He did what he could. Andriy Protsenko had no other choice. In a village in the Ukrainian countryside &ndash; the location of which he&rsquo;d rather not share &ndash; the high jumper tried to find some normality amid the horrific uncertainty of war.
His sole concern, while waiting in that home through February and March, was his family&rsquo;s safety, but with little else to do all day, he took refuge in his training routine, aware that if he could somehow keep up his fitness than maybe some way, somehow, he could win a medal at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
On 24 February, the day Russia launched a military invasion of Ukraine, Protsenko left his home city of Kherson along with his wife Katerina and two daughters, Sofia (5) and Polina (9 months).
At their new location, safe from harm, all possible sports facilities were inaccessible, which meant Protsenko had to improvise. He searched around for materials he could use to continue training, fashioning home-made hurdles out of materials in his yard, lifting weights by adding car tyres to a bar he found lying around.
He did plyometric exercises, drills and sprints in a local field.
&ldquo;There was no high jumping, but I found the possibility to run,&rdquo; he says through an interpreter. &ldquo;It was not so difficult to find something to create the equipment. The main thing was to find the motivation to train &ndash; but fortunately I could do it.&rdquo; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62d7474de70d0f62745c4ef3.jpg" alt="Andriy Protsenko training" /></div>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62d7476de70d0f62745c4ef6.jpg" alt="Andriy Protsenko training" /></div>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62d74783e70d0f62745c4ef9.jpg" alt="Andriy Protsenko training" />
Andriy Protsenko training
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 In Eugene on Monday night, his hard work finally paid off, Protsenko earning bronze in the men&rsquo;s high jump final with a clearance of 2.33m &ndash; a seven-centimetre improvement on his season&rsquo;s best.
It was his seventh appearance at the championships &ndash; he competed at every edition since Berlin in 2009 &ndash; and his first final, his first medal; proof, on so many fronts, that persistence pays off.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m like a wine,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The older, the better.&rdquo;
Protsenko was 13 when he first discovered high jumping, and it&rsquo;s safe to say he wasn&rsquo;t keen back then. He was running 300m races at the time when his coach, Zuiev Gennadii, told him he should give high jumping a go.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know what it was and whether it was a good idea,&rdquo; he says.
But he clearly had a talent for it, and Gennaddii has nurtured that ability to this day. At the age of 19, Protsenko cleared 2.21m to win silver at the European U20 Championship and, at 20, he soared over 2.30m for the first time.
In 2014 he won silver at both the World Indoor Championships in Sopot and the European Championships in Zurich, and also cleared 2.40m, putting him joint-sixth on the world all-time list. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he finished tied for fourth in the high jump, beaten to bronze on countback by teammate Bogdan Bondarenko after both cleared 2.33m.
His wait for that first medal at a major global outdoor championships was to go on but this, of all years, seemed an unlikely year to get it. When he left his home in February, he was only able to take one bag with him and with his home city since occupied by Russian forces, returning was never an option. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62d747aae70d0f62745c4efc.jpg" alt="Andriy Protsenko in the high jump at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22" />
Andriy Protsenko in the high jump at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (&copy; Getty Images)
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 &ldquo;Everything is relative, but at first it was like a silence,&rdquo; he says of those first few weeks at the countryside village. &ldquo;That village was relatively safe but then Russian military (approached it) and we understood it&rsquo;s time (to leave).&rdquo;
He left on 13 April, going to the west of Ukraine until 22 April. &ldquo;When we changed city I could train maximum four times a week,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;But it was not the training athletes usually do.&rdquo;
He managed to then relocate to Portugal, and after that to Spain. &ldquo;These countries and their federations helped us so much,&rdquo; he says.
Protsenko&rsquo;s family is currently in France, being assisted by aid agencies, and after he is reunited with them later this week they will all move to Poland, where his coach is currently based with a group of Ukrainian athletes.
He can&rsquo;t wait to get back and show them his shiny piece of excess baggage.
Protsenko says &ldquo;there are no secrets&rdquo; to what he accomplished in Eugene &ndash; his achievement all the more impressive given he fought through heel pain in the final. &ldquo;I just gathered myself to show this result in the right moment.&rdquo;
He had some nervous moments at 2.27m, which he cleared on the third attempt, but he was perfect over 2.30m and 2.33m, before two failures at 2.35m and one at 2.37m. This time around, though, he was on the right side of the countback coin, edging Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi to bronze &ndash; both clearing a best of 2.33m.
Tamberi, who sported a Ukrainian flag on his shoulder alongside Protsenko&rsquo;s name during the World Indoors in Belgrade, was gracious in defeat. &ldquo;We appreciate it, really,&rdquo; Protsenko said of the support he received.
Mutaz Essa Barshim, the Qatari great who won his third world title with a world lead of 2.37m, also paid tribute to Protsenko&rsquo;s achievement.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a champion,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He fought, despite everything he&rsquo;d been going through. He showed up and produced a performance. It wasn&rsquo;t easy for him but he&rsquo;s up here, a medallist &ndash; you&rsquo;ve got to give him that.&rdquo; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62d747d6e70d0f62745c4eff.jpg" alt="Andriy Protsenko in the high jump at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22" />
Andriy Protsenko in the high jump at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (&copy; Getty Images)
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 Protsenko&rsquo;s sponsor, Adidas, has helped him out substantially in recent months, sending him what gear and shoes he needs as he continues his training at various locations, and with a world bronze in the bag, he&rsquo;s looking for more of the same at the European Championships in Munich next month and at the Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich in September.
But even now, he&rsquo;s living a life of great uncertainty.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a terrible situation,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid it could be a long time (before it&rsquo;s possible to return home) but I ask the world to support Ukraine. Ukrainians are strong and we hold each other together. I will try to help Ukraine in every way I can.&rdquo;
He has done that this week through his performances, but given Protsenko&rsquo;s belief that he ages like a fine wine, surely an Olympic medal in 2024 is now in his plans?
Protsenko smiles, and he doesn&rsquo;t need an interpreter to answer that one: &ldquo;I hope.&rdquo;
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

World Athletics Championships, Oregon 2022

This, of all years, seemed an unlikely year for Protsenko to earn his first medal at a global outdoor championships

