News10 Sep 2008


Robles, Harper and Vlasic prevail in Zagreb - IAAF World Athletics Tour

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Dawn Harper winning in Zagreb (© Zagreb Organisers)

Zagreb, CroatiaFor Blanka Vlasic, there’s no place like home.

Just four days after watching $500,000 slip out of reach at the AF Golden League finale in Brussels, the World High Jump champion last night (Tue 9 Sep) once again defended home turf at the 58th Hanzekovic Memorial – IAAF World Athletics Tour – but it didn’t come without a bitter fight. And in the end, a somewhat confusing conclusion.

Vlasic, Chicherova scale 2.04m

Vlasic and Russian Anna Chicherova, the silver and bronze medalists in Beijing last month, were tied through two metres, each clearing on their first try. They each need a pair of jumps before success at 2.02, to break the meet record shared by Vlasic and Kajsa Bergqvist. The record fell again when Chicherova went clear on her third attempt at 2.04, a career best for the 26-year-old. With the pressure on, and the capacity crowd at the Sports Park Mladost behind her, Vlasic responded with a solid clearance. 2.06 proved to be much for both, requiring the jump-off.

After both failed at 2.06 and 2.04, Chicherova decided to call it a night, signing away her chance at victory. But the judges, apparently not familiar with how to handle a forfeit, didn’t end the competition. So Vlasic carried on, missing leaps until the bar was lowered to 1.98 (which she also missed), before the judges finally decided that the competition could end.

“I am extremely tired,” said Vlasic, the world leader at 2.06. “I’ve never jumped this much in a competition.”

On the positive side, she added, “I’ve never jumped so well this late in the season,” boding well for her upcoming appearance at the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart.

American Chaunte Howard was third with her second two metre clearance in three days.

Beijing champions Robles, Harper victorious

It wasn’t nearly as fast as many of his recent outings, but Olympic champion Dayron Robles’s victory in the 110m Hurdles was just as dominant as most. Clearly ahead by the second hurdle, the 21-year-old Cuban cruised to a 13.20 victory in the Boris Hanzekovic memorial race, a massive 0.46 seconds ahead of Jamaica’s Olympic finalist Richard Phillips.

“I won pretty easily today,” said Robles, who’s now won 13 of his 15 races this season. “It wasn’t too difficult at all.”

Olympic semi-finalist Petr Svoboda (13.67) was third.

With a much stronger field assembled, the women’s race was considerably closer. Olympic champion Dawn Harper and Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, the Beijing bronze medallist, were out quickest, with Harper building a small advantage by the fourth hurdle. Her momentum built over the next three barriers to gradually pull away from the Canadian but to her outside, Jamaican Delloreen Ennis-London was gaining. Ennis-London, the winning in Lausanne and Brussels, ran out room, leaving Harper with a convincing 12.65 win, 0.05 seconds ahead of the Jamaican.

“I would say yes, it probably was my best race since Beijing,” said Harper, who took her second consecutive victory in the four she’s contested post-Beijing. “When the pressure was one with me and Delloreen, I didn’t make too many mistakes.”

Lopes-Schliep was third in 12.86, well clear of American Damu Cherry (12.95) and Australia’s Olympic silver medallist Sally McLellan (13.02) well back in fifth.

Area Record for Moreno

Yipsi Moreno got the meeting off with a bang in the Hammer Throw. The 27-year-old Cuban reached 76.62, breaking her own Central American & Caribbean record. The Olympic silver medallist had just one legal throw, but, as she pointed out, it was a big one.

“I was very happy with the throw,” Moreno said. “If I threw like that in Beijing, I would have won the Olympic title,” she said. Her throw was the third farthest of the year, underscoring her position as the season’s most consistent thrower.

Beijing finalist Martina Danisova-Hrasnova of Slovakia, the 2002 World junior silver medallist, was second here with a 72.63 best, with World champion Betty Heidler of Germany third (71.82). Darya Pchelnik of Belarus threw 70.22 in the fourth round to take the fourth spot, with Croatian national record holder Ivana Brkljacic fifth (69.83).

Originally on the slate, Olympic champion Aksana Miankova of Belarus didn’t compete due to illness.

Campbell-Brown returns to action with confident 100m victory

Olympic 200m champion Veronica-Campbell Brown returned to the track for the first time since Beijing, and by all accounts was pleased with her 11.10 victory in the 100m

“A win is a win,” she said. “I wish I could have run a little bit faster, but overall I’m very pleased.”

Running virtually even with Torrie Edwards for the first 40 metres, Campbell-Brown began pulling away soon thereafter but while Edwards began to fade, Marshevet Hooker began accelerating, but it wasn’t nearly enough to catch the World champion. Hooker, fifth in the 200m in Beijing, stopped the clock in 11.19.

Plenty of quality elsewhere

Despite the event’s late date, there was plenty of quality throughout the programme.

The final event of the night saw an upset in the men’s Hammer Throw. Hungary’s Krisztian Pars took command early and never relented, eventually reaching 80.04m in the final round to defeat Slovenia’s Olympic champion Primoz Kozmus who threw 79.07 with his final attempt.

Olympic bronze medallist Tasha Danvers of Great Britain produced a solid victory in the 400m hurdles, reaching the line in 54.67, well ahead of quick-closing Tiffany Ross Williams (55.28). Russian Anastasiya Rabchenyuk was third (55.37).

Yusuf Saad Kamel’s post Olympic roll continued. After his 3:32.83 PB victory in Lausanne, the 800m ace said it would be his last 1500m of the year. Apparently Kamel, the former Kenyan Gregory Konchellah had a change of heart. With yet another solid homestretch performance, he won comfortably in 3:36.43, ahead of Kenyan Gideon Gathimba (3:37.05) and Demma Daba of Ethiopia (3:37.40).

Yarelis Barrios set the tone in the Discus Throw with her first round 64.98 effort, a meet record, and enough for the victory. Olympic champion Stephanie Brown Trafton of the U.S. was second with a 62.96m best, while Romanian Nicoleta Grasu, the former meet record holder, was third (61.88).

Australian Fabrice LaPierre was the lone jumper to soar beyond eight metres, taking the Long Jump with an 8.14m leap. It was a season’s best for the 24-year-old, and just shy of his 8.19 PB from 2006. Spaniard Luis Felipe Meliz was second with a 7.98m best.

American Matt Tegenkamp kicked past Kenyans Vincent Kiprop and Mike Kigen to take a decisive victory in the 3000m, clocking 7:40.90. Olympic relay gold medallist Nesta Carter won the 100m handily in 10.23, well ahead of American Rodney Martin and Jamaican Ainsley Waugh, who both stopped the clock in 10.41. Stephane Buckland took the 200m in 20.57, 0.20 ahead of Waugh, who doubled back over the half lap.

Russian Tatyana Firova took a comfortable victory in the 400m in 51.05, more than half a second clear of Jamaican Shereefa Lloyd (51.62), a 4x400m Relay bronze medallist from Beijing. After finishing fifth in the 100m (11.40), Carmelita Jeter cruised to victory in the 200m, clocking 22.97.

Beijing 800m fourth placer Svetlana Klyuka of Russia won the 1000m in 2:38.02, holding off Pole Anna Rostkowska (2:38.37). Jamaican Dorian Scott won the Shot Put (20.31) ahead of Pavel Lyzhyn (20.18) of Belarus.

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

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