Kipketer and Mekkonen turn
up trumps
Chris Turner for the IAAF
20 February 2000 – Birmingham - Two stunning distance world performances were the highlights of the CGU Indoor Grand Prix, the Ricoh European Tour Final, here in Birmingham tonight.
In front of an 8000 capacity audience at the National Indoor Arena, the attempt by Halyu Mekkonen on the world two miles best performance, held since 1973 by Emil Puttemans (8:13.20mins), proved to be a spectacular race. The designated pace maker, Kenyan Sammy Langat took on the early work and was followed in close order by a phalanx of Ethiopians, Girma Tola, Milion Wolde and Mekkonen. Only Youseff Baba (MOR) and Kenya's Moses Kiptanui ever made even the slightest impression on the Ethiopian race plan.
At 1.25 miles (5:07) Langat's job was done and he made way for Tola to set the rest of the pace but by 1.5 miles (6:07) he also stepped aside and from that point on Mekkonen remained unchallenged in the lead going through 7:09 for 1.75miles and 7:38.39 for 3,000metres. Mekkonen remained strong right to the finish and crossed the line in a new world best performance of 8:09.66 mins, albeit a rarely run distance indoors or out in these more metric days.
Mekkonen, believes his future lies at the 5,000 metres, though his manager Jos Hermens commented that may be his talents might be even more supreme at 1500 metres. Whatever the future decision, Hermens made it clear that Mekkonen had "the talent of his countryman Haile Gebrselassie...Halyu was the next Haile", and after Mekkonen's performance tonight few would disagree.
World champion Wilson Kipketer returned to a UK track for the first time since 1993 and what a return he made! Running the 1000 metres at which he had already set a new world record mark of 2:15.25mins earlier this season, he was always confident of success.
"Even after only 400 metres I felt confident of breaking the world record tonight and the split at 600 metres (1:17.29mins) confirmed that to me", Kipketer commented at the post race press conference.
Robert Kibet (KEN) took the initial pace on and after passing 400 metres in 50.48secs, he handed the pace setting reins to Czech Roman Oravec who paced Kipketer from there on. 800 metres was passed in 1:46.30 minutes and after that Kipketer was clearly not going to let the record get way from him. As he crossed the finish line, the clock showed 2:14.96 and yet again this majestic Kenyan born Dane, who holds the indoor and outdoor world records for the 800 metres and is three times outdoor world 800 metres champion, showed the rest of the world that he is firmly still number one in the world at the middle distances below 1500 metres.
The men's 60 metres flat was won very comfortably by World Champion Maurice Greene in a fast 6.47 seconds dash. This time has only been bettered by Greene's own 6.45 this season, and was all the more applaudable a feat given the incredible number of false starts which took place in both the heats and final round of this event.
However, Greene's training colleague Inger Miller, the world outdoor 200 metres champion did not have it her own way in the women's 60 metres and was out sprinted by Canada's Philomena Mensah in a time of 7.11 seconds to Miller's 7.16 seconds.
Another world champion to suffer here tonight was Ivan Pedroso in the long jump who after fouling his first three efforts could only manage 7.96m and was soundly beaten by his main rival from last season, James Beckford (JAM). Beckford was the only jumper over eight metres with an 8.06 winning effort. This was all the better for Beckford as this was his first and last competition of the indoor season due to achilles problems and he was more than happy with his "test" this evening. "Today could not have been better" he commented.
There were plenty of other national and stadium records and also some season best results throughout the rest of the evening. Of these, in the women's 800 metres, Stephanie Graf stormed to a new German national record of 1:57.80 mins closely followed by Russia's Natalya Tsyganova (1:58.78).
Juliet Campbell took the womens' 200 metres in a stadium record of 22.70 seconds and in the pole vault an interesting battle saw a new South African record by Elmarie Gerryts (4.41m). Behind her Janine Whitlock set new British figures of 4.31m with two other women, Anzhela Balakhonova (UKR) and Austria's Doris Auer also over the same height.
The evening was finished off with a fast 3000 metres run by the Romanian Queen of the track Gabriela Szabo. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful in her bid for the world record but still got the stadium crowd to its feet with her gutsy attempt to pass the figures 8:33.82mins which Elly Van Hulst set way back in 1989. Szabo crossed the line in 8:35.42 minutes some what short of the record but then three world records in a night were even past the scope of this immensely successful evening of athletics at the CGU Indoor Grand Prix.
For results and more information see www.ricohtour.com
