Indoor Championship history was brought to&nbsp;a shuddering halt&nbsp;as the USA&nbsp;ended Russia's run of eight successive titles in an thrilling duel.
Russia had struck gold in each edition of the event stretching all the way back to 1995. Tonight, however, the USA quartet, anchored by three-time World outdoor 200m champion Allyson Felix, proved too strong to win by 0.19 in 3:27.25. It was, surprisingly, the USA's first ever gold medal in this event.
Perhaps the individual 400m event gave an omen as to the possible outcome of the relay after Debbie Dunn, of the US, defeated Russia's Tatyana Firova in the race for gold.
Indeed, it was Dunn who gave the US a clear lead at the end of the first leg with a 51.25 split, tracked by Jamaica and Russia, who opened with Svetlana Pospelova.
DeeDee Trotter, who was disappointed not to make the final of the individual 400m, earned some recompense with a cracking relay leg and opened up a five metre lead on Russia's two-time former individual winner Natalya Nazarova.
On the penultimate leg, the field all bunched up again as Natasha Hastings surrendered much of her advantage to Russia's third leg runner Kseniya Vdovina with Davita Prendergast also drawing Jamaica closer to the battle at the front.
The anchor leg provided an intriguing battle as the smooth-running Felix chose to control from the front with Firova tracking her every strike.
The Russian chose to bide her time and struck coming off the final bend. Firova almost drew level but Felix is a class act, she dug deep and crossed the finish line with one arm raised in triumph to land her seventh world title (at the age of 24 she has already also won six outdoor gold medals).
Jamaica anchored by the World outdoor silver medallist Novlene Williams-Mills took the bronze in a national record of 3:28.49.
Felix said of the gold medal triumph: "My team-mates made my job easy. I just wanted to make my run clear and smooth to make secure the win. It was very competitive, but I tried to run conservatively and make sure to bring the (baton) home."
A philosophical Firova added: "I have two silvers so I will travel home with good feelings. I was aware that Felix is a strong runner and I also paid attention to the Jamaicans."
Steve Landells for the IAAF
Note: Jamaica were initial bronze medallists, then their lead-off woman Wilkins got them disqualified, having failed a doping control test in Doha. A further podium change occurred after a historical doping violation by Firova led to the annulment of her results across 2008-2012. So the Czech Republic and Great Britain ultimately claimed the silvers and bronzes.

The most impressive streak in World Indoor Championship history was brought to&nbsp;a shuddering halt&nbsp;as the USA&nbsp;ended Russia's run of eight successive titles in an thrilling duel.

2010 World Indoor Championships - Women's 4x400m relay final

Capping a thrilling Triple Jump competition, Teddy Tamgho of France set a new World indoor record of 17.90m to clinch the gold medal at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships at the Aspire Dome in Doha. Tamgho's final round effort broke* the mark of 17.83 shared by Aliecer Urrutia of Cuba and Christian Olsson of Sweden. Urrutia set the mark in 1997 and Olsson equalled it at the 2004 World Indoor Championships in Budapest. Sometimes one has to wait until the end of the event for making statements. The men’s Triple Jump final seemed to be over after some sparkling jumping in round one, but the action finally came back to the same level and went a lot further too during the last two rounds. Tamgho, the 20-year-old Frenchman who jumped a marvellous 17.58m result indoors in 2009, but then didn’t come close to this result outdoors, seemed to surprise everyone with a 17.41m first jump adding 16 centimetres to his previous season’s best. Tamgho’s mark was also the world leader surpassing Italian Fabrizio Donato’s 17.39m mark from this winter. But the first round was far from over, seasoned 28-year-old Cuban Yoandri Betanzos producing a lifetime best 17.69m for a clear lead and another world leading mark. Betanzos, who won the World indoor bronze medal both in 2004 and 2006, had jumped 17.42m indoors and 17.65m outdoors before this competition. Swede Christian Olsson, coming back to the world’s top level in his first major competition since coming back from an injury late in 2009, also jumped well in the first round reaching 17.23m and third place. This was a very good opener for the World indoor record co-holder&nbsp; (17.83m in 2004), but his injury problems seem to be far from over as he was only able to jump twice today. David Giralt of Cuba, defending his 2008 World indoor silver medal from Valencia, moved to fourth place with 17.15m opener still in the same round one. After this the action seemed to freeze for a long time. Former world leader Donato moved to fifth place with a 16.88m mark and Giralt came closer to Olsson with a 17.21m jump in round two, but those were the only things happening before round five. With Olsson again passing his attempt it was Giralt moving to third place with a 17.36m season’s best result in round five. But that wasn’t all since Tamgho too got a better jump and closer to the gold medal with a 17.50m effort, another season’s best for the Frenchman. The best was still to come though. With the three medal finishers decided since Olsson couldn’t jump any more, Giralt wasn’t able to challenge the top duo finishing with a second successive medal at the World indoors, a bronze one this time. The best performance of these championships came when Tamgho jumped for the last time - and getting everything right. The French youngster landed well beyond the World indoor record marker next to the sandpit setting a new record of 17.90m surpassing the old one by seven centimetres. This also was the first and only World record of this meet.Not surprisingly, Tamgho himself was surprised by his result too.&nbsp; "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;">I didn't think I'd be able to achieve such a performance today. I knew I had it in me, because last year in Bercy, I had a foul close to 18m. Today, I thought if I won, it would be around 17.60m. But after the Cuban jumped 17.69m, I had to react and give it all. I can't tell my emotions."Unbelievably Tamgho reached the record only in the tenth career 17 metres plus competition of his career and hopefully he will not lose his great form before the summer season like last year. Betanzos, who was able to answer Tamgho with a good 17.57m effort with his last jump, won his third World indoor medal getting a silver with a 17.69m personal best and David Giralt was third with a 17.36m season’s best. Former champion Olsson was dropped to fourth with 17.23m in competition where only four athletes went over 17 metres. Donato, who had come to Doha as the number one jumper in the world, was disappointed and could only jump 16.88m, more than a metre off the winner Tamgho. Jadel Gregório of Brazil was sixth with a 16.78m best and Slovak Dmitrij Valukevic and Russian Igor Spasovkhodskiy were seventh and eighth with 16.72m and 16.42m respectively. The reigning World junior champion from 2008 now became the World indoor champion, something that usually doesn’t happen in just two years time. Mirko Jalava for the IAAF*pending the usual ratification procedures

Capping a thrilling Triple Jump competition, Teddy Tamgho of France set a new World indoor record of 17.90m to clinch the gold medal at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships at the Aspire Dome in Doha.

WORLD ATHLETICS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Biomechanics Project - Doha 2010

IAAF Council Meeting Notes – Day 2 – Doha 2010, 16 March

IAAF Council Meeting Notes – Day 1 – Doha 2010, 15 March

Doha 2010 - Campbell-Brown debuts at No. 1

Doha 2010 - Murer upgrades to gold in women's Pole Vault