Oregon high jump medal is a silver lining for Ukraine’s Protsenko

As he strutted off the high jump mat, Mutaz Essa Barshim flapped his arms like a bird.
It was a fitting celebration, as the Qatari athlete elegantly flew over the bar on each of his attempts on Monday (18) at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
In fact, Barshim cleared the bar on his first chance through to the winning height of 2.37m, a world lead. He then attempted to clear the bar at 2.41m but fell short. While that attempt ruined a flawless performance, Barshim had already clinched his third consecutive World Championships gold, the most of any high jumper.
&ldquo;Three world golds in a row is something that has never been done before. I came here to secure that,&rdquo; Barshim said. &ldquo;I know I put a lot of hard work to be where I am.&rdquo;
Barshim outlasted Korea&rsquo;s Woo Sanghyeok, who cleared 2.35m to equal his own outdoor national record, and Ukrainian Andriy Protsenko (2.33m) to continue his reign at the top of the high jump competition.
While his jumps seemed effortless, that&rsquo;s not always how the 2022 season had been for Barshim. After sharing gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games with his friend Gianmarco Tamberi, he struggled to find a rhythm and competed in only two events before the World Championships &mdash; failing to surpass the 2.30m mark in either.
While he was unable to string together strong performances, he felt healthy leading up to the competition and it showed in his performance.
&ldquo;Defending my Doha title and being recovered after injury is the most amazing thing that could happen to me,&rdquo; Barshim said. &ldquo;Sometimes it&rsquo;s difficult to show jumps and techniques that people like and expect to see from me.&rdquo; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62d66593717a6429d757b3b4.jpg" alt="Mutaz Barshim celebrates his win in Oregon" />
Mutaz Barshim celebrates his win in Oregon (&copy; Getty Images)
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Woo broke on to the scene by setting a national record of 2.35m at the Olympic Games, where he finished fourth. His greatness continued through the indoor season as he won at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade. He then jumped 2.30m and topped Barshim at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha in May.
On Monday, however, Barhsim got the better of him. After failing his first attempt at 2.37m, Woo elected to pass on the height and save his energy to best Barshim at 2.39m. While the strategy proved unsuccessful, Woo&rsquo;s silver medal gave his nation its first appearance on the podium.
&ldquo;I am very excited to come out with a medal,&rdquo; Woo said. &ldquo;I enjoyed the competition, and I am happy for Barshim to get another gold. I believe I can jump even higher next time.&rdquo;
After failing his third attempt at 2.37m, Protsenko walked off the mat to applause from the Hayward Field crowd. Winning the bronze medal showed that the Ukrainian still had something left in the tank.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m like a wine: the older, the better,&rdquo; Protsenko said.
Entering the World Championships, the 34-year-old&rsquo;s season's best stood at 2.26m. He stuck it out through a season of uncertainties. Three months ago, Protsenko was unsure if he would make it to Oregon safely, let alone win a medal.
&ldquo;I managed to take my family from Ukraine and occupied territory,&rdquo; Protsenko said. &ldquo;But I left everything in my hometown of Kherson. I took only one bag. That's all I have.&rdquo;
In the qualifying rounds, Protsenko matched Barshim, scaling the bar at 2.28m. On Monday, he improved on that mark, leaping 2.33m on his first attempt &mdash; a jump that moved him into the bronze medal position above Tamberi.&nbsp;
After sharing the podium with Barshim in Tokyo, Italy's Tamberi struggled with injuries and was unable to surpass the 2.30m mark.
His 2022 season of up-and-downs culminated with a fourth-place finish at the World Championships.
&ldquo;In the end, I am glad I found a way to jump high today, even with the pain,&rdquo; Tamberi said. &ldquo;I struggled a lot in qualification, and today it was very difficult for me to find the correct jump.&rdquo;
Despite the pain, Tamberi stood in the bronze medal position approaching the 2.33m mark, before Protsenko overtook him. After missing his first attempt, Tamberi leaped over the bar on his second to set a season's best. He was unable to produce a successful jump at 2.35m and settled for fourth.
Shelby McEwen used the momentum he garnered from winning the US Championship in June for Monday&rsquo;s final. Similar to the US Championships, McEwen outlasted fellow US high jumper JuVaughn Harrison, who didn&rsquo;t make it past the 2.27m mark.
McEwen, however, fell short of a medal. After failing to clear the bar at 2.33m on his first two attempts, he elected to pass his third. He had one chance to jump over 2.35m and failed to do so, ending his World Championships competition in fifth place.
Aaron Heisen&nbsp;for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">MEN'S HIGH JUMP MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Mutaz Essa Barshim 🇶🇦 QAT</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">2.37m WL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Woo Sanghyeok 🇰🇷 KOR</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">2.35m =NR</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Andriy Protsenko 🇺🇦 UKR</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">2.33m SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/men/high-jump/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

As he strutted off the high jump mat, Mutaz Barshim flapped his arms like a bird.

Barshim reigns supreme for third world high jump title

Ukraine will send 14 athletes to the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 on March 17-20.
Two of the three athletes who earned medals in Sopot in 2014 are back on the team. High jumper Andriy Protsenko and pentathlete Alina Fodorova will be aiming to improve upon their bronze medals from two years ago.
Fodorova is joined in the pentathlon by current world leader Anastasiya Mokhnyuk. Oleksiy Kasyanov, the 2012 world indoor silver medallist, has been invited to compete in the heptathlon.
<h3>Ukrainian team for Portland</h3>
MEN 60m hurdles: Serhiy Kopanayko, Artem Shamatryn High jump: Andriy Protsenko Heptathlon: Oleksiy Kasyanov
WOMEN 60m: Olesya Povh 800m: Nataliia Lupu, Anastasiya Tkachuk 60m hurdles: Anna Plotitsyna 4x400m: Olga Bibik, Anastasiia Bryzhina, Dzhois Koba, Anastasiia Lebid Pentathlon: Alina Fodorova, Anastasiya Mokhnyuk

Ukraine will send 14 athletes to the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 on March 17-20.

