Jason Gardener wins the 60m in Birmingham (© Getty Images)
Jason Gardener’s fourth European sprint title and a stunning 8.30m leap from Andrew Howe in the men’s Long Jump were the undoubted highlights of the men’s events on the final day of the 29th European Indoor Championships in the National Indoor Arena.
“I always believed in what I could do”
Not even the disqualification of team-mate Ryan Scott who went out on the second false start could diminish the joy for the home crowd when Jason Gardener, the victor from Gent (2000), Vienna (2002), and Madrid (2005), powered to his fourth consecutive European Indoor 60m sprint title.
In 2003, Gardener had finished with the bronze medal in this stadium when the World Championships had been contested, and though he achieved the global gold the following year when those same championships were held in Budapest, Hungary, there is little doubt that he will see this afternoon’s continental crown as the highlight of his indoor career.
“I feel fantastic,” enthused a delighted Gardener, 31. “You don't know how much this means to me. I needed to dig deep to win that one, but I've got a wealth of experience and I've been pushing really hard in training.”
“I've been through a tough time recently. It means so much to me with the difficult season I've had, but I trusted in myself and always believed in what I could do.”
Gardener’s Bath team-mate Craig Pickering, 20, the 2005 European Junior 100m champion, did more than make up the numbers in the final by taking the silver medal in 6.59 seconds, with France’s European record holder completing the podium with a 6.60 run.
6.57 had been Gardener’s previous best time of this season which he set when winning at the IAAF permit meeting in this stadium on 17 February, and so his impressive improvement to 6.51 today was the mark of a real championship performer. Whether the Olympic 4x100m gold medallist who has a personal best at 100m of 9.98 (1999) will ever be able to replicate his awesome indoor ability outdoors at the longer sprint remains a question but I doubt Gardener will be too worried about that presently.
Okken employs tactics perfectly
Arnoud Okken carved out a ‘gun to tape’ victory in the 800m. Despite looking confident and calm throughout the earlier rounds in Birmingham, when Okken came up against Spain’s Miguel Quesada in the final, this writer at least believed that the Dutchman would be upstaged by what had looked a better racer.
It just proves how wrong one can be!
In an immaculately taken race, Okken took to the front from the start and was never headed. Quesada did make a lunge at the line in a desperate bid to head Okken but by the time the Spaniard's dip finish was fully executed the 24-year-old had already raised arms to salute victory in front of him.
The times were nothing to write home about but then no one in Holland is going to mind that as, with Bram Som’s victory last summer in Gothenburg, they now hold the continental titles indoors and out. Okken’s gold today was achieved in 1:47.92, Quesada was second, 1:47.96, and Italy’s Maurizio Bobbato was the surprise bronze medallist in a PB of 1:48.71.
“My plan was to take the lead and keep away from any trouble. Fortunately, I managed to do this,” said Okken.
The riches of the 1500m Spanish Main
A three-man Spanish flotilla set out for conquest in the men’s 1500m, and returned laden with treasure - the gold, the silver and the bronze medals. Juan Carlos Higuero (3:44.41), Sergio Gallarado (3:44.51), Arturo Casada (3:44.73) left their six opponents with little hope of success. When the bell sounded they had come together in a wide formation at the front something which made any hope of a passing move, unless a diversion was made as far out as lane three, impossible.
In any case, as the three red vested runners ploughed down the back straight for the last time they easily opened-up a large advantage so that no true challenge was ever in the position to be attempted, let alone successfully executed. So the three Spaniards sailed clear to a medal sweep, the first by their country at this distance in the history of these championships.
Swedish favourites dominate
Reigning champion Stefan Holm and his Swedish compatriot Linus Thörnblad who sailed over the lofty height of 2.38m in the last fortnight, showed clearly they were a class apart from the rest in the High Jump.
Success at the second time of asking at 2.34m gave the Olympic champion the gold, as Thörnblad, the World Indoor bronze medallist who had cleared 2.32m on his second attempt in comparison to Holm’s three tries, could not manage the extra 2cm.
The surprise of the day was Britain’s Martyn Bernard, 22, the 2005 World Student Games bronze medallist, who had improved his personal best in the qualification from 2.26 to 2.30m, and came within 1cm of that height today. He also had exceptionally close misses at 2.32m.
But there was no arguing that this was Sweden’s competition. Holm, who has now achieved 2.30 or higher in 104 competitions during his career wasn’t going to waste time playing about with anything other than perfection after his victory. He headed immediately to 2.41m which would have matched Patrik Sjöberg’s national record. None of his efforts came close but the crowd appreciated his athletic candor and it can’t be long before Holm who took this title in 2005 with 2.40m will reach and surpass that level.
“I took it too easily, which resulted in my earlier failures,” said Holm, but “when it got to 2.32 I seemed to switch on and got back in the zone.”
Howe leaps to 8.30m European lead
The Long Jump was heading towards mediocrity until the fifth round when Italy’s Andrew Howe showed why he is already European outdoor champion. The 21-year-old landed an 8.30m effort which improved his indoor PB from 8.19 (2006), and the national record of Giovanni Evangelisti (8.26m) which had been set in the 1987 edition of these championships.
Howe, the World Indoor Championship bronze medallist, hadn’t originally intended to compete at these championships coming here “to have fun”, believing it would be “better than staying at home”! Good decision!
The only other 8m jumps of the day came from Greece’s silver medallist Louis Tsátoumas, (8.02 – 4th round), and third placer Salim Sdiri of France (8.00m – 5th).
“I can't wait for the outdoor season,” said Howe. “This just shows what I'm capable of.”
An appealing end to the championships for the host squad
As per tradition the men’s 4x400m Relay ended proceedings on the track, and - after an appeal was lodged by the Russians, which resulted in the original winners Germany (3:06.26) being disqualified after their anchor leg runner collided with Russia’s final runner when attempting to pass on the final bend - Britain were promoted to gold (3:07.04), Russia to the silver (3:08.10) and Poland the bronze (3:08.14).
Click here to read earlier story about Sebrle's win in the Heptathlon
Chris Turner for the IAAF
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