Sergio Sánchez continues his hot 2010 season with a European indoor 3000m record in Valencia (© Julio Fontán)
Valencia, SpainTo the delightbut not surprise - of the home crowd Spain’s Sergio Sánchez produced the vintage performance at today’s ‘Reunión Internacional Ciudad de Valencia’ – the sixth leg of the current IAAF Indoor Permit meeting series – held at the stadium which hosted the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships two years ago.
Vested in a F.C. Barcelona T-shirt the local athlete grabbed an emphatic 3000 win breaking the European 3000m indoor record in the process thanks to a 7:32.41 clocking to better fellow Spaniard Alberto García’s previous time of 7:32.98. With the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha to be held exactly in one month (12/14 March) the Ciñera de Gordón-born rising star propels himself into the medal picture as he moved up to the No. four spot on this season’s world list.
Fast closing 1000m was the key
In the absence of Kenya’s world season’s leader Augustine Choge, Sánchez became the overwhelming favourite of the men’s classy 3000m and immediately from the gun the 27-year-old exhibited his determination to fulfill his target as he closely followed the pace set by the rabbits.
It was firstly Argentinean Javier Carriqueo who went through the 400m point under 1:00 but the rhythm decreased slightly over the following laps and Sánchez clocked a slower than scheduled 2:32.10 for the first kilometre, running in fourth behind the two pacemakers and Kenya’s Olympic 3000m Steeplechase champion Brimin Kipruto.
Jonas Cheruiyot, also of Kenya, was the man in charge of leading Sánchez through the 2000m point in 5:00 but he simply proved not to be able to reach that goal and two laps after the halfway point - crossed well behind schedule in 3:49 which forced Sánchez to cover the second 1500 in 3:43 – Sánchez decided to run on his own going through the 2000m mark in 5:06.73.
From that point onwards the 2009 European 3000m indoor and cross country fourth placer found another gear, opened full gas and started to cover the 200m sections in the 29-30s range. At the bell the scoreboard indicated an uncertain 7:05 and so the question on everyone’s lips turned to: would Sánchez be able to inject an even brisker pace to dip under 28s over the last lap? The answer was clearly yes, as he lowered the European all-time best by 0.57 seconds and finishing more than 10 seconds ahead of Kipruto, who was the runner-up with a PB 7:42.99. Morocco’s Mohamed Moustaoui finished third with 7:45.43, also a career best, narrowly clear of Spain’s reigning European 5000m champion Jesús España, 7:45.60. Sánchez covered the final kilometre in 2:25.68.
“Since I clocked 4:52.90 for the 2000m, I knew I had the record in my legs,” the ecstatic victor declared. “I tried to have a nap today but I just could not sleep a bit since I felt my heart beating against the mattress! I was fully aware that I was well-behind schedule with 1000m to go so I’m especially happy as only a few people in the stadium expected then I was able to bounce back and break the record.”
Sánchez’s next outing will be at the national championships also in Valencia in two weeks time (27/28 February).
Kenyan sweep in the men’s 1500m
The powerful Kenyan armada assembled in the 1500m proved to be unattainable for the top Spaniards gathered in Seville. Following fast splits of 55.81 (400m) and 1:54.88 (800m) Kenya’s World Junior record holder William Biwott, still a 19-year-old, took command of the race to lead to win in 3:35.86, ahead of Gideon Gathimba (3:36.54) and Geoffrey Rono (3:37.18), all career bests. The leading European was France’s reigning Olympic 3000m steeplechase silver medallist Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad thanks to a 3:37.52 time ahead of the Spanish duo of Diego Ruiz (3:37.86), the reigning European indoor silver medallist, and Álvaro Rodríguez (3:38.80). Juan Carlos Higuero, the 31-year-old Spaniard bronze medallist from the Valencia Worlds had an under par performance to come a distant 11th in 3:42.77.
Fine middle distance wins for Borzakovskiy (1:46.54) and Ejdys (4:07.17)
Despite the good work done by the pacesetter (51.45 for 400m) the much-awaited men’s 800m didn’t produce the kind of times expected. Loyal to his tactics, Russia’s Yuriy Borzakovskiy ran in last place at the midway point, but he moved to the forefront before the bell and kept Poland’s Adam Kscztot and Germany’s Robin Schembera at bay to romp home in 1:46.54, ahead of the Pole’s 1:46.61 and the German’s 1:46.73.
Spain’s current European indoor champion Luis Alberto Marco managed a PB of 1:47.13 to take fourth ahead of the Kenyan pair of Richard Kiplagat (1:47.24) and Olympic 1500m silver medallist Asbel Kiprop who clocked 1:47.45 in his second-ever 800m race on the boards.