Fourteen named on Ukrainian team for Portland

Mutaz Essa Barshim will return to the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on 30 May, an IAAF Diamond League meeting, where he set the high jumping world on fire in 2013. The 41st Pre Classic meeting organisers announced on Monday (13) that Qatar&rsquo;s world indoor champion would head a star-studded high jump competition at this year&rsquo;s event.On his last visit to Eugene, Barshim produced what was at the highest ever clearance on US soil with a jump of 2.40m.&nbsp; He has since scaled even higher and is now on the brink of the formidable eight-foot barrier (2.44m).&nbsp; Many called 2014 &lsquo;The Year of the High Jump&rsquo; and Barshim&rsquo;s finishing touch was winning the IAAF Diamond League final with 2.43m &ndash; higher in history than all but the world record-holder Javier Sotomayor, who jumped 2.45m back in 1993 when Barshim was just two years old. Ivan Ukhov, co-holder of the European record, is third among the world&rsquo;s highest-ever jumpers, clearing his best of 2.42m last year and the Russian has also won in Eugene in the past.Olympic medallists Derek Drouin and Erik Kynard, from Canada and USA respectively, will have no problem renewing their rivalry.&nbsp; Kynard and Drouin were second and third at the 2013 Pre Classic and were regular rivals during their student careers, Drouin studying at Indiana and Kynard at Kansas State.USA&rsquo;s 2011 world champion Jesse Williams has won many times at Hayward Field but none is more memorable than his 2011 US title at 2.37m. It stood as a stadium record until Barshim&rsquo;s 2013 Pre Classic clearance.&nbsp; Andriy Protsenko of Ukraine will be making his first appearance at the Pre Classic. He is the European silver medallist and is also a member of the elite club of high jumpers who have gone over 2.40m or better.Also making his first appearance will be Russia&rsquo;s 22-year-old Daniil Tsyplakov, who won the European indoor gold medal last month.Chinese indoor record-holder Guowei Zhang was only 21 when he finished fifth in the incredibly deep 2013 Pre Classic contest. He has been a finalist in each of the past two World Championships and World Indoor Championships.Organisers for the IAAF2015 IAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT &ndash; 15 May Shanghai, CHN &ndash; 17 May Eugene, USA &ndash; 30 May Rome, ITA &ndash; 4 June Birmingham, GBR &ndash; 7 June Oslo, NOR &ndash; 11 June New York, USA &ndash; 13 June Paris, FRA &ndash; 4 July Lausanne, SUI &ndash; 9 July Monaco, MON &ndash; 17 July London, GBR &ndash; 24-25 July Stockholm, SWE &ndash; 30 July Zurich, SUI &ndash; 3 September Brussels, BEL &ndash; 11 September

Mutaz Essa Barshim will return to the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on 30 May, an IAAF Diamond League meeting, where he set the high jumping world on fire in 2013.

Barshim aiming higher in Eugene – IAAF Diamond League

The men&rsquo;s high jump should be one of the most eagerly anticipated events at this year&rsquo;s ExxonMobil Bislett Games, with the IAAF Diamond League meeting welcoming Mutaz Essa Barshim to Oslo for the first time on 11 June.Meeting Director Steinar Hoen, himself a high jumper of distinction as a former European champion with a personal best of 2.36m, has assembled the finest ever field to contest the event at Oslo&rsquo;s famous Bislett stadium with the announcement of a star-studded line up on Thursday (9).Barshim, the world indoor champion, achieved a personal best and Asian record of 2.43m at last year&rsquo;s IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels to make him the second-best jumper of all time. Some of the Qatari's clearances at high bars have been truly breath taking, with him going over huge heights by enormous margins. But Barshim will face fierce competition in Oslo, including Russia&rsquo;s Olympic champion Ivan Ukhov.The powerful Ukhov has an outdoor best of 2.41m, and indoors has cleared 2.42m to be the co-holder of the European record.One of the two men he shares that continental accolade with is Ukraine&rsquo;s Bogdan Bondarenko, the world and European champion.Canada&rsquo;s Derek Drouin and Ukraine&rsquo;s Andriy Protsenko both have personal bests of 2.40m and will add lustre to this event in Oslo.Whenever competitors of this talent face off against each other, there is always a possibility of a world record. The Bislett Stadium is no stranger to records with a total of 69 world records achieved in the unique arena over the years.However, of its 69 world records, Bislett has never hosted a world record in a high jump competition. Perhaps this year, the men&rsquo;s high jump might provide the &lsquo;World Record Track&rsquo; with its 70th world record in its 50th anniversary edition.The best marks on record in the Bislett Stadium is 2.37m from the man who is still the world record-holder, Javier Sotomayor of Cuba.Organisers for the IAAF2015 IAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT &ndash; 15 May Shanghai, CHN &ndash; 17 May Eugene, USA &ndash; 30 May Rome, ITA &ndash; 4 June Birmingham, GBR &ndash; 7 June Oslo, NOR &ndash; 11 June New York, USA &ndash; 13 June Paris, FRA &ndash; 4 July Lausanne, SUI &ndash; 9 July Monaco, MON &ndash; 17 July London, GBR &ndash; 24-25 July Stockholm, SWE &ndash; 30 July Zurich, SUI &ndash; 3 September Brussels, BEL &ndash; 11 September

The men’s high jump should be one of the most eagerly anticipated events at this year’s ExxonMobil Bislett Games, with the IAAF Diamond League meeting welcoming Mutaz Essa Barshim to Oslo for the first time on 11 June.

