Cloete hijacks Sweden’s jumping gala with 2.01m

A 2.01m stadium record in the women's High Jump by South Africa's Hestrie Cloete was the pick of a solidly entertaining 37th DN Galan – IAAF Super Grand Prix – meeting in the sold-out 1912 Olympic stadium.

There were also two world season leads. Stephen Cherono improving his own Steeplechase time, and Mutola establishing a women’s 1000m best.

The women’s High Jump saw the unexpected defeat of Sweden's Kajsa Bergqvist, who cleared 2.06m just over a week ago but could go no better than 1.96m this evening. Cloete’s winning 2.01m was the undoubted highlight of the evening, even if the local supporters may not have agreed, providing this year’s meeting with its only stadium record.

The $10,000 diamond which is presented to all stadium record breakers at this meeting further rubbed in the crowd’s disappointment at the failure of their local heroine because it was Bergqvist’s record (2.00m) which the South African bettered with her first attempt.

Nothing could disguise Cloete’s brilliance, as she cleared all her six heights up to and including 2.01m on her first attempts. This is one reigning World champion who is very much ready to defend her title.

Isinbayeva consistent

Not in world record form, but certainly in a similarly consistent groove to Cloete was Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia, who won the women’s Pole Vault with 4.63m. Clear first time at 4.33m, 4.43m, 4.53m, and 4.63m, it was only at 4.79m that she finally came unstuck.

Soundly defeated by Isinbayeva, was a field which contained all the Russian’s main challengers for the World Championships gold in Paris later this month. In second place on 4.58m was World Indoor champion Svetlana Feofanova, who beat Tatiana Polnova on count back at the same height, to establish a Russian 1-2-3 finish in the event. USA’s World and Olympic champion Stacy Dragila was well beaten in 7th with 4.43m.

Cherono improves world lead

Stephen Cherono, the world leader this season in both the men’s 3000m steeplechase (8:05.68) and the flat 5000m (12:48.81), was challenged hard by Paul Koech around the final 400m of tonight’s steeplechase. While the sprint finish of the man who had beaten Hicham El Guerrouj over 5000m in Ostrava in June was never really in doubt, Cherono looked momentarily vulnerable as he checked his stride coming into the final barrier. But he quickly regained his composure, clearing the obstacle cleanly, and finished just ahead of his challenger in 8:04.75 – an improvement of his season’s best. Koech finished second in 8:05.28.

Gatlin guns down slow starting Montgomery

World 100m record holder Tim Montgomery, who at yesterday’s press conference had been praising his month long coaching relationship with Dan Pfaff, will probably be keen to get right back to the training track after tonight’s disastrous outing. That should really read “outings” because Montgomery was extremely lucky to make it to the final tonight after finishing the qualifying round as the equal slowest qualifier from the two heats (10.39).

In the final, Montgomery seemed to fall asleep in his blocks. Never in contention, the fastest man in the world finished in a mediocre 10.37 seconds.

Up front, World Indoor 60m champion Justin Gatlin, who unlike the world record holder did not qualify for the US team for Paris, took an excellent 10.15 victory into a strong head wind (-2.4m/s), beating fellow American Joshua Johnson (10.22), and Nigeria’s World Cup winner Uchenna Emedolu (10.26).

If Montgomery’s World championship ambitions were dented tonight, then the opposite was the case in the women’s 100m, where France’s resurgent Christine Arron, the European women’s 100m record holder (10.73 in 1998), soundly beat World champion Zhanna Block - who was a sluggish fourth (11.34) – and Americans Chryste Gaines (2nd 11.13) and Torri Edwards (3rd 11.25).

Double world cross country short course champion Edith Masai powered to an impressive win in the women’s 5000m (14:50.60), beating fellow Kenyan and World championships 5000m team member Isabella Ochichi (14:53.51), and former Kenyan Lornah Kiplagat (14:56.43), who is now qualified to compete for the Netherlands.

The men’s 5000m provided a genuine Kenyan podium sweep, with World junior record holder Eluid Kipchoge unleashing a devastating burst in the final 200 metres to just miss a sub 13 minute clocking. He finished in 13:00.63 ahead of compatriot Leonard Mucheru (13:02.44) and Albert Chepkurui (13:04.20).

Foster untroubled

World season leader (12.45) Brigitte Foster of Jamaica was never troubled in tonight’s women’s 100m Hurdles, taking a solid win in 12.79 from two Americans, Donica Merriman (12.89) and Melissa Morrison (12.91). With seven wins from nine starts this season – and two second place finishes in Lausanne and Paris behind three time world champion Gail Devers – Foster seems a sure bet for a podium finish at the World Championships later this month.

Also running in lane four, World 110m hurdles champion Allen Johnson got a shock from Duane Ross, who was leading coming off the penultimate set of barriers. Johnson then applied the gas and with a remarkable pick up of speed caught Ross by the line for a win in 13.33 seconds (-0.8m/s). Ross in second clocked 13.37, with Chris Phillips in 13.43, completing a USA sweep.

There was a close home straight battle between the Kenyans Joseph Mutua and Michael Rotich, and Russia’s Yuriy Borzakovskiy in the men’s 800m. Mutua, the Commonwealth silver medallist took the victory (1:45.64), ahead of the Russian (1:45.89) and his Kenyan compatriot (1:45.95).

Mutola - 1000m season's best

By contrast there was nothing close about Maria Mutola’s 1000m win in the 2:33.15, as Mozambique’s World and Olympic 800m champion produced a typically gutsy run, to finish more than two seconds ahead of Bulgaria’s Neja Neorandna (2:35.56). Mutola’s time was a world season’s best in this seldom run event.

The men’s 1500m was taken in confident fashion by Bernard Lagat (3:32.99), although he was closely stalked all the way down the homestraight by fellow Kenyans Alex Kipchirchir (2nd 3:33.40) and Cornelius Chirchir (4th 3:34.05), with a late finishing charge by Isaac Songok, also of Kenya, taking third (3:33.74).

Germaine Mason of Jamaica, the World junior bronze medallist, took a marvellous 2.32m win in the men’s High Jump, his third national record of the summer having previously cleared 2.30m (Belem 4 May) and 2.31m (Rome 11 July).

Mason did not make it easy for himself, taking three tries before clearing 2.20m but then had first time successes at 2.24m and 2.27m, before triumphing on his third jump at 2.32m. Double World Indoor champion Stefan Holm of Sweden who had been in the lead before that height with a first time leap to his credit at 2.30m – a height which Mason passed – failed at 2.32m to the disappointment of the capacity 15,549 strong crowd, who had already been subdued by Bergqvist’s demise.

Thankfully, they did have something to cheer when another of Sweden’s stars, European Heptathlon champion Carolina Klüft successfully took on the individual event specialists in the women’s Long Jump. Winning with a leap of 6.59m, the 20 year-old Swede’s victory, while fine for a combined eventer further emphasised the present parlous state of this event.

A more significant win for Sweden came in the men’s Triple Jump, as another of their current stash of athletics diamonds, European and World Indoor champion Christian Olsson defeated World record holder Jonathan Edwards of Britain – 17.36 to 17.14m. Splitting the famous duo with 17.34m was Romania’s Marian Oprea.

Boris Henry of Germany took the men’s Javelin with a third round 85.26m release, to beat Russia’s Aleksandr Ivanov’s first round 85.01m lead.

Derek Brew of the USA won the men’s 400m in 45.28, catching a fading Eric Milazar (MRI) in the last 50 metres. Brandon Simpson (USA) was second with 45.62, while early leader Milazar hung on for third in 45.72.

IAAF