News28 Feb 2003


Gebrselassie, 7:28 3k, and Aldama, 14.88 Triple, as Jackson laughs off ‘farewell’ disqualification

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Haile Gebrselassie after his 3000m win in Karlsruhe (© GES-Sportfoto)

Karlsruhe, GermanyThe LBBW Meeting produced a memorable evening of competition highlighted by world leading season wins for Haile Gebrselassie (3000m, 7:28.29) and Yamilé Aldama (Triple Jump, 14.88m CAC record). Frank Fredericks also set a season’s lead at the rarely run 300m (32.36), while Wilson Kipketer took a confidence boosting 800m win (1:44.96) and 19-year-old Cornelius Chirchir won the 1500m in 3:34.85.

After his superb two-mile performance a week ago in Birmingham, Haile Gebrselassie apparently felt ready to attack Daniel Komen's World Record in the men's 3000 metres.

Ivan Heshko took the Ethiopian through the first kilometre in 2:28.4, and Laban Rotich pulled Geb past the 2K mark in 4:58.6.  But that pace required a final kilometre of 2:26.3, which Haile couldn't produce tonight.  His final time of 7:28.29 was still his third-fastest ever, and easily the fastest 3K of the season. 

Two more Ethiopians filled the next places, as Abiyote Abate outran Markos Geneti, 7:40.75 to 7:40.83. Geneti's time was a World junior indoor record by about six seconds.

Every indoor competition this winter is a substitute for the World Indoor Championships in the eyes of Cuban triple jumper Yamilé Aldama, who is now based in Britain and will bypass the Birmingham competition with the expectation of soon  changing allegiance to her adopted country. 

Tonight, Aldama looked superb, opening up with the second-best indoor jump of her career (14.58), then momentarily losing the lead to Italy's Magdelin Martinez (14.61 NR) before moving back on top with 14.88.  The performance was a Central American and Caribbean record and a yearly leader, and it puts Aldama in the number-nine spot among history's triple jumpers. 

Jonathan Edwards took the men's event with a modest 17.02 best, with former World Junior champion Marian Oprea of Romania in second at 16.77. 

Tonight’s meeting marked the final sprint hurdling appearance of Colin Jackson in continental Europe, but it turned out to be a nightmare for the honoree. 

The indoor and outdoor World 60m Hurdles record holder was eventually disqualified from the competiton by the new false-start rule, but only after he had been temporarily reinstated and allowed to compete in the final. 

Belgium's Jonathan Nsenga had been charged with a false start when the finalists first came out of the blocks, and under the new IAAF starting rules, all further false starts were to result in banishment for any additional offender.

Again, the six finalists went into the blocks, but this time the sound of the recall gun caused the arena to become suddenly quiet.  An official went to Jackson's lane and somberly flipped up the yellow flag. 

Jackson always had a reputation for being a very quick, efficient starter, but he rarely dipped under the 0.100-second reaction time which defines an illegal start. 

The Welshman was slowly walking to the side of the sprint apron, ready to accept his penalty of disqualification, when it was announced to the crowd that officials had detected a "technical problem" with the start and had rendered it void. 

Given a new life, Jackson staged an intense, close race with Sydney champion Anier García which the Cuban won in 7.47, with the Briton apparently second in a season-best 7.49.  The pair made took a slow lap of honour to the cheers of the crowd. 

Later the evening's winners would gather at the centre of the arena in a celebration of Jackson's long international career, complete with a short video featuring some of the two-time World Champion's accomplishments. 

However, not long after the meeting management determined that the electronic reaction time detection system had not malfunctioned as previously thought, and that Jackson's 0.076 reaction time should be the basis for disqualification.

Jackson later laughed off the entire false start incident, refusing to let it cast a pall on his last evening competing in continental Europe.  In speaking with a British reporter, he indicated his support for the new false start rule.  Now, it's off to the Canary Islands for his final preparations for the World Indoor Championships, at home in Britain where hopefully the starters' cadences will seem assuringly more familiar. 

Although he has not officially announced an impending retirement like Jackson, Frank Fredericks has hinted that this round of indoor meetings might be his final one.  And he was given the opportunity to add one last world best tonight with a rare appearance in the 300 Metres.

The Namibian selected lane three of the four-lane oval in order to have someone to follow for most of the race.  But after his 32.36 time just missed the 32.19 of Robson da Silva, run on the same track fourteen years ago, he admitted that lane four might have been the better choice.  Davian Clarke finished second behind Fredericks in 32.97.