High jumpers aiming to raise the bar in Oslo – IAAF Diamond League

Mutaz Essa Barshim improved his own Asian record by two centimetres to 2.40m at the Banskobystrick&aacute; latka 2015 high jump competition in the Slovakian town of Banska Bystrica on Wednesday (4).Into the bargain, it was the best mark in the world this year, a meeting record, and the Qatari joins a select group of jumpers who have cleared 2.40m or better indoors, a club which now has eight members.His previous Asian indoor record had been 2.38m, set when winning at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships.Barshim, who holds the Asian outdoor record with 2.43m, was competing in the first of four indoor meetings in the next three weeks, and had arrived in Banska Bystrica saying only that he wanted to enjoy himself at his first competition of the year."To be honest, I was initially going to rest a lot during the indoor season but I found that too boring and I only started training a couple of months ago, a short time after the IAAF World Athlete of The Year Gala last November," Barshim had commented with his cheery relaxed demeanour earlier in the day.His feats certainly brought a smile to each of the 1000 faces in the packed Stiavnickach sports hall.His next competition will be over the border in Trinec, Czech Republic, on Sunday, followed by events in Ireland and Sweden.There were still five men in the competition on Wednesday when the bar was raised to what was then a world-leading height of 2.35m, which makes it the deepest competition by far this year and a statistic that might possibly survive to the end of the indoor season.Barshim sailed clear at his second attempt and nobody else could join him, although Ivan Ukhov&rsquo;s first two attempts at the height were good efforts.However, the Olympic champion &ndash; a winner in Banska Bystrica for three consecutive years from 2010-12 and the former meeting record-holder at 2.38m &ndash; had to settle for third place on this occasion as the Russian's best clearance was at 2.31m. He then elected to pass 2.33m; a height which Ukraine&rsquo;s European silver medallist Andriy Protsenko, who had been struggling to find his rhythm earlier in the evening, cleared on his second attempt.Among the quintet still in the competition at 2.35m was local hero Matus Bubenik, who cleared a personal best of 2.31m and garnered the biggest cheers of the night after Barshim. After two failures at 2.33m, Bubenik had a final unsuccessful attempt at an absolute Slovak record of 2.35m.Italy&rsquo;s Marco Fassinotti, the former world leader prior to Wednesday with 2.34m, unfortunately had to withdraw from the competition before it got underway, having slightly twisted his left ankle while warming up.<h3>Trost comes up trumps </h3> However, another Italian fared much better in the women&rsquo;s contest as the former world youth and junior champion Alessia Trost took the honours when she was the only jumper over 1.96m.Five women&nbsp;&ndash; half of the original 10-woman field&nbsp;&ndash; were actually still in the competition when the bar was raised to 1.96m.Spain&rsquo;s two-time European champion Ruth Beitia &ndash; who had struggled at the preceding height of 1.94m and only got it right at the third time of asking &ndash; and Russia&rsquo;s world champion Svetlana Shkolina both elected to pass that height.In their absence, Trost got over 1.96m on her second attempt while Croatia&rsquo;s Ana Simic and Russia&rsquo;s world indoor champion Mariya Kuchina brought the bar down three times and were eliminated.At 1.98m, Trost, Shkolina and Beitia, in that order, all failed three times; although the trio all went close with their third attempts.The Udine university student, jumping to the global hit Tsunami by Dvbbs and Borgeous, extended her winning streak to three competitions this winter.In joint second place, with clean cards all the way up to and including 1.94m, were Simic and Shkolina, the latter having her first international competition since the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels in September 2013, having missed the whole of last year due to injury.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Mutaz Essa Barshim improved his own Asian record by two centimetres to 2.40m at the Banskobystrická latka 2015 high jump competition in the Slovakian town of Banska Bystrica on Wednesday (4).

Barshim jumps Asian record 2.40m in Banska Bystrica

The traditional Russian Winter indoor meeting on Sunday (1), the second of this season's IAAF Indoor Permit meetings, features a memorable women&rsquo;s high jump which brings together again the joint world indoor champions, Poland&rsquo;s Kamila Licwinko and home star Mariya Kuchina.Licwinko equalled her national indoor record when she cleared a world-leading 2.00m in Cottbus earlier this week while Kuchina has already cleared 1.96m, in Volgograd last Saturday. &ldquo;I feel I am in good shape but need more competitions to improve my technique,&rdquo; said Kuchina, who also won the Diamond Race and at the IAAF Continental Cup. &ldquo;I am very motivated now because Svetlana Shkolina (2013 world champion) and Anna Chicherova (2012 Olympic champion) are coming back, and it's going to be very interesting in this event this summer,&rdquo; she added. The Russian Winter meeting record of 2.00m was set by Croatia&rsquo;s Blanka Vlasic back in 2006 and is clearly under threat on Sunday.The men's high jump features two athletes from the &lsquo;2.40m club&rsquo;: home star Aleksey Dmitrik and Ukraine&rsquo;s European silver medal Andrey Protsenko.&nbsp; Also in the field are Russia&rsquo;s 2010 European champion Alexander Shustov, coming back from injury, and Greece&rsquo;s Kostandinos Baniotis.<h3>Maslak and Hejnova make comeback in Moscow</h3> With the European Indoor Championshis in Prague just five weeks away, several top Czech athletes are coming to Moscow to hone their shape for what will be a home championship. Two specialists of the 400m hurdles, 2013 world champion Zuzanna Hejnova and her compatriot Denisa Rosolova, run over 400m without the barriers, as does world indoor 400m champion Pavel Maslak. Both Hejnova and Maslak hardly competed last summer due to injuries.&nbsp; &ldquo;I prefer the hurdles but the 400m flat seems refreshing, just for change,&rdquo; said Hejnova. &ldquo;I do enjoy this distance, though my problem is that I am not that fast at the start, but I still hope for good run in Moscow.&rdquo;Cuba&rsquo;s 2008 Olympic 110m hurdles champion Dayron Robles, Czech Republic&rsquo;s Petr Svoboda and Russia&rsquo;s Konstantin Shabanov are part of a good men&rsquo;s 60m hurdles field, one of the strongest events of the meeting.&nbsp; Another classy field is in the men's long jump, starring Greece&rsquo;s European silver medalist Louis Tsatoumas. French record-holder Salim Sdiri is also out to do better than last year's meeting in Moscow, where he finished fourth. Russia is represented by the current national indoor champion Pavel Shalin. Yekaterina Koneva goes in the women&rsquo;s long jump. She recently posted a world-leading 14.68m in the triple jump, but she is aiming to improve her long jump best of 6.56 m from last seasonHowever, she has already announced that she is going to compete in the triple jump at the European Indoor Championships, and has said that she dreams in the summer of finally breaking into the 15-metre territory. <h3>Osagie and Greene aiming for 600m meeting record</h3> The men&rsquo;s 60m features St Kitts&rsquo; seemingly ageless Kim Collins, who ran a world-leading 6.52 in Dusseldorf on Thursday, as well as US sprinter Mike Rodgers, who finished third in that race in a seasons best of 6.58.Rodgers has fond memories from Moscow after his silver medal in the 4x100m relay from the 2013 IAAF World Championships. The men&rsquo;s 600m will be a high point of the meeting as well. There will be an official farewell ceremony for 2004 Olympic 800m champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy, who has called an end to his brilliant international career. Borzakovskiy won over 600m at the Russian Winter meeting five years ago and this time is hoping to see a meeting record from one of the two British runners in the Russian capital: world indoor 800m bronze medallist Andrew Osagie and former 400m hurdles world champion Dai Greene.However, despite the talent of the two Britons and the fact that the distance is not too often run, such a feat is still a tall order. In 2012, Poland&rsquo;s Adam Kszczot ran 1:15.26 at the Russian Winter meeting, the second fastest time ever and just shy of the world best of 1:15.12 which has stood since 1999 to Germany&rsquo;s Nico Motchebon.Musaeb Balla from Qatar, third at the Russian Winter last year, could also push the British duo for first placeThere is a new competition format at the Russian Winter this year to make the event fast-paced and exciting for spectators: two 45-minute sessions with a 15-minute interval, exactly mirroring a football match.Natalia Maryanchik for the IAAF &nbsp;