The women’s 1500m suffered the late withdrawal of the hot favourite in the guise of Natalia Rodríguez. Reportedly, the 30-year-old Spaniard caught the flu earlier in the week and was forced to miss her awaited assault on the world leading performance on her path to the Doha Worlds. Instead, the event became a Polish party as Sylwia Ejdys took a commanding win in a PB of 4:07.17 to get the better of her countrywoman Renata Plis, who also clocked a career best of 4:09.85 marginally ahead of Portugal’s European XC 2008 silver medallist Jessica Augusto (PB of 4:09.91) while Poland’s Lidia Chojecka improved her season best to 4:10.36 in fourth.
Méliz succeeds in deep Long Jump
On an under-par Long Jump world season so far Spain’s Luis Felipe Méliz produced the second furthest leap of 2010 by virtue of a 8.07m second jump. The Cuba-born Beijing Olympics 7th place finisher bettered his former compatriot Wilfredo Martínez, author of a 8.03m opening round effort while it’s worth mentioning the Spanish U-20 indoor record set by the 18-yea-old Eusebio Cáceres who leapt 8.02m also in round one, the same measure reached by Morocco’s Yahya Berrabah. The 37-year-old former World and Olympic champion Ivan Pedroso of Cuba was back on track for the first time since the Pan American Games in July 2007 but had to settle for a best leap of 7.35m.
Elsewhere...
In the women’s Long Jump Spain’s 2007 European indoor silver medallist Concha Montaner produced a final-round effort of 6.32m to better Cuba’s Josleini Corbacho’s 6.25m leap. Germany’s Carolin Hingst grabbed a count-back win in the Pole Vault thanks to a 4.51 first-time clearance ahead of Jirina Ptacnikova of The Czech Republic who vaulted that height on her second try.
Morocco’s Olympic 800m bronze medallist Hasna Benhassi kicked off her indoor campaign successfully with an easy 2:01.87 win to get the better of Spain’s Élian Périz, runner-up in a PB of 2:03.52. The victory in the High Jump went to Spain’s Ruth Beitia who had a second-time 1.94m clearance before failing three times (none of them close) over 2.00m. She won on count-back from Chaunté Howard-Lowe while Estonia’s Anna Iljustsenko finished third with 1.90m.
The men’s 60m went to Churandy Martina of The Netherlands Antilles in 6.62 while Italy’s Simone Collio was given the same time for the runner-up spot, well ahead Nigeria’s reigning World 60m champion Olujosi Fasuba. The hurdles contest witnessed the win of Cuba’s Dayron Capetillo in 7.69, a tenth of a second clear of Spain’s Felipe Vivancos with Tyrone Akins of the US in third timed at 7.80.
Emeterio Valiente for the IAAF
Vested in a F.C. Barcelona T-shirt the local athlete grabbed an emphatic 3000 win breaking the European 3000m indoor record in the process thanks to a 7:32.41 clocking to better fellow Spaniard Alberto García’s previous time of 7:32.98. With the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha to be held exactly in one month (12/14 March) the Ciñera de Gordón-born rising star propels himself into the medal picture as he moved up to the No. four spot on this season’s world list.
Fast closing 1000m was the key
In the absence of Kenya’s world season’s leader Augustine Choge, Sánchez became the overwhelming favourite of the men’s classy 3000m and immediately from the gun the 27-year-old exhibited his determination to fulfill his target as he closely followed the pace set by the rabbits.
It was firstly Argentinean Javier Carriqueo who went through the 400m point under 1:00 but the rhythm decreased slightly over the following laps and Sánchez clocked a slower than scheduled 2:32.10 for the first kilometre, running in fourth behind the two pacemakers and Kenya’s Olympic 3000m Steeplechase champion Brimin Kipruto.
Jonas Cheruiyot, also of Kenya, was the man in charge of leading Sánchez through the 2000m point in 5:00 but he simply proved not to be able to reach that goal and two laps after the halfway point - crossed well behind schedule in 3:49 which forced Sánchez to cover the second 1500 in 3:43 – Sánchez decided to run on his own going through the 2000m mark in 5:06.73.
From that point onwards the 2009 European 3000m indoor and cross country fourth placer found another gear, opened full gas and started to cover the 200m sections in the 29-30s range. At the bell the scoreboard indicated an uncertain 7:05 and so the question on everyone’s lips turned to: would Sánchez be able to inject an even brisker pace to dip under 28s over the last lap? The answer was clearly yes, as he lowered the European all-time best by 0.57 seconds and finishing more than 10 seconds ahead of Kipruto, who was the runner-up with a PB 7:42.99. Morocco’s Mohamed Moustaoui finished third with 7:45.43, also a career best, narrowly clear of Spain’s reigning European 5000m champion Jesús España, 7:45.60. Sánchez covered the final kilometre in 2:25.68.
