Six more athletes clinched automatic selection for the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 on the second day of the British Indoor Championships in Sheffield, perhaps the most surprising being Adelle Tracey over four laps of the track on Sunday (28).Predictions were that victory in the last event of the afternoon, the women&rsquo;s 800m, would go to Lynsey Sharp or Jenny Meadows, both former European champions. But both finished outside the top two. Meadows, as usual, set the pace (28.65, 59.90 1:31.26), with Sharp at her shoulder and Tracey tucked in behind. Sharp eased ahead on the last back straight, but her lead was short-lived as Tracey, a torch-bearer at the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony, took over in the final 40 metres to win in 2:02.99. Leah Barrow came from way back to snatch second place in a personal best of 2:03.18.Another Briton who clinched her place on the plane to Portland was Tiffany Porter, who now has the chance for a third successive World Indoor Championship 60m hurdles medal. After being the fastest in the heats in 8.02, Porter won the final clearly in 7.98, though admitted: &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t finish very well."Second place went to European indoor bronze medallist Serita Solomon in 8.05 while Lucy Hatton, after running 8.03 in her heat, had a poor run in the final and had to be satisfied with third in 8.15.In the women&rsquo;s 1500m, Hannah England also won a ticket for Portland with a win in 4:15.44, though she said she&rsquo;d leave it to her coach to decide if she should make the trip. Stephanie Twell similarly sealed her selection with a win in the 3000m in 8:54.99 and she may be joined by Josephine Moultrie, whose reward for setting the pace was a qualifying standard of her own when finishing second in 8:58.75.Pole vaulter Luke Cutts, the only man over 5.60m, and longer jumper Jazmin Sawyers, who reached an indoor personal best of 6.67m, each won their events well.The latter beat a slightly off-form Lorraine Ugen, with the IAAF World Indoor Tour winner only managing 6.60m for second place. World silver medallist Shara Proctor missed the championships with a sore hip.<h3>Boswoth brings British race walking to the fore </h3>Race walking events are no longer contested at the IAAF World Indoor Championships but Tom Bosworth could make an impact at the IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships Rome 2016 in May. Here, in a solo effort, the former circus performer produced lap after lap in the 3000m race walk between 43.0 and 44.6, passing halfway in 5:31.3. At this point, it became quite clear that he would smash his own national indoor record and world lead of 11:15.81, and urged the already enthusiastic crowd to get even more involved with two laps remaining at the English Institute of Sport. His last circuit was covered in exactly 40.0 for a final time of 10:58.21.&ldquo;I just wanted to come here and entertain and show that it&rsquo;s not just slow people walking round in circles,&rdquo; he said, after a post-finish celebration which was reminiscent of world and Olympic steeplechase champion Ezekiel Kemboi. &ldquo;You want to make it memorable so that people will come back and watch it."The British women&rsquo;s 3000m race walk record was also broken earlier in the day, when Bethan Davies lowered her own figures to 12:44.99. Like Bosworth, she is coached by former UK international Andi Drake.Unlike the walks, the much anticipated men&rsquo;s high jump clash between Robbie Grabarz and new 2.36m-performer Chris Baker proved to be anti-climactic and ended at just 2.29m, which Baker cleared first time for victory. Grabarz, having cleared 2.26m, failed with his first attempt at that height and then opted to take his remaining efforts at 2.31m, but neither he or Baker could clear that height though the former was nearest with his first try. Mark Butler for the IAAF

Six more athletes clinched automatic selection for the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 on the second day of the British Indoor Championships in Sheffield, perhaps the most surprising being Adelle Tracey over four laps of the track on Sunday (28).