The traditional Russian Winter indoor meeting on Sunday (1), the second of this season's IAAF Indoor Permit meetings, features a memorable women’s high jump which brings together again the joint world indoor champions, Poland’s Kamila Licwinko and home star Mariya Kuchina.

World indoor champions Licwinko and Kuchina duel at Russian Winter meeting

The men&rsquo;s high jump clash between Bogdan Bondarenko and Andriy Protsenko will top the bill at the 44th edition of the IAAF World Challenge meeting in the famous Raul Guidobaldi athletics stadium in Rieti on Sunday (7). The Ukrainian pair &ndash; who are familiar foes having faced each other 32 times in a rivalry that stretches back almost a decade to when they were in their mid-teens &ndash; fly direct to Italy after competing in Brussels on Friday night. The meeting record of 2.38m, set by Igor Paklin in 1986, could be under threat. Bondarenko must start as favourite having come out ahead in their last nine head-to-head meetings including, most recently, the European Championships last month when the world champion added a continental title to his collection and Protsenko had to settle for the silver medal.The Rieti runway first became famous to high jump fans in 1984 when Valery Sereda and Carlo Thranardt broke the then European record, both men clearing 2.37m in a fantastic competition. The Rieti meeting will also see the conclusion of the 2014 IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge. The women's challenge came to an end in Berlin last Sunday, with a spectacular world record from Anita Wlodarcyzk. On Saturday afternoon, the day before the main Rieti meeting, this year's men's challenge will be decided. Hungary&rsquo;s Olympic champion Krisztian Pars, who won his second European title in Zurich, will square off against world champion Pawel Fajdek, who recently improved the Polish record with 83.48m in Warsaw. With both men in form, Koji Murofushi&rsquo;s meeting record of 82.62m from 2007 could be under threat. Kiplagat and Souleiman out to extend the track's traditionThe Raul Guidobaldi track has always been known as the temple of middle-distance running and this year Rieti will try to live up to that reputation once again.Kenay&rsquo;s Silas Kiplagat, the fourth-fastest 1500m man of all time with his 3:27.64 set in Monaco six weeks ago, will be looking for his third win in a row over the distance after clocking 3:31.86 in 2012 and 3:30.13 in 2013, and possibly run under 3:30 again.Djibouti&rsquo;s world indoor 1500m champion Ayanleh Souleiman will try to improve his 1:43.69 seasonal best in a great men&rsquo;s 800m race against Poland&rsquo;s European champion Adam Kszczot and Algeria&rsquo;s Olympic 1500m champion Taoufik Makhloufi, who clocked 1:43.53 over two laps of the track in Berlin on Sunday.The women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase sees Tunisia&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Habiba Ghribi try to continue her late-season run of form after winning at the IAAF Diamond League final in Zurich a week ago in a season's best of 9:15.23.The women&rsquo;s 800m will feature another European champion, Belarus&rsquo; Marina Arzamasava, who clocked a personal best of 1:58.15 when she won her continental title in Zurich. For Italian fans, the women&rsquo;s 800m also features Federica Del Buono, just 19, who finished fifth in the 1500m at the European Championships. The daughter of former middle-distance star Gianni Del Buono, and coached by her mother Rossella Gramola, she has an 800m best of 2:01.80 but that could be lowered on Sunday afternoon on the fast Rieti track. &nbsp;US sprint star, and former World Athlete of the Year, Allyson Felix will make her debut on the Rieti track in the women&rsquo;s 100m. Justin Gatlin, the fastest man in the world this year in the 100m and the 200m with 9.80 and 19.68, will provide the highlight of the men&rsquo;s race in the shorter sprint. Nesta Carter, winner in Stockholm last month in 9.96, will return to the track where he clocked his personal best of 9.78 in 2010. Another Jamaican, Asafa Powell, who broke the then world record with 9.74 in 2007, will also make his return to Rieti while the field also features this year&rsquo;s European 100m and 200m silver medallist Christophe Lemaitre, who won in Rieti in 2012. &nbsp;The men&rsquo;s 300m will commemorate the former 200m world record-holder Pietro Mennea, who set a 300m world best of 32.23 in 1979 on the Raul Guidobaldi track and competed 11 times in the Rieti meeting. Last year, Jamaica&rsquo;s Rusheen McDonald broke Mennea&rsquo;s track record with 31.97.&nbsp; Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF

The men’s high jump clash between Bohdan Bondarenko and Andriy Protsenko will top the bill at the 44th edition of the IAAF World Challenge meeting in the famous Raul Guidobaldi athletics stadium in Rieti on Sunday (7). 