For Wilson Kipketer, tonight's 800 Metres was a moment of reckoning, as the Dane had not yet posted an indoor win for this season in his two previous outings.  The indoor and outdoor World Record holder used Robert Chirchir's 50.92 pace for the first 400 as a springboard for a 1:44.96 win, despite a less than smooth-looking finish, while Hezekiel Sepeng (1:45.12 NR) and Joseph Mutua (1:45.25) were closing fast at the end.

Bram Som of Holland was also caught up in the fast pace with a fourth-place 1:45.86, lowering his own national record set a week ago in Birmingham. 

The women's 800 Metres was safely in the hands of Jolanda Ceplak of Slovenia, as the World indoor Record holder came home in a season-best 1:59.97.  Canada's Diane Cummins decided to run tightly behind Ceplak during the final 150 Metres, and she was rewarded with a national-record 2:00.66, lopping almost a full second off the twelve-year-old mark of Charmaine Crooks. 

Pole vaulter Lars Börgeling of Germany, a resident of Cologne where Carnival celebrations reach their zenith this weekend, introduced a touch of comedy as he took all of his jumps wearing a curly black wig and a pair of gaudy spectacles.  One speculates that he may have practiced this week in such a costume, for his 5.73 best won the event.  His training partner, Rens Blom of Holland, was second in a national-record 5.73 as he continued a month of consistent vaulting (six competitions at 5.60 or better).

Reigning European outdoor champion, Alex Averbukh of Israel, took only short runs tonight, and his 5.40 best was good for fourth place behind Ukraine's Ruslan Yeremenko (5.63). 

Tonight was to have been Medhi Baala's attempt at a European indoor record in the men's 1500 Metres.  The Frenchman has recently shown top-level fitness with national standards in both the 800 and 1000 Metres, and a continental record should have been reachable.  But a collision after only 175 metres of the race knocked the European 1500 champion to the floor and ended any lofty plans for the evening.

Nineteen-year-old Cornelius Chirchir of Kenya, competing in his second-ever indoor race, was left running alone at the end and took the victory with a 3:34.85 time.  Anass Salmouni of Morocco was a distant second at 3:37.82, while Baala, refusing to quit after his misfortune, came home third in 3:39.63. 

In the women's sprint events, Savatheda Fynes breezed to a 7.14 win over Marina Kislova (7.20) and Juliet Campbell (7.23) in the women's 60 Metres.  And Lacena Golding-Clarke was unchallenged in her 7.95 hurdles win over Germany's Nadine Hentschke (8.10) and Dainiski Pérez of Cuba (8.16). 

Gabriela Szabo was to have made her season debut in the 1500 Metres, but withdrew late in the week.  In her absence, the event was won by Ukraine's Iryna Lishchynska in 4:10.60, more than a second ahead of Szabo's countrywoman, Maria Cioncan (4:11.81). 

African champion Younes Moudrik of Morocco won the men's Long Jump over Ghanian rival Eugnetius Gaisah on a countback, as both had bests of 7.98 for the evening.

Ed Gordon for the IAAF


RESULTS (all GER unless noted)

MEN:

300 METRES:  1. Fredericks (NAM) 32.36 (world leader);  2. Clarke (JAM) 32.97;  3. Chernovol (KZK) 33.71.

800 METRES:  1. Kipketer (DEN) 1:44.96;  2. Sepeng (RSA) 1:45.12 NR;  3. Mutua (KEN) 1:45.25;  4. Som (NED) 1:45.86 NR;  5. Wachira (KEN) 1:47.72;  6. Bogdanov (RUS) 1:48.13. 

1500 METRES:  1. C Chirchir (KEN) 3:34.85;  2. Salmouni (MAR) 3:37.32;  3. Baala (FRA) 3:39.63 [fell during collision after 170m];  4. Liefers (NED) 3:40.00;  5. Sneberger (CZE) 3:40.80;  6. Bandi (SUI) 3:41.97;  7. S Kiplangat (KEN) 3:47.44.  Did not finish:  Hood (CAN).  Pace:  Kupfer 56.58; Kiptoo (KEN) 1:55.23, 2:53.69.

3000 METRES:  1. Gebrselassie (ETH) 7:28.29 (world leader);  2. Abate (ETH) 7:40.75;  3. Geneti (ETH) 7:40.83 wjr;  4. Goumri (MAR) 7:45.85;  5. Keino (KEN) 7:55.36;  6. Fitschen 7:55.63;  7. Sullivan (CAN) 7:57.69;  8. Abdellah (MAR) 8:01.80;  9. Pencréach (FRA) 8:01.92;  10. Buc (SLO) 8:06.15.  Pace:  Heshko (UKR) 2:28.04; L Rotich (KEN) 4:58.53. 

