News29 Jan 2005


Holmes wins, Holm loses, and Russians in World record form in Glasgow

FacebookTwitterEmail

Aleksey Dmitrik (RUS) (© Getty Images)

Glasgow, UKAfter months on the celebrity circuit, winning hearts and basking in the acolades that come with being a double Olympic champion, Kelly Holmes proved today that she can still win where it matters most – on the track. Holmes sent 4000 fans home with grins almost as wide as her own by striding to victory on the last lap of her 1500m at the Norwich Union International - Great Britain, France, Italy, Sweden and Russia match - at Kelvin Hall.

“I enjoyed getting back to racing today,” said Dame Kelly. “The crowd here were fantastic.”

But while one Olympic champion was getting back to winning ways, another – Holmes’ near namesake, Stefan Holm – was suffering his first defeat since the IAAF World Athletics Final on 14 September 2003 in a magnificent men’s High Jump competition won by the 20 year-old Russian Aleksey Dmitrik who set two personal bests to beat the Swede.

There was also a slice of World record magic too with the Russian women’s 4x200m improving on a time which had been shared by two German club teams, and had stood firm since 1999.

Holmes lives up to top billing

Holmes’ return to the track inevitably took top billing at the five-way match, and her event was scheduled last on the timetable to ensure maximum impact for the spectators and TV. Holmes, who admitted to being unsure of her fitness, set off conservatively, adopting her Athens tactics of shadowing the field from the back. The leaders (Russia’s Svetlana Cherkasova and Italy’s Eleonora Berlanda) cruised through 400m in 1:09.52 and 800m in 2:10.65.

Holmes made her move at 1200m (sound familiar?), but Cherkasova and Berlanda attacked down the back straight. Holmes wasn’t going to have it all her own way, but the Briton kicked again over the last 100m to win by five metres in 4:14.74, prompting ear-piercing screams from her delirious fans. France’s Hind Dehiba came through for second in 4:15.29, while Cherkasova was third in 4:15.79. All six ran inside 4:20.

“The time did not count today,” said Holmes. “The aim was not to disgrace myself. I was not nervous of the race, I was more nervous of the crowd.”

Afterwards Holmes refused to commit herself to the European Indoor Championships in Madrid at the beginning of March, saying, “I’ve had an amazing response since the Olympics which makes me want to run but I’m not making any comments on the future yet.”

High Jump was the pick of the programme

Holmes’ event may have been the highlight of the meeting for the home fans but in pure athletics terms the men’s High Jump was the pick of the bunch with the best three jumpers clearing 2.32m. Holm, Olympic champion and unbeaten in 2004, was the clear favourite, but he was pushed into second place by Dmitrik when he could clear 2.29m only on his second attempt. Italy’s Alessandro Talotti also cleared that height, with his third.

Holm then took two to take 2.32, while both his rivals needed three – a personal best for the young Russian and an Italian record for Talotti. Talotti could go no higher, and Holm, in his first event of the year, also narrowly failed at 2.34. But Dmitrik was in fantastic form and cleared on his third attempt for his second PB of the day. That effort was even more remarkable given that hundreds of children had already invaded the track to get close to Holmes the heroine, making full concentration almost impossible. Dmitrik took one attempt at 2.36, but wasn’t close.

“I love the spectators, they were brilliant,” said the delighted Dmitrik afterwards. “And I love the surface, it suited me. This is only my second meeting and to get two personal bests was excellent. I just think it was my day.”

Holm was philosophical in the face of defeat: “2.32m is my best season debut ever, so I was happy with my result, but it’s hard to lose,” he said. “You never know – I didn’t think Aleksey was going to clear 2.34 but I didn’t expect to clear 2.32 either.”

As to whether the Russians have found a new High Jump star, Holm said only, “We’ll see what happens in the coming weeks.”

Gardener - sluggish but winning start to 2005

Olympic relay champion Jason Gardener had a winning start to the season – running both an invitation and the match 60m races just 45 minutes apart. He posted times of 6.61 and 6.63, the latter time coming after a sluggish start for the world indoor champion.

“The time may not have been the standard you expect but that will come in due course,” said Gardener. “This has just been a good day’s work for me. It’s my first race since the Olympics and I’m just pleased to be running again.”

Gardener is aiming to retain his European Indoor title in Madrid in March, but also has his eyes on Maurice Greene’s World Indoor record, 6.39. “I need more races to get super fit,” he said. “I know the work I have done will bring the speed in time.”

World lead for Kallur

Sweden’s Susanna Kallur seems to have speed in her legs already. She set the best time in the world this year to win the women’s 60m Hurdles. Kallur recovered from a sluggish start to clock 7.95, just two hundredths ahead of Russia’s Irina Shevchenko who had held the previous year best.

“I know the season is only a week old but still that’s a very good start for me,“ said the Swede.

World 4x200m record!

First among many top performances from Russian athletes – who won the match by 15 points from Great Britain – was their women’s 4x200m quartet. The foursome of Yekaterina Kondratyeva, Irina Khabarova, Yuliya Pechonkina and Julia Gushchina set a World record of 1:32.41, worth $30,000. Sweden set a national record of 1:34.89 in second.

World Indoor champion Igor Pavlov won the men’s Pole Vault with 5.65m, then passed 5.70 to fail three times at 5.75m; and Olympic bronze medallist Danila Burkenya won the men’s Triple Jump with 16.87m before announcing that he will not compete in Madrid.

The women were even more impressive: Natalya Ivanova got some speed training for her main event, the 400m, by winning the 200m in 23.42; Olesya Krasnomovets won the 400m in 52.02; Larisa Zhao cruised to victory in the 800m (2:02.56) while “conserving energy for the Russian championships”; and Anastasia Ilyina won the Long Jump with 6.55m, beating Britain’s Olympic finallist Jade Johnson.

Johnson ended her competition receiving treatment for a back injury but her teammate Joice Maduaka had a better day, winning the women’s 60m in 7.23 ahead of Russia’s Olga Fedorova.

Matthew Brown for the IAAF

Click here for FULL RESULTS

Pages related to this article
Disciplines
Loading...