News30 May 2009


Three meeting records fall in Belgrade

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Funmi Jimoh at the 2008 US Olympic Trials where she finished third. (© Getty Images)

Three new meeting records produced the highlights at the fourth Artur Takac Memorial in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Friday (29).

American Olympic finalist Funmi Jimoh dominated the Long Jump with her 6.72m effort, winning by 25cm over Russian Darya Klishina, who reached 6.47m. The 25-year-old Jimoh has shown good early season form, capped with her career best of 6.92m from Doha earlier this month, the year's second farthest leap.

Stephanie Twell, Great Britain's 2008 World junior champion in the 1500m, ran alone for much of the final kilometre in the 5000m en route to a 15:18.47 victory. It was a significant improvement for Twell, still 19, whose previous best was 15:47.53 from 2007.

Likewise Ebonie Floyd of the USA dominated the 200m in 23.25, also a new meet record. Floyd, 25, a former standout at the University of Houston, was a semi-finalist at last years US Olympic Trials.

Closing fast over the final 30 metres, Simeon Williamson of Great Britain edged American Rae Edwards in the 100m where both were clocked in 10.10, albeit wind-assisted (+3.0). Briton Craig Pickering was third (10.16).

Briton Andy Turner won the 110m Hurdles in 13.29w (+2.1), well ahead of American Dexter Faulk (13.44). Jenny Adams of the USA took the women's 100m Hurdles in 13.15.

The best performance in the men's field events came in the Shot Put where Canadian Dylan Armstrong, who was fourth at last year's Olympic Games, won with a 20.49m toss. Jamaican national record holder Dorian Scott was second and Russian Pavel Sofyin third, with 20.24m and 20.14 efforts respectively. For Sofyin, it was a season's best.

Kenyan Richard Kiplagat won the memorial 800m in 1:47.68 while his compatriots Edwin Kipkorir (13:20.67), Bernard Sang (13:21.65) and Bernard Kiplagat (13:21.84) led a top-seven sweep in the 5000m. All three ran personal bests.

2007 World Championships finalist Nataliya Semenova of Ukraine won the Discus Throw with a 61.72m throw and Hungarian Judit Varga cruised to a 4:12.39 victory in the 1500m.

The meeting is held to honour Artur Takac, who had a long and distinguished career with the IOC, IAAF and EAA. He went missing at the end of January 2004 during a family ski holiday in Kopaonik, the highest mountain in central Serbia. Although 86, Takac had been an expert ski enthusiast all his life, but in bad weather conditions, after riding a ski lift to the 2000m summit of Kopaonik, he failed to return.

His body was not found until June of the following year, and in July of 2005, he was given a VIP funeral in Belgrade attended by friends from several international and Serbian sporting organisations he had served with distinction.

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
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