There was a lot of remeasuring to do for World outdoor champion and indoor season leader Blanka Vlasic to do this morning. Vlasic who has an indoor season’s best of 2.05m and has been the pre-eminent high jumper of the last year, had to get her tape measure out a few extra times when her approach marks to the bar were moved on a couple of occasions. Seemingly unsettled, the Croatian after successfully negotiating her opening 1.86m height had a first time failure at 1.93m, before sailing over on the second approach to the bar, and then making the automatic height of 1.96 again with ease.
In all six women successfully took the guaranteed path into tomorrow’s final. Most surprising was Kazakh Marina Aitova, who equalled her personal best with a first time clearance at 1.96m, which topped out similarly smooth successes at four earlier heights.
Not to be outdone, Spain’s Ruth Beitia who took the World Indoor bronze in 2006, matched Aitova’s five height spree to jointly top out this preliminary round.
Olympic champion and for this weekend’s sake more importantly, reigning World indoor champion Yelena Slesarenko of Russia was smooth in her competition with one hiccup like Vlasic at 1.93m. Remember the Russia and Croat’s battle in Moscow 2006 was one of the highlights of the last edition of these championships.
This season’s greatest elite improver Germany’s Ariane Friedrich, who has a new PB of 2.02m from Weinheim on 27 February (behind Vlasic’s 2.05m world lead), was also automatically into the final with a first time flight over 1.96m. Ukraine’s Vita Palamar also cleared 1.96m but her success was more fraught with three tries required.
Iva Strakova (CZE), Yekaterina Savchencko (RUS) and Antonietta Di Martino (ITA) make up the start list for the final.
Yesterday’s Pentathlon gold medallist Tia Hellebaut was an understandable non-starter today, while there was a disappointment for Sweden’s Emma Green who with 1.86m was not in form. The World outdoor bronze medallist of 2005 had set an indoor PB of 1.98m in her last competition (Malmö, 23 Feb).
Joy, though tempered by non-qualification, came for Mexico’s Romary Rifka, 34, whose 1.97m was a national record.
Chris Turner of IAAF
