Bralon Taplin on his way to winning the 400m at the IAAF World Indoor Tour meeting in Torun (© Jean-Pierre Durand)
With just one meeting left in this year’s IAAF World Indoor Tour, there’s still much to play for when athletes line up at the Muller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham on Saturday (18).
Not only will they be competing for the US$20,000 bonus on offer for the leaders of each scoring discipline, they will also be chasing a wildcard entry for the IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018, which will be held at the same venue.
The scoring disciplines for the IAAF World Indoor Tour alternate across a two-season cycle. Of this year’s 11 scoring disciplines, 10 of them will be contested in Birmingham. Only one discipline – the women’s triple jump – has already been decided, while just two other athletes have unassailable leads heading into Birmingham.
The summary below explains the situation in each event ahead of the final meeting of the 2017 IAAF World Indoor Tour.
Men’s 400m
1 Bralon Taplin (GRN) 17
1 Pavel Maslak (CZE) 17
3 Luguelin Santos (DOM) 8
4 Luka Janezic (SLO) 5
Having shared the victories and runner-up spots in Dusseldorf and Torun, Bralon Taplin and Pavel Maslak are tied with 17 points each. So whoever finishes ahead of the other in Birmingham will, in theory, take the series win. The only way Luguelin Santos could take the tour victory is if he wins the race in Birmingham with Taplin and Maslak finishing outside the top four.
Men’s 1500m
1 Bethwell Birgen (KEN) 20
1 Silas Kiplagat (KEN) 20
3 Elijah Manangoi (KEN) 17
4 Vincent Kibet (KEN) 15
Kenyan duo Bethwell Birgen and Silas Kiplagat are currently tied for points, so whichever one crosses the line first in Birmingham will take the series win. Their compatriot Vincent Kibet could spring a surprise, though. If he wins in Birmingham and Birgen finishes outside the top two, Kibet would be the World Indoor Tour winner.
Men’s 60m hurdles
1 Orlando Ortega (ESP) 27
2 Andrew Pozzi (GBR) 10
3 Dmitri Bascou (FRA) 7
4 Konstadinos Douvalidis (GRE) 7
He won’t be in Birmingham, but Spain’s Orlando Ortega has already done enough to secure his World Indoor Tour victory after winning in Dusseldorf and Torun and finishing second in Karlsruhe.
Men’s high jump
1 Donald Thomas (BAH) 15
2 Naoto Tobe (JPN) 10
2 Pavel Seliverstau (BLR) 10
2 Sylwester Bednarek (POL) 10
Of the 10 high jumpers with points to their name in this year’s World Indoor Tour, event leader Donald Thomas is the only one set to compete in Birmingham and so will be guaranteed a World Indoor Championships wildcard.
Men’s long jump
1 Fabrice Lapierre (AUS) 10
1 Godfrey Mokoena (RSA) 10
3 Julian Howard (GER) 7
3 Michel Torneus (SWE) 7
Fabrice Lapierre, who last year won the Diamond Race without winning at any of the individual IAAF Diamond League meetings, is currently tied with Godfrey Mokoena. Both long jumpers are set to compete in Birmingham, as is third-placed Michel Torneus, so the series is far from decided in this event.
Women’s 60m
1 Barbara Pierre (USA) 17
2 Gayon Evans (JAM) 15
3 Ezinne Okparaebo (NOR) 12
4 English Gardner (USA) 10
4 Olesya Povkh (UKR) 10
The top three women in the current standings will compete in Birmingham and only five points separate the trio. Even Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, who is currently sixth in the standings with seven points, could in theory take the overall victory if she wins in Birmingham with Pierre and Evans finishing outside of the scoring positions.
Women’s 800m
1 Joanna Jozwik (POL) 30
2 Selina Buchel (SUI) 14
3 Marina Arzamasova (BLR) 13
4 Anita Hinriksdottir (ISL) 12
Following her wins in Dusseldorf, Karlsruhe and Torun, Joanna Jozwik has already done more than enough to win the series. The Pole will still be in Birmingham, though, where she will be looking to complete her sweep of the World Indoor Tour meetings.
Women’s 3000m
1 Hellen Obiri (KEN) 17
2 Laura Muir (GBR) 10
3 Sifan Hassan (NED) 7
4 Axumawit Embaye (ETH) 5
With Laura Muir opting to contest the 1000m in Birmingham, Hellen Obiri’s task in Birmingham has been made a lot easier. There’s still a small chance that the Kenyan could lose her World Indoor Tour lead, but it would require Sifan Hassan to win the race in a time faster than 8:29.46 (so that she has the upper hand in a tie-break) and Obiri finishing outside the top four.
Women’s pole vault
1 Nicole Buchler (SUI) 17
2 Mary Saxer (USA) 12
3 Ekaterini Stefanidi (GRE) 10
3 Lisa Ryzih (GER) 10
3 Minna Nikkanen (FIN) 10
3 Sandi Morris (USA) 10
Four of the top six pole vaulters will be in Birmingham. In what can often be an unpredictable event, any one of those four could bag enough points to take them to the top of the points table.
Women’s triple jump
1 Patricia Mamona (POR) 20
2 Nadia Eke (GHA) 14
3 Anna Jagaciak (POL) 10
4 Neele Eckhardt (GER) 7
Full marks in Boston and Dusseldorf have already landed Patricia Mamona with the World Indoor Tour victory.
Women’s shot put
1 Anita Marton (HUN) 17
1 Christina Schwanitz (GER) 17
3 Paulina Guba (POL) 10
4 Melissa Boekleman (NED) 6
The leaders are currently tied on points, but with Christina Schwanitz set to compete at this weekend’s German Indoor Championships, it means that Anita Marton looks set to have an easy ride to a World Indoor Tour victory in Birmingham on Saturday.
