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News27 Jan 2013


Lavillenie 5.92m in Rouen, Rupp 3:50.92 Mile in Boston

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Renaud Lavillenie (© Getty Images)

There was a selection of fine performances on both sides of the Atlantic at indoor meetings in Europe and the USA on Saturday (26), notably London 2012 Olympic Games Pole Vault winner Renaud Lavillenie hitting the heights with a 5.92m clearance in Rouen, France.

After his world-leading leap, on his third attempt, Lavillenie unsuccessfully attempted 6.00m at the Elite Perche Tour meeting. Germany’s Olympic bronze medallist Raphael Holzdeppe was second with 5.82m while his compatriot Kristina Gadschiew won the women’s competition with 4.50m.

Olympic finalist Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast broke her own national 60m record with a world-leading 7.00 in Houston, Texas.

Another world-leading mark fell to Cuban sprinter Yunier Perez, who flew to a 60m time of 6.53 in the Spanish city of Valencia.

There was a very fast 3:50.92 Mile by Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Galen Rupp at the Terrier Invitational meeting in Boston. It was more than five seconds quicker than he had ever run before, indoors or outdoors, and he becomes the fifth-fastest man ever over the distance indoors.

Trinidad's Lalonde Gordon, the Olympic 400m bronze medallist, clocked 20.60 in the 200m at the same meeting while Jamaica’s Trish-Ann Hawthorne clocked 7.28 and 23.11 in women sprints, with both 200m marks also being world-leading times.

Fast Floyd

US sprinter Ebonie Floyd added to the plethora of outstanding times on American soil on Saturday when she ran 400m in 51.82 in the 400m at the Texas AM Mondo Challenge in College Station, Texas.

In the 200m, Jessica Beard took the honours in 23.45 with Floyd second in 23.50 while Tabarie Henry, from US Virgin Islands, won the 400m in 46.30, just ahead of ahead of Quentin Summers who was second in 46.34.

Mary Cain became the fastest-ever American female high school miler when she clocked a stunning 4:32.78 at the 18th New Balance Games in New York.

Cain, still 16, who is coached by Mo Farah’s mentor Alberto Salazar, broke Debbie Heald‘s 41 year-old mark of 4:38.5 set in 1972. It was also the fastest ever performance indoors by a youth athlete.

She finished sixth at the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships and is still young enough to compete at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine, this summer; where she will be among the favourites for a 1500m medal.

Phil Minshull for the IAAF