Bondarenko and Protsenko, Pars and Fajdek provide head-to-head thrills in Rieti

World high jump champion Bohdan Bondarenko has fond memories of Athletissima as the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Lausanne was where, last year, he first broke through into 2.40m territory.The Ukrainian returned to the Swiss city on Thursday (3) and successfully defended his Athletissima title. His winning height of 2.40m was just one centimetre lower than his clearance from 12 months ago, but his victory was just as meaningful, given the quality of the field he defeated.Four men cleared 2.38m, surpassing the record set earlier this year in Doha for the best ever depth in a high jump competition.The biggest surprise came in the form of Bondarenko’s compatriot Andrey Protsenko, who became the latest member of the 2.40m club. The world indoor bronze medallist is now the sixth man this year to scale that height, indoors or out.Bondarenko waited until the bar was at 2.29m before entering the competition. For a moment, he looked to be in danger too as he opened with two failures, but he successfully negotiated the bar on his third try to stay in the competition.World indoor champion Mutaz Essa Barshim had a similar scare at that height, also needing three attempts to get over it.Olympic silver medallist Erik Kynard snatched the lead at the next height, 2.32m, with a first-time clearance as Bondarenko, Barshim and London 2012 Olympic Games champion Ivan Ukhov passed.Kynard then exited at 2.35m, but Barshim, Bondarenko, Protsenko, Ukhov and world bronze medallist Derek Drouin all sailed over on their first attempt.It was clear that the field was still some way off the winning height.Drouin was the next to go out of the competition, missing twice at 2.38m and once at 2.40m. Bondarenko passed that bar as Barshim, Ukhov and Protsenko flopped over with one jump each.Barshim, who didn’t appear to be quite as slick as he was at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in New York where he cleared an Asian record of 2.42m, bowed out at 2.40m. Ukhov passed at that height while Bondarenko got over it on his second try.Then – astoundingly – so did Protsenko with his final attempt.Ukhov ended with three failures at 2.42m, while Bondarenko rounded out his series with another trio of unsuccessful tries at a world record height of 2.46m.“Tonight the atmosphere was great and I really enjoy coming back to Lausanne,” said Bondarenko. “In training I wasn’t jumping that high, maybe 2.25m, but the competition and the crowd really make me jump better.”Ahye makes her mark, world lead from GatlinTrinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye had never before competed in an IAAF Diamond League meeting but the 22-year-old wasn’t intimidated by lining up against the likes of double world silver medallist Murielle Ahoure and world 200m bronze medallist Blessing Okagbare over 100m.After a relatively poor start, the diminutive Ahye drew level with Ahoure and stole victory on the line as both athletes were timed at 10.98. Ahye had recently run 0.13 quicker in more favourable conditions to win her national title, but it was a season’s best for Ahoure.“Tonight I felt really good and very pleased to have won my first Diamond League event,” said Ahye. “The time was good and I’m happy to go under 11 seconds. I know that if I can get the first 20-30 metres right, I can run a good race.”In the men’s 100m – a non-Diamond League event in Lausanne – world silver medallist Justin Gatlin sped to a world-leading 9.80, the second-fastest time of his career, to finish ahead of compatriot Tyson Gay, who was second in 9.93.The pre-race focus of the men’s 200m had been on the return of double Olympic silver medallist Yohan Blake, but the Jamaican was relegated to an also-ran as Panama’s Alonso Edward stole the show.The 2009 world silver medallist has managed to recapture his best form of five years ago and sped to victory in 19.84, just 0.03 shy of the best he set as a teenager at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin.With it, Edward jumped to the top of the Diamond Race standings.Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade clocked 20.06 in second place as Christophe Lemaitre set a season’s best of 20.11 in third. Tying up before the line, Blake was a distant sixth in 20.48.Kwemoi surprises and Ibarguen ties world leadRonald Kwemoi may not be a household name, but the 18-year-old Kenyan has never lost a 1500m race. He maintained that record in Lausanne when stunning a quality field that included 2011 world silver medallist Silas Kiplagat, Ethiopian record-holder Aman Wote, USA’s world silver medallist Matt Centrowitz and Morocco’s former world indoor champion Abdalaati Iguider.Led by the pacemakers through 800m in 1:51.06 and 1200m in 2:50.06, Kwemoi kicked hard on the final lap to edge ahead of Kiplagat. Unstoppable, the teenager continued to charge towards the line and stopped the clock at 3:31.48, the fastest time in the world by a junior for 10 years.Kiplagat finished a few strides behind in 3:31.81 with another Kenyan, James Magut, taking third in 3:31.91.World champion Caterine Ibarguen showed no signs of surrendering her winning streak in the triple jump. The 30-year-old led from the outset, and each time Russia’s world indoor champion Yekaterina Koneva challenged, the Colombian responded.Ibarguen improved with each of her first four jumps, eventually landing at 14.87m to equal her own world-leading mark. She has not lost since taking the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games, while Koneva ultimately had to settle for second place with 14.67m.Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

World high jump champion Bohdan Bondarenko has fond memories of Athletissima as the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Lausanne was where, last year, he first broke through into 2.40m territory.

Bondarenko wins again in Lausanne, Protsenko joins 2.40m club – IAAF Diamond League

