Gebrselassie crosses the line in a Two Mile World best - 8:04.69 (© Getty Images)
Four time World and twice Olympic 10,000m champion Haile Gebrselassie made an impressive return to the track for the first time since his injury aborted attempt at the One Hour run in Hengelo last June, smashing the World Indoor best for Two Miles by just under five seconds in 8:04.69 at the Norwich Union Grand Prix, the penultimate leg of the four meet Energizer Euroseries, this evening.
That would have been the highlight of any meeting but not even the great Ethiopian could ignore the brilliance of Russian Pole Vault star Svetlana Feofanova, who for the second time in 2003 and for the seventh time in her career established a new World Indoor record, this time at the height of 4.77m.
Not entering the competition until a first time clearance at 4.40, the Russian needed two jumps to make 4.60, went over 4.70 on her first and then took the World bar to 4.77 on her second jump. With a US$50,000 World record bonus cheque in her pocket, Feofanova then made two attempts at 4.82 – the second more than reasonable - before ending her evening.
With perfect pacing from Canada’s Graham Hood and Dutchman Gert Jan Liefers, the pace of the men’s Two Miles was always on target for Hailu Mekonnen’s previous World best mark of 8:09.66, which was set in this stadium in 2000. Mekonnen was also running tonight and put up a brave, if hopeless defence finally finishing third (8:16.59) just behind second placed Kenyan Luke Kipkoskei (8:16.57).**
This was the free flowing Gebrselassie of old, beaming smile, full of confidence, dominating proceedings from the start of the race. By the time that the Ethiopian ‘Emperor’ pulled away from the last of the pace makers – Leifer – just after 2000m, he was in full majestic flight. A first Mile of 4:03.1 and a second of 4:01.6, was the break down of the run. Gebreselassie’s time at the bell (7:32.81), the 3000m point, was even a new UK All-comers record (7:36 the previous best). Yet even statistics as impressive as these cannot do justice to the sight of the world’s greatest distance runner back to full track fitness.
“I had had doubts before that maybe I was getting a little too old for this, but not after today,” said Gebrselassie modestly as ever.
Another legend back to his best tonight in Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena was Britain’s Olympic Triple Jump champion Jonathan Edwards, who couldn’t have hoped for a better start to his competition. Edwards produced a 17.44 leap in the first round, which established a new world season’s lead and the third best jump of his indoor competitive career. That performance immediately destroyed the event as a competition but certainly not as a spectacle of athletic brilliance.
European indoor and outdoor champion Christian Olsson of Sweden, the previous season’s leader (17.40) was never at the party with a best of 16.92 (fifth attempt) to finish in fourth place. The Swede seemed very much out of sorts by his usual illustrious standards. Second and third by virtue of sixth round attempts, were Brazil’s Jadel Gregorio (17.09) and USA’s Walter Davis (17.02), respectively.
There were to be other British athletes setting world season leads tonight. In the men’s 400m, there was a gun-to-tape victory by the reigning World Indoor champion Daniel Caines, who improved his own world season’s lead (45.81) to 45.75, via a simply but deadly executed run which killed off the field with real distinction.
The other Brit at the top of the world was Ashia Hansen in the women’s Triple Jump. The world indoor record holder who was returning from injury, jumped a winning 14.71 to lead the world in 2003. In second with 14.56 was Commonwealth silver medallist Francoise Mbango (CMR) who set two African records (14.49 the other), with the previous world leader Yamile Aldama of Cuba in third with 14.54. It was a high class competition with six women over 14 metres – 4th Inessa Kravets, 14.34, 5th Magdelin Martinez 14.31, Sarka Kasparkov 6th 14.09.
Double European Indoor champion Jason Gardener put all injury fears aside to blast to an impressive evening of 60m sprinting with two 6.49 second runs.
In the 60m heats, Gardener posted his injury free intent with a sizzling 6.49 win over Namibian Frank Fredericks (6.59) and USA’s Brian Lewis (6.62), in the first of the two races. The second qualification race wasn’t as spectacular in terms of times – Mark Lewis Francis (6.57) beating USA’s Ramon Clay (6.60) and Finland’s Markus Poyhonen (6.67) – but it was as dramatic, as it ended the evening’s hopes of European 100m champion Dwain Chambers who finished fifth (6.68).
“I have no idea what went wrong,” was the British number one’s response.
In the 60m final, Gardener was never headed, springing from his blocks very fluently to record a second evening clocking of 6.49. In second place was Clay (6.57) and third was Lewis Francis (6.59).
Unfortunately, the world season’s 60m leader USA’s Coby Miller, who has won the dash at the first two meets in the Energizer series was not competing tonight. What fireworks we might have witnessed had the American come across the Briton in this sort of form, we can only guess?
At the 200m, Marlon Devonish was also not going to be left out of the evening's British sprint celebrations, leading a home sweep over 200m, winning in 20.51 ahead of Olympic silver medallist Darren Campbell (20.83), and Christian Malcolm (21.08).
Not to be out done, Colin Jackson, coming quickly towards the end of his hurdling career, took a crowd pleasing win over the 60m Hurdles in 7.51. It was an improvement on his own season’s best (7.55) but still way off Terrence Trammell’s 7.42 World season’s best, not that the enthusiastic local crowd was worrying about that, as all they wanted was a win from the World Indoor and outdoor record holder.
The women’s 60m dash produced an impressive run from joint world season’s leader Zhanna Block, the World 100m champion. It was a win much on par with Gardener’s runs this evening in the men’s sprint. Block was not seriously challenged, her winning time of 7.18, 7/100ths of second ahead of the next best, Canada’s Philomena Mensah.
The two much publicized attempts at women’s middle distance records, by Jolanda Ceplak for a World record at 1000m (2:30.94) and Kelly Holmes for a British record at 1500m, never kept on course. Ceplak won in 2:38.02 but Holmes was not even that fortunate, finishing seventh (second Briton) in a time of 4:09.78. The latter was a high class 1500m, won by Lidia Chojecka in a Polish indoor record of 4:03.58, with Russia’s Natalya Gorelova (4:04.36) in second, and reigning World Indoor champion Hasna Benhassi of Morocco in third, 4:06.72.
Until the onslaught of Feofanova in the vault and to a much lesser extent Hansen in Triple Jump, the women’s High Jump had been vying as one of the highlights of the evening’s women’s programme. Sweden’s World Indoor champion from 2001 jumped an impressive 2.02 stadium record for the win, ahead of European Indoor champion Marina Kuptsova (1.99) and Italy’s Antonella Di Martino (1.96).
Cayman Island’s Cydonie Mothersill won the women’s 200m in 23.05, heading the reigning World Indoor champion Juliet Campbell of Jamaica, second in 23.20.
In the men’s 800m, Wilfred Bugei of Kenya won with a 1:45.81 performance, among those well beaten were Dutchman Bram Som (1:46.06) and South Africa’s Hezekiel Sepeng (1:46.10).
Full Results - www.energizer-euroseries.com/2003/
** original results of Two Miles were updated.
IAAF