60 HURDLES:  1. García (CUB) 7.47;  2. Bownes (RS) 7.65;  3. Niemi (FIN) 7.71;  4. Nsenga (BEL) 7.75;  5. Yo Hernández (CUB) 7.88.  Disqualified:  Jackson (GBR) for false start [7.49]

Heat 1:  1. GarcÍa 7.55;  2. Niemi 7.69;  3.  Bownes 7.70;  4. Patterson (CUB) 7.75;  5. Fenner 7.78;  6. Blascheck 7.79.  Heat 2:  1. Yo Hernández 7.57;  2. Jackson 7.62;  3. Nsenga 7.70;  4. Balzer 7.85;  5. Edorh 7.85.

POLE VAULT:  1. Börgeling 5.73;  2. Blom 5.73 NR;  3. Yeremenko (UKR) 5.63;  4. Averbukh (ISR) 5.40;  5. Duval (BEL) and Otto 5.40;  7. Spiegelburg 5.40.  No height:  Lobinger (two attempts at 5.63, ill), Stolle (5.40), and Yurchenko (UKR) (two attempts at 5.20). 

LONG JUMP:  1. Moudrik (MAR) 7.98;  2. Gaisah (GHA) 7.98 =NR;  3. Malyavin (RUS) 7.87;  4. Dachev (BUL) 7.84;  5. Bigdeli 7.84;  6. Winter 7.81;  7. Sosunov (RUS) 7.77;  8. Ru Gataullin (RUS) 7.70;  9. Melíz (CUB) 7.46;  10. Müller 7.20;  11. Pacheco (CUB) 7.04. 

TRIPLE JUMP:  1. Edwards (GBR) 17.02;  2. Oprea (ROM) 16.77;  3. Quesada (CUB) 16.42;  4. Letnicov (MOL) 16.36;  5. Pohle 16.09;  6. Moede 15.86.  No legal mark:  Evora (POR)[injured].

WOMEN:

60 METRES:  1. Fynes (BAH) 7.14;  2. Kislova (RUS) 7.20;  3. J Campbell (JAM) 7.23;  4. E Möller 7.26;  5. Bikar (SLO) 7.31;  6. Paschke 7.33. 

Heat 1:  1. Fynes 7.22;  2. E Möller 7.25;  3. Bikar and J Campbell 7.27;  5. Nku (NGR) 7.27;  6. G Rockmeier 7.39.  Heat 2:  1. Kislova 7.22;  2. Paschke 7.29;  3. Kravchenko (UKR) 7.33;  4. Wagner 7.41;  5. B Rockmeier 7.60;  6. Rücker 7.73. 

800 METRES:  1. Ceplak (SLO) 1:59.97;  2. Cummins (CAN) 2:00.66;  3. Gradzki 2:03.19;  4. Langerholc (SLO) 2:03.54;  5. Vriesde (SUR) 2:03.79;  6. Kirilova (BUL) 2:08.79.  Pace:  Visschers (NED) 28.26, 58.60; Ceplak 1:29.88. 

1500 METRES:  1. Lishchynska (UKR) 4:10.60;  2. Cioncan (ROM) 4:11.81;  3. Efentaki (GRE) 4:12.91;  4. Papp (HUN) 4:16.25;  5. Mugo (KEN) 4:23.75.  Pace:  Varga (HUN) 1:04.26, 2:13.29; Efentaki (GRE) 3:23.15. 

60 HURDLES:  1. Golding-Clarke (JAM) 7.95;  2. Hentschke 8.10;  3. Pérez (CUB) 8.16;  4. Sprenger 8.16;  5. Roslavtsova (RUS) 8.18;  6. Trywianska (POL) 8.18. 

Heat 1:  1. Hentschke 8.09;  2. Perez 8.24;  3. Rakotozafy (MAD) 8.26;  4. Meyer 8.29;  5. Shabanova (RUS) 8.70.  Heat 2:  1. Golding-Clarke 8.04;  2. Trywianska 8.10;  3. Sprenger 8.12;  4. Roslavtsova 8.20;  5. Vis (NED) 8.22;  6. Klein 8.65. 

TRIPLE JUMP:  1. Aldama (CUB) 14.88 (world leader and CAC record) [14.58 - x - 14.88 - x - 14.54 - x];  2. Martinez (ITA) 14.61 NR [x - 14.61 - 14.40 - 14.30 - p - 14.26];  3. Mbango (CMR) 14.40;  4. Lebedeva (RUS) 14.24;  5. Govorova (UKR) 13.95;  6. Kilpeläinen (FIN) 13.77. 

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