Tracey's upset 800m win highlights day two of British Indoor Championships

The 57th edition of the Polish indoor championships took place over the weekend (16-17) in &nbsp;Spala with the highlights coming in the 1500m races and Race Walks.In the men’s event, Szymon Krawczyk attacked in the final straight and went from third to first in the final 50 metres before crossing the line in 3:42.27.He finished a stride ahead of Damian Roszko, who was second in 3:42.56, while Mateusz Demczyszak was a very close third in 3:42.59. Only the winner got a place in the national team going to the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, next month, as earlier this month both Marcin Lewandowski and Bartosz Nowicki broke 3:40 in German meetings.In the women’s 1500m, Danuta Urbanik won in the solid 4:10.67 after taking advantage of the fast pace by Anna Rostkowska. A day earlier, the latter picked up her first indoor title by winning the 800m in 2:04.76. The seven-time outdoor Polish champion returned to action last month having not competed since 2009 due to maternity.Kamil Krynski was the fastest among the men in both sprints. Over 60m, Krynski clocked 6.72 while at 200m he took the revenge on the talented Kamil Zalewski, who was faster two weeks ago in &nbsp;Gent and inflicted Krynski’s only defeat of the season. His winning time of 21.11 was a personal best and particularly impressive as the track in Spala lies directly on concrete and is not considered to be fast.The same double in sprint was done also by Marika Popowicz, who repeated her feat of 2010. She scored her wins by a big margins, with 7.38 and 23.73, which were both season’s best. In the absence of 2011 World champion Pawel Wojciechowski and also Lukasz Michalski, &nbsp;height of 5.50m was good enough to win the Pole Vault. Both 20-year-old Piotr Lisek, who has made fast progress this winter, and Robert Sobera cleared that height, both men achieving personal bests, but the verdict went to the Lisek. However, the closest to negotiating 5.60m was the most experienced Przemyslaw Czerwinski, who eventually was only the third on the day with 5.40m.Dygacz and Sudol decisive walk winsThe top performances came in the walks which are no longer contested at major indoor championships. In women’s 3000m Race Walk, Agnieszka Dygacz lead after the the first kilometre before being replaced by Paulina Buziak at the front. However, it was Katarzyna Kwoka who broke away from her rivals 120 metres from the line to win in 12:21.40, the second fastest time in the world this year and only four seconds shy of the 19-year-old Polish record of Katarzyna Radtke.In men’s 5000m Race Walk, the 2010 European Athletics Championships 50km Walk silver medallist Grzegorz Sudol made most of the pace throughout the race and consolidated his lead over the final four laps before winning by almost 10 seconds in 19:03.48 to move up to third on the 2013 world list. Dawid Tomala was second in 19:13.16 and Lukasz Nowak third with 19:18.66, all three men setting personal bests. Middle distance man Adam Kszczot, who is going to Gothenburg to defend his European indoor title over 800m, was on the start line of the 400m on Saturday and ran the second fastest time in the heats with 47.56 and satisfied with that result, did not show up for the final.Concerning two of the notable absentees, two-time Olympic Shot Put champion Tomasz Majewski had elbow surgery last year and only resumed training in the middle of January while 2009 World Championships Pole Vault gold medallist Anna Rogowska preferred to concentrate on the forthcoming European Athletics Indoor Championships.Janusz Rozum for the IAAFPolish team for the European Athletics Indoor Championships (with season's best):Men 400m: Grzegorz Sobinski (47.14) 800m: Adam Kszczot (1:46.76) 1500m: Marcin Lewandowski (3:38.34), Bartosz Nowicki (3:39.65), Szymon Krawczyk (3:42.27) 3000m: Mateusz Demczyszak (7:57.99) 60m Hurdles: Dominik Bochenek (7.73) Pole Vault: Piotr Lisek (5.50), Robert Sobera (5.50) Long Jump: Adrian Strzałkowski (7.88) 4x400m: Grzegorz Sobinski, Lukasz Domagala, Marcin Grynkiewicz, Rafał Omelko, Michał PietrzakWomen 800m: Anna Rostkowska (2:03.67) 1500m: Danuta Urbanik (4:10.76), Katarzyna Broniatowska (4:11.59), Angelika Cichocka (4:11.79) High Jump: Kamila Stepaniuk (1.92) Pole Vault: Anna Rogowska (4.63)

1500m and walks provide Polish indoor champs highlights

The 57th edition of the Polish indoor championships took place over the weekend (16-17) in Spala with the highlights coming in the 1500m races and Race Walks.

