Claston Bernard clearing 2.12 in the Decathlon (© Lorenzo Sampaolo)
Desenzano del Garda, ItalyThe 2004 World Indoor champion Naide Gomes from Portugal and Jamaica’s Claston Bernard are the overnight leaders of the Multistars Combined Events meeting, the opening leg of the IAAF World Combined Event Challenge 2004.
Heptathlon
Gomes scored 3657 points and leads the overall standing ahead of the surprising US Heptathlete Tiffany Lott-Hogan, second just 38 points adrift of the Sao Tome and Principe-born athlete.
Lott-Hogan began the competition in great fashion by lowering her PB in the 100m Hurdles to an astonishing 12.95, just four hundredts of a second off the meeting record in this event held by Romania’s Liliana Nastase, and went to the lead with 1132 points (the best technical result of day one).
Another notable performance in the 100m Hurdles was recorded by Gigi Miller from the USA with 13.14 (1103 points). Gomes clocked the fourth best time of the day with 13.78 (1010 points).
Gomes went to the lead after clearing 1.82 in the High Jump (1003 points). Tia Hellebaut from Belgium, a high jumping specialist with a PB of 1.94, finished first in this discipline with 1.85 (1041 points) ahead of Naide Gomes and the France’s Maria Collonville who tied the same height with 1.82.
Gomes mantained the lead after putting 14.18 in the Shot (806 points) by finishing second in this event behind Vera Yepimashko from Belarus who set the Multistars’record in the Shot Put with 16.68 (974 points) and climbed to sixth place before the 200 metres. Tiffany Lott bounced back from a disappointing 1.67 in the High Jump with a solid 13.61 in the Shot and moved to runner-up position behind Gomes.
Before the 200 metres Gomes had a lead of 101 points. Lott-Hogan closed the gap on the reigning World Indoor Pentathlon champion thanks to a good 24.85 in the 200 metres (901 points), while Gomes ran 25.54 (838 points). This event’s win went to Gigi Miller from the USA who ran 23.89 (991 points) and moved from seventh to third with a total score of 3605 points.
“This was my first competition after my World title at the World Indoor Championships in Budapest,” said Gomes of Portugal. “For this reason I was not in my best form and I am a bit disappointed with my result today, especially in the 200 metres, although I am happy with my first place.”
”Tomorrow it will another day and I will try to improve my PB. The Combined events meeting in Ratingen will be my last test before Athens where my main goal is to finish in the first eight.”
A delighted Tiffany Lott Hogan commented after her overnight second place: “It was funny to compete here today and spend two days in Italy with my traing partners. I clocked the PB in the 100 hurdles, my favourite event and this is really great. Tomorrow I will face the javelin where I have a PB of 54.62 metres and I hope to score valuable points there to clinch the victory. This is my final test before the Olympic Trials next July in Sacramento.”
Decathlon
Claston Bernard from Jamaica, ninth at the World Championships in Paris, led the overnight Decathlon standing with 4253 points after winning in the 100 metres and the High Jump yesterday.
Bernard clocked 10.99 in the 100 metres and went to the lead with 863 points. The powerful Jamaican leapt to 7.21 in the Long Jump (864 points) and finished second in this event behind the Finn Jari Olli who climbed to fourth place with 7.29 (883 points). The Italian Luca Ceglie was second after two events thanks to 7.05 in the Long Jump which followed 11.08 in the 100 metres. Paolo Casarsa, also from Italy, improved his PB in the Long Jump to 7.03 (821 points) and was ranked fifth with a total of 1629 points.
Andy Giesler from the United States produced a 15.68 release in the Shot Put (832 points) and produced the most notable change in the overall standing by climbing from ninth to third. Paolo Casarsa moved up to second place by producing a solid 15.36 (812 points). Still in the lead was Claston Bernard, third in the Shot with 15.23 (804 points).
The 25-year-old Jamaican won the High Jump with a 2.12 clearance (915 points), six centimetres off his PB. He tried to increase his score at 2.15 (the Multistars’event record) but failed his three attempts. Casarsa improved his PB by six centimetres to 1.97 and mantained his second place.
Bernard clocked 50.17 in the 400 metres (807 points) and remained in the lead at the end of day one with a 270 points lead over Casarsa (3983 points), Giesler (3919 points) and Ceglie (3917 points).
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
NB. Click here for Full RESULTS
Selected results
Men Decathlon:
1 Claston Bernard (Jamaica) 4253 points
(10.99- 7.21- 15.23 – 2.12 – 50.17)
2 Paolo Casarsa (Italy) 3983 points
(11.24 – 7.03 – 15.36 -1.97 -51.06)
3 Andy Giesler (USA) 3919 points
(11.35 -6.96 -15.68- 1.94 – 51.42)
4 Luca Ceglie (Italy) 3917 points
(11.08 – 7.05 – 13.48 – 1.94 -50.28)
5 Michal Modelski (Poland) 3901 points
(11.28 – 7.09 – 14.17 – 1.91 – 50.21)
6 Romain Barras (France) 3888 points
(11.46 – 6.97 – 14.60 -1.94 – 50.19)
7 Jiri Ryba (Czech Republic) 3887 points
(11.47 – 6.84 -14.13 - 2.00 – 50.04)
8 Jari Olli (Finland) 3872 points
(11.51 – 7.29 – 14.07 – 1.97 – 51.88)
9 Paolo Mottadelli (Italy) 3804 points
(11.19 -6.91 -14.41 – 1.82 – 50.41)
10 Markus Walser (Austria) 3800 points
(11.07 -6.79 – 13.66 -1.82 -49.47)
Women Heptathlon :
1 Naide Gomes (Portugal) 3657 points
(13.78 – 1.82 -14.18 – 25.54)
2 Tiffany Lott Hogan (USA) 3619 points
(12.95 – 1.67 -13.61 -24.85)
3 Gigi Miller (Usa) 3605 points
(13.14 -1.67 – 12.48 -23.89)
4 Marie Collonville (France) 3554 points
(13.81 – 1.82 – 12.39 – 25.31)
5 Tia Hellebaut (Belgium)
3535 points (14.21 – 1.85 -12.83 – 25.64)
6 Irina Naumenko (Kazakistan) 3521 points
(14.19 -1.79 – 12.97 – 25.10)
7 Kim Schiemenz (USA) 3484 points
(14.24 – 1.73 -13.33 – 24.87)
8 Margaret Simpson (Ghana) 3478 points
(13.74 – 1.73 – 12.37 -25.01)
9 Svetlana Kazanina (Kazakistan) 3433 points
(14.62 -1.76 -13.70 -25.53)
10 Gertrud Bacher (Italy) 3423 points
(14.25 -1.70 – 13.78 -25.45)
