EVENT REPORT – MEN’s 60m Hurdles Heats

DOHA, March 12, 2010 - Now if there is one event at these IAAF World Indoor Championships which deserves front page spotlight that is the men’s 60m Hurdles. Indeed it has all the ingredients for a succulent recipe. Throw in the defending champion, the national hero for over 1 billion people, a former World outdoor record holder, World champion and Olympic champion; add to that the reigning Olympic champion and reigning World outdoor record holder and mix with the two-time winner of the even

EVENT REPORT – MEN’s Long Jump – Qualification

DOHA, March 12, 2010 - If you are Australian read on, if you are the rest of the world look away now. The 'Jumping Kangaroos' Fabrice Lapierre and Mitchell Watt excelled providing the only automatic qualifiers during a otherwise forgettable preliminary session.   But while the Aussies will be bouncing, Olympic champion Irving Saladino of Panama will be gutted after crashing out of the competition with a modest best of 7.80m following recent injury problems. Lapierre, the World Champions

EVENT REPORT – MEN’s 400 m Semi-Final

DOHA, March 12, 2010 - It was a challenging day for the quarter milers who not only had to compete as early as 9.15am this morning which meant for some of them a 5am wakeup call but they also had to conclude today’s action in the field of play as the men’s 400m semi-finals wrapped an action-packed competition day one. Eventually the four favourites battled it out in pairs as the lane draw for tomorrow’s final is crucial in the indoor 400 metres. In heat one, US champion Bershawn Jack

EVENT REPORT – WOMEN’s 60 m Heats

DOHA, March 12, 2010 - Many predicted a head-to-head showdown between LaVerne Jones-Ferrette of the US Virgin Islands and American Carmelita Jeter for this title, and although the battle is still very much on did we discover one or two clues as to the possible outcome? Jones-Ferrette kept her composure after Ahamada Feta from Comoros was disqualified in her adjacent lane to blast to a heat three win in 7.14 - the swiftest qualification time. The 28-year-old sprinter, who also produced the

EVENT REPORT – MEN’s 3000m Heats

DOHA, March 12, 2010 - Amid a cacophony of noise created by the football-style chants from an army of Ethiopian supporters, the Aspire Dome was treated to two Qatari qualifiers for Sunday's Final. In heat one Kenya's Augustine Choge created his own slice of history by recording the fastest ever winning time in a 3000m heat at the World Indoor Championships, stopping the clock in an impressive 7:43.80. Following the Commonwealth 5000m champion home was Dejan Gebremeskel in a personal best o

EVENT REPORT – MEN’s 1500m Heats

DOHA, March 12, 2010 - Defending 1500m World Indoor champion Deresse Mekonnen decided he wouldn’t leave anything to fate when he took command of heat two never to relinquish his leading position. The Ethiopian who also took silver at last year’s Berlin World Championships and is the current World indoor leader was the dominant force at the head of a race which he concluded in 3:39.66. A gradual increase of the pace left him with only Haron Keitany, Diego Ruiz and Thamer Kamal Ali on his h

EVENT REPORT – WOMEN’s Pole Vault – Qualification

DOHA, March 12, 2010 - Yelena Isinbayeva has always had a flair for the dramatic, a talent she again shared at this evening’s qualifying round in the women’s Pole Vault. As is her habit, the World record holder didn’t even begin her competition until much of the field had already departed, and indeed, at a height when those moving on to Sunday’s final were already decided. Her first attempt at 4.55m was close enough to shake out the rust, but her second, which was not particularly clo

EVENT REPORT – MEN’s 60m Heats

DOHA, March 12, 2010 - Dwain Chambers made an clear statement he intends to go one better than the silver medal he shared with Kim Collins at the 2008 World Indoor Championships in Valencia by posting the fastest time in the opening round. The 31-year-old British sprinter, who could become the oldest gold medallist in the history of this event, blasted out of the blocks in heat two and was never headed - stopping the clock in 6.59. His nearest pursuer Egwero Ogho-Oghene was 0.14 further ba

EVENT REPORT – MEN’s Triple Jump – Qualification

DOHA, March 12, 2010 - Only two athletes made the automatic standard of 16.95m in the men’s triple jump qualifying, which was of a surprisingly low quality. Only a 16.55m result was needed for the eighth place and a spot in the final. Several former greats went out of the final too including Americans Walter Davis and Brandon Roulhac. Christian Olsson of Sweden, the 2003 and 2004 World indoor champion, was the first one to go over 17 metres with his first attempt of 17.07m. The 30-year-o

EVENT REPORT – WOMEN’s 3000m Heats

DOHA, March 12, 2010 - Running in total command, Meseret Defar set the stage for an unprecedented fourth straight World indoor title in the 3000m. “I felt very good,” Defar said, beaming with an ear-to-ear grin, barely winded after her comfortable 8:48.23 victory in the second of two heats that opened competition on the track this afternoon. “I had no problems, none at all.” The winner in Budapest, Moscow and Valencia and the World record holder at 8:23.72, Defar is not, surprising