Three planned world record assaults and appearances by world leaders Justin Gatlin, Renaud Lavillenie and LaShawn Merritt are just some of the highlights expected at the 53rd Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on Tuesday (17).However, with the Czech Republic home to the reigning world champion on the men&rsquo;s side and Olympic champion on the women&rsquo;s, the infield action most eagerly anticipated in Ostrava comes in the javelin. Indeed, consistently among the main attractions in Ostrava is Czech heroine Barbora Spotakova, who returned to action this season after maternity leave last year. The two-time Olympic champion, who has won twice here and is the meeting record-holder at 67.78m, has performed admirably already this season, hinting that little, if anything, was lost during her time off. By her own admission faster and slightly slimmer this summer, she won the IAAF Diamond League fixture in Rome earlier this month with a 66.43m effort and took top honours again four days later in Prague where she reached 64.08m. The toughest challenge should come from Slovenian record-holder Martina Ratej, winner at the opening 2014 IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha last month with a good 65.48m effort.In the competitive men&rsquo;s event, world and European champion V&iacute;tezslav Vesely won&rsquo;t need to look too far for his primary threat. Compatriot Petr Frydrych has a career best that&rsquo;s nearly identical to Vesely&rsquo;s &ndash; 88.34m for the latter, 88.23m for the former &ndash; and, on current form, owns the best throw of those assembled here, an 85.07m effort from his victory Prague last week. The field also includes Russia&rsquo;s Dmitri Tarabin, bronze medalist at last year&rsquo;s IAAF World Championships, and Olympic bronze medallist Antti Ruuskanen of Finland.Spotakova and Vesely take up two-thirds of this year&rsquo;s meeting poster; the remaining portion is devoted to Justin Gatlin, currently the hottest 100m sprinter in the world.Gatlin, the 100m world leader at 9.87 from the Beijing IAAF World Challenge meeting, arrives unbeaten in seven 100m starts this year and has produced the season&rsquo;s three fastest performances.&ldquo;If the weather holds up and if there&rsquo;s going to be a good fair wind, I think we can go out there do something very special,&rdquo; said the world silver medallist, who last raced in Ostrava in 2004. Lavillenie returns to familiar stomping groundsOlympic pole vault champion Renaud Lavillenie famously soared to 6.16m indoors to finally succeed Sergey Bubka as the event&rsquo;s standard bearer. The Frenchman hasn&rsquo;t let up since, winning each of his six outdoor competitions and arriving as the world leader at 5.92m. He is familiar with Ostrava too, having cleared meeting records of 5.90m and 5.92m here in 2012 and 2013 respectively.The field includes Germany&rsquo;s Raphael Holzdeppe who upset Lavillenie at the World Championships last year and five others with career bests of 5.80m or better.Minor ailments have forced Olympic gold and silver medallists Ivan Ukhov and Erik Kynard to the sidelines, so the focus in the men&rsquo;s high jump will shift to Ukraine&rsquo;s Andriy Protsenko. The 26-year-old has been on the rise this season, firstly improving his indoor best to 2.36m to take the bronze at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships. On Saturday, he topped 2.35m to finish third in New York, a personal best outdoors.The men&rsquo;s 400m features two-time world champion LaShawn Merritt, the joint 2014 world leader at 43.97.With seven wins in nine races this spring &ndash; most recently in New York on Saturday &ndash;&nbsp;the US sprinter is clearly the class of the field, with nearly a full second on the season&rsquo;s next fastest here, Botswana&rsquo;s African champion Isaac Makwala, who clocked a national record of 44.92 at altitude in Potchefstroom a month ago.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the women&rsquo;s 200m features Olympic and three-time world champion Allyson Felix, who continues her return from an injury-plagued 2013 season. The 28-year-old Californian arrives in Ostrava on the heels of a confidence-boosting 22.73 win in Oslo this week.Record ambitions for Aman in the 1000m and Dibaba at 2000mAfter setting world bests as a youth and junior, world 800m champion Mohamed Aman is wasting little time in his effort to continue breaking records now that he&rsquo;s joined the senior ranks. His first target? Noah Ngeny&rsquo;s 1000m world record of 2:11.96 set in 1999.Aman won the 800m in Ostrava last year in 1:43.78, and has run faster than 1:43 twice, but hasn&rsquo;t contested a 1000m race since the 2010 Youth Olympic Games which he won 2:19.54. The prospects of a fast time over the rarely-run distance has attracted entrants from more than a dozen countries. France&rsquo;s Pierre-Ambroise Bosse and multiple European indoor champion Adam Kszczot of Poland will be chasing their national records.Not to be outdone, also billed as a world record assault is the rarely contested women&rsquo;s 2000m designed with rapidly rising star Genzebe Dibaba in mind. The Ethiopian, who set world indoor records this past winter in the 1500m and 3000m, will be targeting Sonia O&rsquo;Sullivan&rsquo;s 5:25.36 mark set two decades ago. On paper the mark should be within the 23-year-old&rsquo;s reach; in her 8:16.60 3000m record, she covered the final 2000m in 5:27.95. Dibaba was a well-beaten sixth in the Doha 3000m last month, her outdoor debut, but bounced back in Rome on 4 June where she won the 5000m with a world-leading 14:34.99.Kiplagat to chase 20,000m and one hour world recordsThe first advertised world record assault will come early in the programme with Florence Kiplagat&rsquo;s looking for new global standards in both the women&rsquo;s one-hour run and 20,000m. Given her form this year &ndash; in February she broke the world record in the half marathon with a 1:05:12 performance and took down the 20km mark en route &ndash; there&rsquo;s little reason to doubt that two more records are not within the two-time Berlin Marathon champion&rsquo;s reach. The Golden Spike has successfully hosted the distances in the past. Haile Gebrselassie broke both world marks here in 2007 and a year later fellow Ethiopian Dire Tune followed his lead when she improved the world record in the one-hour event with 18,517m. Tegla Loroupe has held the 20,000m world record of 1:05:26.6 since September 2000.Rounding out the middle-distance action is the featured Zatopek Memorial 3000m, where Caleb Ndiku, the recently minted world indoor champion in the event, has his sights set on the 7:31.68 meeting record. The 21-year-old will start as favourite, landing in Ostrava on the heels of a world-leading 13:01.71 5000m run in Eugene and a narrow runner-up finish over the same distance in Oslo. &ldquo;If everything goes well, it will be easy for me to break this record,&rdquo; Ndiku said. The solid field includes the ever-young Bernard Lagat of the US, Kenyan Augustine Choge, and 2008 Olympic 1500m medallist Nick Willis of New Zealand.In the women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Hiwot Ayalew is the class of the field and will be chasing the 9:17.92 meeting record set last year. Robles returns to world record setting Ostrava&rsquo;s strong tradition in the sprint hurdles continues. Pascal Martinot-Lagarde arrives as not only the fastest sprint hurdler of the season, but the most consistent. The 22-year-old Frenchman won his last two outings in 13.13 and 13.12 in Eugene and Oslo respectively, the two fastest performances of the year. The field also includes Jamaica&rsquo;s Hansle Parchment, the Olympic bronze medallist, who has clocked 13.14 this season and will be gunning for his third win of the year. Meanwhile, Cuba comes armed with the prodigious Yordan O&rsquo;Farill and Dayron Robles, the 2008 Olympic champion who returned to action this season after sitting out last year to injury. Robles knows the Ostrava track well; he broke the world record here in 2008, clocking 12.87.As has become tradition, the meeting kicks off the day prior to the main programme when it makes the world&rsquo;s finest hammer throwers centre stage as part of the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge.The men&rsquo;s event features a podium reunion from last year&rsquo;s World Championships, headed by gold medallist Pawel Fajdek. The 25-year-old Pole set his 82.45m career best last year in nearby Dubnica nad Vahom, Slovakia, and is rounding into 80-metre form. But two men in the field have already breached that barrier this season: reigning Olympic champion and current world leader Krisztian Pars (81.31m) from Hungary and Mostafa Al-Gamel of Egypt, who extended the African record to 81.29m in March. The local favourite is Czech star Lukas Melich, the world bronze medallist. Pars set the meeting record of 82.28m in 2012.On the women&rsquo;s side, Germany&rsquo;s Betty Heidler leads the field. The world record holder and 2007 world champion has reached 76.91m this season, the second farthest in the world. She is also the meeting record-holder at 78.07m from 2012.Former world record-holder Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland, whose impressive medal haul includes world gold in 2009, European gold in 2012, and world and Olympic silver in 2013 and 2012 respectively, will be making her season&rsquo;s debut.The programme also includes two competitive 400m hurdles contests. In the men&rsquo;s race, the attention will fall squarely on Ashton Eaton, the Olympic champion and world record-holder in the decathlon who is turning his attention to the full lap hurdles this season as a break from the combined events. Eaton arrives in Ostrava fresh from a 49.07 personal best in Hengelo and a 49.16 victory in Oslo in little more than the past week.On the women&rsquo;s side, the favourite is Bahrain&rsquo;s Kemi Adekoya, the surprise Doha winner in 54.59 and runner-up in Oslo. In the men&rsquo;s shot put, Kurt Roberts of the US will arrive on the heels of a 21.47m outdoor best, just shy of his 21.50m indoor best, to lead the field. The spotlight will nonetheless fall on two-time Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski. The Pole has reached 21.04m this season but has yet to notch a victory. Meanwhile the crowd could push rising Czech star Tomas Stanek, who recently reached a personal best of 20.93m, into new territory.Bob Ramsak (organisers) for the IAAF

