Chaunte Howard Lowe clears 2.05m Area record in the 2010 USATF Nationals in Des Moines (© Getty Images)
Madrid, SpainAmerican Chaunte Lowe spoiled the comeback of Belgium’s reigning Olympic High Jump champion Tia Hellebaut with another 2.00m clearance to highlight a stormy ‘Meeting de Atletismo Madrid 2010’ on Friday (2) evening, the 10th meeting of the IAAF World Challenge 2010.
Extremely difficult conditions, which included storms and strong gusting winds, hampered the competition, resulting in delays of more than ninety minutes and the breakdown of the timing equipment.
Lowe over 2m again, Hellebaut returns with 1.95m
Lowe, the world leader at 2.05m, had an early scare, needing a second go at her opening height of 1.83 on the wet surface. Hellebaut cleared that height and also 1.86m with ease in her first official jumps in nearly 22 months. The Belgian’s needed a second try at 1.89m and followed up with a first-time clearance over 1.92m.
Meanwhile, the in-form Lowe then produced a clean card through 1.95m, a height Hellebaut managed on her second try. It appeared that 1.98m would be the evening’s closing height with Hellebaut bowing out and Lowe needing a third try before succeeding.
But the 26-year-old American champion bounced back and gave the enthusiastic crowd a first-time clearance over the 2.00m before failing three times at 2.02m. None of her three attempts particularly close.
Both Lowe and Hellebault expressed their satisfaction with the results, given the troublesome circumstances. Illustrating her grace and appreciation, Lowe greeted the crowd after each of her leaps and bowed to the fans at the end of her convincing performance. Hellebaut meanwhile achieved her goal of producing a qualifying mark for the European championships in Barcelona.
Home star Ruth Beitia had to settle for a 1.92m clearance for fourth, bettered by St. Lucia’s Laverne Spencer on countback.
Business as usual for Mulaudzi while Spain’s leading 1500m guns impress in the 800
The men’s 800m was held at the unusual time of 22:45, some 100 minutes behind schedule. Conscious of the fact that the electronic timing wasn’t working, the athletes offered a magnificent spectacle over the two laps.
South Africa’s reigning World champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi was the undisputed star and he confirmed his supremacy with a fine win in 1:45.1h, a sizable 0.3 ahead of Kenyan Jackson Kivuna. But the big news proved to be the brilliant performances managed by four Spaniards who also ran sub-1:46 - while all considering to contest the 1500m at the European championships later this month!
Manuel Olmedo clocked 1:45.4 ahead of Arturo Casado’s 1:45.6. Reigning European junior champion Kevin López ran a massive career best of 1:45.8, the same time clocked by Álvaro Rodríguez.
Taking into account that Diego Ruiz seems to be in the form of his life and that Reyes Estévez is eager to conclude his 1500m career in her hometown of Barcelona the ‘overbooking’ for the 1500m European berths seems guaranteed.
Nazarov defeats world leader Charfreitag in hammer
Held before the storm’s onset, the men’s Hammer Throw was the only event which developed in a normal way. The lucky contest witnessed the defeat of Slovak Libor Charfreitag, the current world leader, as the 2007 World bronze medallist was bettered by Tadjikistan’s Dilshov Nazarov by just nine centimetres.
Charfreitag led after the second round at 78.09m but Nazarov took charge in the third with a 78.49m effort. Neither Charfreitag – 78.40m in round four nor Hungary’s Krisztian Pars who threw 78.23m in round five – were able to surpass him.
[Click here for standings in the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge]
Sharman and Hak in top form
Britain’s William Sharman showed in dreadful conditions that his fourth place at last year’s World Championships in Berlin was no fluke. The 25-year-old won one of the two balanced 110m Hurdles races in 12.9h (wind +2.3) ahead of Gregory Sedoc’s 13.1. The other race was won by America’s Joel Brown in 13.1, (+3.3) just ahead of Jamaica’s Dwight Thomas.
Yvonne Hak of The Netherlands entered the 800m with a modest 1:59.98 PB but the long-legged 24-year-old proved to be the strongest against a high calibre field which included Morocco’s multiple major medallist Hasna Benhassi. It was Grenada’s Neisha Bernard-Thomas who ruled most of the race once the pacesetters left the track but with some 110 metres left the promising Dutchwoman found another gear and her late burst of speed was simply unattainable for her pursuers.
The sweet reward for Hak was a clear PB of 1:59.2, more than a full second ahead of Bernard-Thomas (2:00.4) with Malika Akkaoui third in 2:00.6. American Christin Wurth-Thomas (2:01.4) and Hasna Benhassi (2:02.1), well back in fourth and sixth respectively.
Cuba’s Yarelis Barrios was the overwhelming victor in the women’s Discus. The 27-year-old reigning World and Olympic silver medallist produced a fine 64.72m last round effort to better Nicoleta Grasu of Romania by four metres as the 38-year-old Grasu’s best effort landed at 60.68m. Barrios led from start and backed up her win with two more 63m+ throws.
Elsewhere...
Running into a 2.10 m/s breeze, Briton Marlon Devonish took a surprise 200m win in 20.4h, ahead of Jamaica Ryan Shields. Pre-races favourites Steve Mullings of Jamaica and South Africa Simon Magakwe were third and fourth finished in 20.8.
The men’s 1500m went for Kenya’s Remmy Limo Ndiwa in 3:36.2 ahead of Britain’s Tom Lancashire (3:37.3) while the women’s event was taken by Spain’s reigning World indoor silver medallist Natalia Rodríguez (4:06.7) in a close finish with Morocco’s Btissam Lakhouad, 4:06.8. The other Spanish victor was Frank Casañas who clinched top spot in the men’s Discus with a 65.11m release ahead of Austria’s Gerhard Mayer (64.47m).
France’s Salim Sdiri won a disappointing men’s Long Jump with a 7.74m ahead of Spaniard Luis Felipe Meliz (7.72m). Jamaica’s Dorian Scott stamped his authority in the men’s Shot Put but came short of the 20-metre barrier, 19.74m his winning toss.
Russia’s Ksenia Zadorina was fastest in the women’s 400m in 51.3 while Germany’s Fabienne Kohlmann was a surprise winner in the 400m Hurdles as she beat in 56.0 the hot favourites Bulgaria’s Vania Stambolova and Romania’s Angela Morosanu, both timed at 56.4.
Kenya’s Iness Chenonge took the 3000m in 8:51.3. Czech Jirina Ptácniková won the Pole Vault with a 4.51 clearance, the same height reached by Germany’s Lisa Ryzih and Jillian Schwartz, who switched her nationality from US to Israel in late 2009.
Emeterio Valiente for the IAAF
NB: Results from several events have been revised since the conclusion of the meeting and are available via the results link below.
