Haron Keitany cruises to a world leader in Gent (© Nadia Verhoft)
Gent, BelgiumHaron Keitany impressively won the 1500m at the KBC Indoor meeting in Gent with a world leading 3:33.96. The Kenyan easily followed the pace and moved past Daniel Kipchirchir Komen with one lap to go. The duel between both Kenyans was the highlight of the meeting that also saw the further progression of Bahamian Shamar Sands in the 60m Hurdles and a strong 800m effort by Belal Mansoor Ali. Natalya Evdokimova dominantly won the women’s Mile.
The KBC Indoor is an IAAF Indoor Permit meeting.
Keitany confident
As expected the pace in the 1500m was perfectly set by Kenyans Ismael Kombich and Rueben Bett. Kombich lead the pack through 800m in 1:54, while Bett went on to cross the 1000m mark just inside 2:22. From then on Daniel Kipchirchir Komen took the lead and tried to break away. Keitany was the only athlete who was able to follow Komen’s pace. Just before the bell Keitany attacked and left Komen behind. The 25-year-old Kenyan set a world leading 3:33.96. Komen came in second in 3:34.86 while Mekkonen Gebremedhin took third in 3:36.46.
Keitany just looked as if he was cruising all the time. “It is true, I felt very comfortable all the way and it was an easy win for me after all. I was confident today but with such strong guys alongside you’ll never know. I’m not training specifically for this indoor season, I’m building up progressively in fact. By April or May I’m hoping to be ready for the big competitions that are to come in the summer. It is my goal to run inside 3:30 this year and to shine at the World Championships in Berlin.”
Mansoor Ali, Mubarak Taher take 800 and 3000m
The men’s 800m clearly went to Belal Mansoor Ali. The Bahraini went into the lead at the 400m mark and opened a gap with Marcin Lewandowski from Poland. He convincingly finished in 1:46.48.
“I feel that I am able to run even faster in a race that is more competitive than this one,” said Mansoor Ali.
The 3000m was a very close race that was perfectly paced by James Kosgei from Kenya. Tareq Mubarak Taher took over and continued to put on the pressure. In the end the Bahraini managed to hold the lead and to cross the line victoriously in 7:43.71. Kenyans Edwin Kipkorir and Robert Sigei finished second and third while six athletes broke the 7:50 mark in this race.
Sands continues his progression
Shamar Sands is certainly one of the leading rookies of this indoor season. After winning in Glasgow last week the Bahaman continued his winning streak in Gent today and shaved another hundredth of a second off his PB and national record. His best mark now stands at 7.58.
“I did not have my best start today,” Sands said. “That’s why I’m confident that I can even run faster. I worked very hard on my technique and that is what pays off now. This year the World Championships are the main objective. To make it through to the final in Berlin is my clear ambition.”
The field events did not really live up to the high expectations. In the Pole Vault Russian Pavel Gerasimov was the only athlete to clear 5.57m. German Thomas Scherbarth and Briton Steve Lewis had to settle for second and third with 5.51m. The High Jump was won by Oleksandr Nartov from Ukraine with a 2.23m leap.
In the men’s 60m Jose Carlos Moreira upset pre race favourites Dariusz Kuc (POL) and Vicente de Lima (BRA). Moreira won in 6.59.
Evdokimova dominates the Mile
The Mile was the most attractive event on the Women’s programme. World 1500m leader Natalya Evdokimova from Russia never cast any doubt on her intentions to dominate the field. Commanded by the Russian, the pace was winding up after pacemaker Marcela Lustigova (CZE) stepped down. Evdokimova broke away from the field and finished in 4:29.29. Belgian Sigrid Vanden Bempt moved from 8th to 4th place in the finishing stages. She earned huge support from the local crowd as she broke the national records on both the 1500m (4:12.43) and the Mile (4:30.32).
Priscilla Lopes-Schliep repeated her win in Gent. The Canadian bronze medal winner in Beijing crossed the line in 8.06 ahead of her compatriot Angela Whyte.
“My indoor season has just started and I’m hoping to bring my times down during the next few races,” Lopes-Schliep said. “Winning a medal in Beijing has made me more determined. I’m an athlete who loves to work hard and who always tries to hit new targets and personal best performances.”
Misleydis Gonzales from Cuba won the Shot Put by a clear margin. Her winning put of 18.37m was more than one metre ahead of Magdalena Sobieszek from Poland.
The 60m dash went to Chandra Sturrup of the Bahamas in 7.25 while Yuliya Gushchina from Russia took the 200m in 23.76.
Ivo Hendrix for the IAAF
