Emma Green of Sweden in the women's high jump at the 13th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics in Doha (© Getty Images)
Nine athletes made it to the women’s high jump final and there were no big surprises with favourites dropping out of the final. Only three athletes made it with no failures during the qualification clearing all heights until 1.92m, which was needed for the final.
With only nine athletes left at this height it was decided that no more jumps at the 1.95m automatic qualifying limit were needed to drop just one more athlete off the final.
Croatian Blanka Vlasic, the reigning World Indoor champion from 2008, was one of these three while Spanish Ruth Beitia and Marina Aitova of Kazakhstan also had a clear series with no failures. Beitia has jumped 2.00m this season and has a bronze medal in this event from the 2006 World Indoor Championships.
Two athletes cleared their season’s best in the qualifying with Czech Iva Starková equalling hers (1.92m) and Zheng Xingjuan of China tying her three-year-old personal best indoors, of course the same 1.92m result. 23-year-old Russian Svetlana Shkolina, who has made her first 2-metre jump this season clearing 2.00m in Arnstadt, Germany, in February is also in the final.
25-year-old Swede Emma Green made it in the final as well. The 2005 World Championships bronze medallist from Helsinki has jumped 1.95m indoors this season and might have an outside chance for her first indoor medal here. Silver medallist from that same Helsinki competition, Chaunté Howard Lowe of USA however had some problems during the qualification only clearing 1.92m with her third attempt. Nadiya Dusanova of Uzbekistan completed the nine athletes in the final also making it with her third attempt.
The biggest names out are Bulgarian Venelina Veneva-Mateeva and German Meike Kröger. The 35-year-old Bulgarian had only jumped 1.88m this year, but Kröger, who has made a big leap upwards this winter clearing 2.00m at the German Champs, was the major disappointment in the competition ending up with a 1.85m result having made three failured attempts at 1.89m height.
23-year-old Russian Irina Gordeyeva also went out of the final at the first worldwide major championships. Gordeyeva, who was fifth at the European Indoors 2009, has cleared 1.96m this season, but could only make 1.89m today.
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF
