World Indoor 3000m record smashed by Shobukhova on second day at Russian Indoor Champs

Moscow, RussiaThe women’s World indoor 3000m record of 8:29.15 set by Ethiopian Berhane Adere in 2002, was smashed yesterday (Fri 17) on the second day of the Russian Indoor Championships in the Vladimir Kuts Sports Hall in Moscow by 28-year-old Liliya Shobukhova who clocked 8:27.86*.

Shobukhova who won the European Cup 5000m last season, and had previous personal bests of 8:34.85 outdoors and 8:46.92 indoors for the distance, in the process of her World record run led home compatriot Olesya Syreva, who with a time of 8:29.00 for second was also under the previous World mark, which was set in Stuttgart on 3 February 2002.

As a bonus for setting the record Shobukhova was awarded a BMW motorcycle by the championships' sponsors.

3000m
1 Liliya Shobukhova RUS 8:27.86*
2 Olesya Syreva RUS 8:29.00
3 Olga Komyagina RUS  8:35.67

*World record pending to ratification

Splits:

200 m - 32.6
400m - 34.2
34.1
34.6
34.6
1km - 2.50.1
33.9
34.3
1500m - 4.15.1
34
34
2000m 5.40.5
2nd km - 2.50.4
34.4
34.4
34.4
34.1
30
8.27.86 - finish
3rd km -2.47.3

Shobukhova (born Shakbalova ) was born on the 13 November 1977 in the little town Belorezk in the Rupublic of Bashkortostan. She is married and in 2003 she gave birth to a daughter and with her husband Igor they decided to name the baby, Anna. Lylya graduated from the Pepagogical University in the city of Magnitogorsk and may work as the teacher of physiology. She is very fond of sewing, and is a collector of pottery and porcelain, and in every city she visits she always buys a mug or cup for her collection.

She started athletics at the age of ten and has always been trained by the married duo of coaches Tatyana and Yevgeniy Senchenko. In their little town Belorezk they have a flourishing athletic school mostly consisting of female athletes which also includes twice top-8 World Championship 10,000m finalist Galina Bogomolova, who was fourth at last October’s World Half Marathon Championships.
 
Ninth at the 2005 World Championships at 5000m (14:47.07 personal best), and 13th at the 2004 Olympic Games at the same distance, Shobukhova also has a world class personal best at 1500m of 4:03.78 (2004).

Prior to her race yesterday, Shobukhova had run three other races in 2006. She began her season on 7 January with a 2000m (5:45.05 - Yekaterinburg), and next raced when clocking 2:39.81 for 1000m (25 Jan – Moscow). The two days ago (16 Feb) she won her heat at the Russian Championships with a 9:21.18 performance which hardly gave a hint of the World record surprise that was to occur the following day.

Rostislav Orlov and Nickolai Dolgopolov for the IAAF