Dessau, GermanyThrowing events held a slight edge over the track competition at Friday evening’s Anhalt Meeting in Dessau, a city 100 kilometres south of Berlin known primarily as the birthplace of the Bauhaus style of architecture.&nbsp; 
Olympic champion – ‘stable and consistent’ throwing
The women’s Discus Throw was a high-level duel between Athens champion Natalya Sadova and the seemingly ageless Franka Dietzsch, who won her world title six years ago in Seville.
Dietzsch’s world leading throw of 66.29, achieved last weekend in the throwers’ meeting in Halle, gave the Russian something to aim at.&nbsp; And she hit the bullseye on her final attempt, exactly equalling Dietzsch’s mark with her own 66.29 as the best of the night.&nbsp; The German opened slowly and couldn’t find the range until late in the competition, as her evening’s best of 64.17 also resulted from her final trip into the ring.
Sadova enthused at the end, “I’m really pleased with this result.&nbsp; The best thing is that I have a stable, consistent form at the moment.&nbsp; My win in Athens last year has really given me a good push in training this season.”&nbsp; 
For the 37-year-old Dietzsch, there was a tone a disappointment.&nbsp; “I wanted to throw a metre farther than I did last weekend, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.&nbsp; Perhaps I was overmotivated.”
Elizna Nauda of South Africa also surpassed the sixty-metre level with 60.41 for third.&nbsp; 
World champion Makarov over 86m
Two years ago, Sergey Makarov of Russia won the men’s Javelin Throw competition here with 90.11m.&nbsp; It was the only 90-metre throw of the 2003 season, and there hasn’t been another throw beyond that barrier since.&nbsp; 
Tonight’s still winds didn’t help the spears to sail away to those headline distances, but Makarov nonetheless easily won with a second round 86.43.&nbsp; Christian Nicolay of Germany, with 80.20, was the only other competitor in the field of ten&nbsp; to slip into the eighties, as Björn Lange was third at 79.40.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
The lack of wind also didn’t aid the Men’s Pole Vault, but the conditions didn’t hinder it, either.&nbsp; Michael Stolle won the the mostly German affair with 5.60, the same height as second-place Björn Otto, as Tim Lobinger was third at 5.50.&nbsp; 
Much of the pre-meet publicity centered around the participation of Jamaican long jumper James Beckford and his attempt to break the meeting record of 8.06.&nbsp; As Beckford stalled out just short of eight metres, with a best of 7.99, Gable Garenamotse of Botswana grabbed the opportunity on his final jump and equalled the competition standard to steal the spotlight from the Germany-based Beckford.&nbsp; 
“I wasn’t surprised by this result tonight,” said the Botswanan.&nbsp; “I’ve been training well recently.&nbsp; Now that I’ve equalled this meeting record with a good jump in this stadium, I feel almost like a Dessauer!”
South Africa’s Martin McClintock was third with 7.93.&nbsp; 
The Men’s Steeplechase included a pair of Kenyans, and as they are wont to do, they finished one-two.&nbsp; As David Chemweno led Sydney champion Reuben Kosgei through the first three laps, it was presumed that the former World Junior champion was running in the service of his elder teammate as a tempo-setter.
As it turned out, the pair only alternated in taking the lead, and both finished in a mad dash to the tape, won by Kosgei in 8:22.06 to Chemweno’s 8:23.04.&nbsp; 
Herms - impressive in 800m
Running for the first time this season in his specialty, Germany’s Rene Herms was impressive in winning the men’s 800 Metres in 1:45.70.&nbsp; The runner from Pirna stayed close to the rapid pace set by Peter Wolters of Belgium, as the pair passed the 400 in less than 53 seconds.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
As Wolters departed after 500 metres, Herms was alone in the lead, and he stayed there throughout the rest of the race.&nbsp; Nürnberg-area resident Jason Stewart of New Zealand sprinted hard for second with 1:46.45, just holding off Wolters’ countryman, Tom Omey, at 1:46.89.&nbsp; 
Perhaps Herms wasn’t looking for a season-opener quite so fast.&nbsp; “I thought the pacemaker was just a little too fast,” he admitted afterwards, “and I was worried about breaking down over the last 300.”&nbsp; But Herms contradicted his position moments later by regretting that he had missed the World Championships A-norm of 1:45.40.&nbsp; He’ll make another run at it next week in Milan.
Natalya Kutkina of Russia won the women’s 800 metres in 2:02.66, as Germany’s Monika Gradzki (2:02.90) clipped Brigita Langerholc of Slovenia (2:03.04) on the run-in to take second.&nbsp; 
The 1500 races were both won by German athletes in personal-best times.&nbsp; Stephan Eberhardt dominated the men’s contest in much the same way as had Herms.&nbsp; The Erfurt runner, coached by Dieter Hermann who also brought Nils Schumann to European and Olympic wins, sprinted away to a big lead after pacemaker Sebastian Hock had finished his duties.&nbsp; 
Running the final lap in 58 seconds, the 20-year-old took home a 3:40.86 personal-best with his victory, as Great Britain’s Ed Jackson (3:42.35) neutralized the final sprint of German Franek Haschke (3:42.45) for second.
In the women’s race, Antje Möldner accelerated ahead of a pair of runners with 150 left to clock a lifetime best of 4:08.81 in her win.&nbsp; The 21-year-old was followed into the finish by Eleonora Berlanda of Italy (4:10.94) and Hungary’s Livia Tóth (4:12.93).&nbsp; 
Disaster befalls McConnell
Much of the interest in the women’s 400 Hurdles lay in Lee McConnell’s first outing in the event.&nbsp; The British 400 runner, winner of the bronze medal in the last European Championships, looked understandably tentative as she approached the first few hurdles, and her lane-two assignment probably didn’t help her confidence.&nbsp; But as the back stretch opened up in front of her, she seemed to find her rhythm as she led the group coming in the final curve.
Hurdle eight was McConnell’s downfall – literally - as she clipped it and fell to the track.&nbsp; This allowed Monika Niederstätter of Italy a clear path to a win in 56.11, as Ulrike Urbansky of Germany took second in 56.51.&nbsp; 
The B-section was won by Nora Kalid of Malaysia in 56.83.&nbsp; 
Sprints formed much of the early programme in the Paul-Greifzu-Stadion, as the early-arriving audience braved warm temperatures which had reached 32C (91F) during the afternoon.&nbsp; 
Thomas Blaschek of Germany won both of the two races of the Men’s 110m Hurdles, first with 13.69 and later with 13.62.&nbsp; On both occasions, he was followed into the finish by Switzerland’s Ivan Bitzi (13.98 and 13.88).&nbsp; 
Chris Lambert of Great Britain was the winner in the Men’s 200 metres with 20.81 against a -1.0 wind, as Guus Hoodmoed of the Netherlands (20.97) and European Junior champion Sebastian Ernst of Germany (20.98) took the next two places.
The women’s half-lap race was an exciting duel between a pair of decorated&nbsp; Germans, won by Birgit Rockmeier in 23.46 over former European 400 champion Grit Breuer (23.53).&nbsp; 
The men’s 100 metres was easily won by Olusoji Fasuba, like Beckford a non-European athlete currently based in Germany.&nbsp; The Nigerian clocked 10.26 in a still wind as Germans Marius Broening (10.40) and Marc Blume (10.48) held the next two spots.&nbsp; 
The women’s dash went to Poland’s Daria Onysko in 11.64, as Vida Anim of Ghana won the B-section with 11.72.&nbsp; 
A women’s 3000 metres Race Walk was included in the programme and was won by Ulrike Sischka in 13:29.25, ahead of the 13:38.74 of Maja Landmann.&nbsp; 
Ed Gordon for the IAAF <A href="http://www.leichtathletik.de/dokumente/ergebnisse/ergebnislisten2005/dessau_270505.htm" target=_blank>Click here for FULL RESULTS</A>