“Since I clocked 4:52.90 for the 2000m, I knew I had the record in my legs,” the ecstatic victor declared. “I tried to have a nap today but I just could not sleep a bit since I felt my heart beating against the mattress! I was fully aware that I was well-behind schedule with 1000m to go so I’m especially happy as only a few people in the stadium expected then I was able to bounce back and break the record.”
Sánchez’s next outing will be at the national championships also in Valencia in two weeks time (27/28 February).
Kenyan sweep in the men’s 1500m
The powerful Kenyan armada assembled in the 1500m proved to be unattainable for the top Spaniards gathered in Seville. Following fast splits of 55.81 (400m) and 1:54.88 (800m) Kenya’s World Junior record holder William Biwott, still a 19-year-old, took command of the race to lead to win in 3:35.86, ahead of Gideon Gathimba (3:36.54) and Geoffrey Rono (3:37.18), all career bests. The leading European was France’s reigning Olympic 3000m steeplechase silver medallist Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad thanks to a 3:37.52 time ahead of the Spanish duo of Diego Ruiz (3:37.86), the reigning European indoor silver medallist, and Álvaro Rodríguez (3:38.80). Juan Carlos Higuero, the 31-year-old Spaniard bronze medallist from the Valencia Worlds had an under par performance to come a distant 11th in 3:42.77.
Fine middle distance wins for Borzakovskiy (1:46.54) and Ejdys (4:07.17)
Despite the good work done by the pacesetter (51.45 for 400m) the much-awaited men’s 800m didn’t produce the kind of times expected. Loyal to his tactics, Russia’s Yuriy Borzakovskiy ran in last place at the midway point, but he moved to the forefront before the bell and kept Poland’s Adam Kscztot and Germany’s Robin Schembera at bay to romp home in 1:46.54, ahead of the Pole’s 1:46.61 and the German’s 1:46.73.
Spain’s current European indoor champion Luis Alberto Marco managed a PB of 1:47.13 to take fourth ahead of the Kenyan pair of Richard Kiplagat (1:47.24) and Olympic 1500m silver medallist Asbel Kiprop who clocked 1:47.45 in his second-ever 800m race on the boards.
The women’s 1500m suffered the late withdrawal of the hot favourite in the guise of Natalia Rodríguez. Reportedly, the 30-year-old Spaniard caught the flu earlier in the week and was forced to miss her awaited assault on the world leading performance on her path to the Doha Worlds. Instead, the event became a Polish party as Sylwia Ejdys took a commanding win in a PB of 4:07.17 to get the better of her countrywoman Renata Plis, who also clocked a career best of 4:09.85 marginally ahead of Portugal’s European XC 2008 silver medallist Jessica Augusto (PB of 4:09.91) while Poland’s Lidia Chojecka improved her season best to 4:10.36 in fourth.
Méliz succeeds in deep Long Jump
On an under-par Long Jump world season so far Spain’s Luis Felipe Méliz produced the second furthest leap of 2010 by virtue of a 8.07m second jump. The Cuba-born Beijing Olympics 7th place finisher bettered his former compatriot Wilfredo Martínez, author of a 8.03m opening round effort while it’s worth mentioning the Spanish U-20 indoor record set by the 18-yea-old Eusebio Cáceres who leapt 8.02m also in round one, the same measure reached by Morocco’s Yahya Berrabah. The 37-year-old former World and Olympic champion Ivan Pedroso of Cuba was back on track for the first time since the Pan American Games in July 2007 but had to settle for a best leap of 7.35m.
Elsewhere...
In the women’s Long Jump Spain’s 2007 European indoor silver medallist Concha Montaner produced a final-round effort of 6.32m to better Cuba’s Josleini Corbacho’s 6.25m leap. Germany’s Carolin Hingst grabbed a count-back win in the Pole Vault thanks to a 4.51 first-time clearance ahead of Jirina Ptacnikova of The Czech Republic who vaulted that height on her second try.
Morocco’s Olympic 800m bronze medallist Hasna Benhassi kicked off her indoor campaign successfully with an easy 2:01.87 win to get the better of Spain’s Élian Périz, runner-up in a PB of 2:03.52. The victory in the High Jump went to Spain’s Ruth Beitia who had a second-time 1.94m clearance before failing three times (none of them close) over 2.00m. She won on count-back from Chaunté Howard-Lowe while Estonia’s Anna Iljustsenko finished third with 1.90m.
The men’s 60m went to Churandy Martina of The Netherlands Antilles in 6.62 while Italy’s Simone Collio was given the same time for the runner-up spot, well ahead Nigeria’s reigning World 60m champion Olujosi Fasuba. The hurdles contest witnessed the win of Cuba’s Dayron Capetillo in 7.69, a tenth of a second clear of Spain’s Felipe Vivancos with Tyrone Akins of the US in third timed at 7.80.
Emeterio Valiente for the IAAF