Three planned world record assaults and appearances by world leaders Justin Gatlin, Renaud Lavillenie and LaShawn Merritt are just some of the highlights expected at the 53rd Golden Spike meeting on Tuesday (17).

Three world record attempts, Lavillenie and Merritt set to highlight Ostrava meeting

You know when it’s getting to business time in the men’s
high jump. Ivan Ukhov removes his training tights.The 2012 Olympic champion and red hot favourite kept his
leggings on as he sailed over 2.20m, 2.29m and 2.34m at the first time of
asking. Not until the bar was raised to 2.38m did we get a sight of the
Russian’s legs.At that stage there were only four men left in the medal
mix. There might have been four but Ukhov’s team mate Daniil Tsyplakov was
timed out after clearing 2.36m.As it was, Ukhov was one of two jumpers with a perfect card.
Mutaz Essa Barsham, the Olympic bronze medallist and world silver medallist
from Qatar, was in silky smooth form, sailing over 2.20m, 2.25m, 2.29m, 2.32m,
2.34m and 2.36m with room to spare.Andriy Protsenko of Ukraine needed three attempts to clear
2.32m but nailed 2.36m first time. Olympic silver medallist Erik Kynard was
doing his best to hang in. The US jumper managed 2.34m but failed on his first
attempt at 2.36m, then passed to 2.38m and bowed out with two failures at that
height.Protsenko exited too, but with the consolation of a bronze
medal and a personal best. Ukhov was on the verge of following suit after two
failures but then roused himself and the crowd, clearing the bar with his final
attempt.Barshim succeeded with his first attempt, improving his
Asian indoor record, and it was the jump that was to win him the gold. Both the
Qatari and Ukhov were unable to register a clearance at 2.40m, so Barshim took
the title on count-back.Ukhov, unbeaten in his previous seven competitions this
winter, looked crestfallen. Barshim was so overjoyed, he raced up into the
stands, in the style of Pat Cash at Wimbledon circa 1987, to celebrate with his
coach and support team.The 22-year-old has made a habit of finishing on the podium
at global championships, on this occasion at the very top of the pile. “It is
my first indoor medal and it’s a gold,” he said. “I’m very happy with that and
with an Asian record.”As for Ukhov, the beaten favourite insisted: “I’m not
unhappy. I wasn’t quite successful, but it happens. It’s just sport.”Simon Turnbull for
the IAAF

You know when it’s getting to business time in the men’s high jump. Ivan Ukhov removes his training tights.

Report: men’s high jump final – Sopot 2014

There were some wobbles at the 2.16m opening height for some of the pedigree jumpers in the field.Donald Thomas of The Bahamas has a World Championship gold medal, circa 2007, and a 2.33m season’s best to his name but was unable to register a clearance at 2.16m – 15cm short of the automatic qualifying height.Olympic bronze medallists Robbie Grabarz of Great Britain and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim also had their troubles, dislodging the bar with their heels at the first time of asking. Both men succeeded with their second attempts but Grabarz continued to struggle, failing with his first attempts at 2.21m and 2.25m before finally bowing out at 2.28m.In contrast, Barshim quickly got into his customary groove, the Asian record-holder negotiating 2.21m, 2.25m and 2.28m with ease to finish comfortably in the top eight and qualify for Sunday’s final.In the end, there was no need for the bar to be raised to 2.31m. Russia’s 2012 Olympic champion and 2014 world leader Ivan Ukhov did not bother to remove his tights as he sailed over 2.16m and 2.25m, seemingly in training mode. It will be different when it comes to the final tomorrow. The red-hot favourite has already announced that he will have his sights on Javier Sotomayor’s global indoor mark of 2.43m, as well as the gold medal.The Russian will be joined in the final by team-mate Daniil Tsyplakov and Ukraine’s Andriy Protsenko, who both registered clean cards. Italy’s Marco Fassinotti, a training partner of Grabarz who cleared an Italian record of 2.34m recently, scraped through with a third-time clearance at 2.28m. China’s Zhang Gouwei succeeded with a second-time clearance, then celebrated as he had done when making the 2011 World Championship final – by ripping off his vest, Robert Harting style.Simon Turnbull for the IAAF

There were some wobbles at the 2.16m opening height for some of the pedigree jumpers in the field.