EVENT REPORT – WOMEN’s Shot Put Final

DOHA, March 14, 2010 - Valerie Vili's two-and-a-half year unbeaten streak was ended by Belarussia's Nadezya Ostapchuk, who set two championship records during a high-class competition. Ostapchuk, who had thrown the longest throw in 22 years indoors or out with a mighty 21.70m last month, went into the event as favourite and a sixth round effort of 20.85m inside a defeaning Aspire Dome secured gold. For Vili, the defending champion and the reigning Olympic and World outdoor champion, a best

Isinbayeva tops the bill on action-packed Day 3 – Sunday preview

DOHA, March 14, 2010 - The third and final day of the 2010 World Indoor Championships at the Aspire Dome in Doha will be a three-hour streak of finals starting with the women's Long Jump at 16:00 AST through the 18:50 AST start of the men's 4x400m final. Yelena Isinbayeva in the women's Pole Vault is one of the faces Qatar has been waiting for. After surviving a qualifying scare where the Russian required three attempts to reach 4.55m, it's possible that the reigning champion may enter the co

Doha 2010 – Day of the Defenders – Day Two Wrap

DOHA, March 13, 2010 - The second day of action at the Aspire Dome in Doha featured the Championships' first medals, two World record attempts (though unsuccessful ones), and enough high drama to keep a triple squad of Ethiopian distance running fans riveted... by the Long Jump. The day started with the Pentathlon and the medals started with the Heptathlon. Jessica Ennis of Great Britain got a strong start in the 60m Hurdles, scoring 1120 points, and extended her lead through the High Jump un

Al Zaini pleased with the proceedings and overall success

DOHA, March 14, 2010 – Mr. Abdullah Al Zaini, President of Qatar Association of Athletics Federation was pleased with the overall proceedings and success of  the 13th IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championship here in Doha. Addressing the local media Al Zaini stressed that during these days of the event, top Qatari officials received cables of congratulation from sport individuals and organisations around the world that applauded country’s success in hosting this major sport event. “Q

Al Dosari praises spectators attendance and media at WIC

DOHA, March 14, 2010 – Mr. Abdulrahman Mosallam Al Dosari, the head of WIC Marketing Committee praised the overwhelming support and response from spectators who witnessed world’s best athletes here at the Aspire. The attendance of fans exceeded all expectations by the Organising Committee at the 13th IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships during the opening ceremony and the following day of finals. “The tickets were sold out two days prior to the opening ceremony; unfortunately hu

WIC Organising Committee hosts Gala Dinner

DOHA, March 13, 2010 – The Organising Committee of the 13th IAAF World Indoor Athletic Championships hosted a Gala dinner Saturday for the top officials of IAAF, QOC and the participating athletes and delegates at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Federation. The occasion was also graced by the presence of Mr. Lamine Diack, IAAF President, HE Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, QOC Secretary General and Chairman of the Organising Committee. HE Sheikh Saoud praised the efforts of the w

Statistics: Day 2

DOHA, March 13, 2010 - Men’s 800m 1:46.45 is the fastest ever 800m semi at a World Indoor Championships. The previous best was 1:46.79 by Jose Luis Barbosa in 1989. Note: In Paris 1997, Wilson Kipketer ran a world record in both heat and final of the 800m, but he took it a little easier in his semi. Men’s Pole Vault Steven Hooker's 6.01m is the WIC record. The winning margin of 31cm (6.01-5.70) was the biggest ever in the WIC. The previous record was 20cm by Bubka in 1991. M

Chambers crowns comeback with 60m world title

DOHA, March 13, 2010 - Dwain Chambers turned silver into gold as he added the World Indoor 60m title to his European crown at the Aspire Dome this evening. The Briton, who shared second place in Valencia two years ago, made no mistake this time as he powered ahead of his American rival Mike Rodgers to clock 6.48, the fastest time in the world this year. It was Britain’s second gold of the night, following Jessica Ennis’s triumph in the heptathlon, and its second in this event after Jason

EVENT REPORT – WOMEN’s 60m Hurdles Final

DOHA, March 13, 2010 - Three nations had two athletes in the final and it was Canada who succeeded in getting both of theirs on the podium, but the real history was made by winner Lolo Jones who became the first woman to successfully defend a World Indoor 60m Hurdles title, and did it in style by setting a Championship record. The American had a disaster of a semi-final and scraped through to the final by 0.01 as the slowest of the eight qualifiers. With a little more than two hours between h

EVENT REPORT – MEN’s Long Jump Final

DOHA, March 13, 2010 - Fabrice Lapierre nursed a sore hamstring through two recent competitions in Australia. He said in Doha that perhaps he was over-cautious in doing so: if he was, the softly, softly approach paid off big when he won the world indoor championships long jump. After an Oceania record 8.19 in the qualifying competition, Lapierre knew he was in good shape. After two nervous fouls on his first two jumps in the final, he started to demonstrate that he was indeed goiing alright.