Throwing events held a slight edge over the track competition at Friday evening’s Anhalt Meeting in Dessau, a city 100 kilometres south of Berlin known primarily as the birthplace of the Bauhaus style of architecture.

Sadova and Makarov headline in Dessau

The International Amateur Athletic Federation has officially ratified the following indoor world records: Men <table border="0" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="0" width="577"><tbody><tr><td valign="TOP" width="16%">5000m</td><td valign="TOP" width="13%">12:50.38</td><td valign="TOP" width="30%">Haile Gebrselassie</td><td valign="TOP" width="9%">ETH</td><td valign="TOP" width="17%">Birmingham</td><td valign="TOP" width="15%">14 Feb 99</td></tr></tbody></table>Women <table border="0" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="0" width="568"><tbody><tr><td valign="TOP" width="83">4x200m Relay</td><td valign="TOP" width="60">1:32.55 (equals previous record)</td><td valign="TOP" width="161">LG Olympia Dortmund (Ester M&ouml;ller, Gabi Rockmeier, Birgit Rockmeier, Andrea Phillipp)</td><td valign="TOP" width="33">GER</td><td valign="TOP" width="71">Karlsruhe</td><td valign="TOP" width="76">21 Feb 99</td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="0" width="568"><tbody><tr><td valign="TOP" width="82">5000m</td><td valign="TOP" width="59">14:47.35</td><td valign="TOP" width="162">Gabriela Szabo</td><td valign="TOP" width="35">ROM</td><td valign="TOP" width="71">Dortmund</td><td valign="TOP" width="75">13 Feb 99</td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="0" width="568"><tbody><tr><td valign="TOP" width="82">3000m walk</td><td valign="TOP" width="59">11:40.33</td><td valign="TOP" width="162">Claudia Iovan</td><td valign="TOP" width="34">ROM</td><td valign="TOP" width="72">Bucarest</td><td valign="TOP" width="75">30 Jan 99</td></tr></tbody></table>The previous records were, respectively: 12:51.48 by Daniel Komen (KEN) in Stockholm on 19 February 1998; 1:32.55, set by SC Eintracht Hamm at Dortmund on 20 February 1988; 15:03.17 by Liz McColgan (GBR) in Birmingham on 22 February 1992 and 11:44.00 by Alina Ivanova (EUN) in Moscow on 7 February 1992. ENDS

Tracey's upset 800m win highlights day two of British Indoor Championships

1500m and walks provide Polish indoor champs highlights

Sadova and Makarov headline in Dessau

IAAF ratifies world indoor records