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More news articles Five of the highlights in Doha
Head-to-head showdowns between Jeter and Jones-Ferrette in the 60m, Trammell and Robles in the 60m hurdles, Ostapchuk and Vili in the shot put and Kenya versus Ethiopia in the distance races will be among the highlights at the World Indoor Championships
WITHOUT a world outdoor championship to aim for, the World Indoor Championships will be the key focus in the 2010 season for many of the world’s leading athletes and this can be illustrated by the consistent strength in depth across all events at the World Indoor Championships this year.
Women’s 60m
AN expected showdown between USA’s Carmelita Jeter and Laverne Jones-Ferrette promises to be one of the highlights judging by their most recent encounter at the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham. On that occasion, Jeter edged out Jones-Ferrette after a photo-finish decided the outcome and the American is timing her peak well, as Jeter won the US indoor title in a lifetime best 7.02.
However, Jones-Ferrette leads their head-to-head 2-1 after wins in Dusseldorf and Stuttgart and on that particular occasion, the US Virgin Islands athlete took the victory in 6.97, which was the world’s fastest time since 1999 but despite this form, Jones-Ferrette has yet to prove herself at a major event. The 28-year-old made the 60m semi-finals in Moscow and Valencia and was a double quarter-finalist at the Olympic Games.
Two-time Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown isn’t in her very best form but the Jamaican, who set a season’s best of 7.14 in her most recent race, is expected to challenge for the podium.
UK indoor champion Joice Maduaka is the sole British representative in the field.
Men’s 60m hurdles
THERE is very little separating Dayron Robles and Terrence Trammell this year. The two protagonists enter the competition unbeaten this year and while Trammell marginally leads the world rankings with a season’s best of 7.41, Robles’s season’s best is just three-hundredths shy of Trammell’s world-leading mark.
Trammell, who is a two-time Olympic 110m hurdles silver medallist, will be seeking his third world indoor title after victories in 2001 and 2006 while Robles is looking to add the world indoor crown to his Olympic title from Beijing.
Robles has a somewhat chequered record at this championship and after taking silver behind Trammell at the age of 19 in 2006, Robles started as the commanding favourite in Valencia after a 7.33 Cuban national record but the Cuban pulled up after he mistakenly thought he heard a recall gun in the heats.
Petr Svoboda, who set a national indoor record of 7.44 at the Czech Indoor Championships, is another strong medal contender and the Berlin sixth placer sits at joint No.2 on the world rankings.
Second to Trammell at the US Indoor Championships and third in Beijing, David Oliver is another of the pre-competition favourites along with Bahamas Shamar Sands and Russia’s Yevgeniy Borisov.
Women’s 3000m
AFTER underperforming at the World Championships last year, Meseret Defar will be keen to atone for her disappointing showing in Berlin with her fourth successive world indoor title.
The 26-year-old Ethiopian has been in fantastic shape on the boards but at the same time, Defar has been disappointed to miss breaking her world indoor records by the narrowest of margins. The former Olympic 5000m champion won the 3000m at the Sparkassen Cup in 8:24.46 which was a mere 0.74 outside her PB and at the GE Galan in Stockholm, Defar’s 5000m performance of 14:24.79 was just 0.42 short of her world record.
Defar, who took the gold medal in 2004, 2006 and 2008 and silver in 2003, starts as the pre-competition favourite but the field will be one of the strongest ever assembled for this event.
Defar is joined on the Ethiopian squad by Sentayehu Ejigu, who moved to No.3 on the all-time lists with an 8:25.57 lifetime best to finish second to Defar in Stuttgart and the 25-year-old, who was fourth in Moscow four years ago, is a good bet for a podium finish.
First and second over 5000m at the World Championships last year, Vivian Cheruiyot and Sylvia Kibet comprise a strong Kenyan presence. Cheruiyot boasts a 3000m PB of 8:30.53 indoors while Kibet holds the Kenyan indoor 1500m record of 4:05.33.
European indoor champion Alemitu Bekele from Turkey set a European 5000m record of 14:46.44 last month and the 32-year-old, who possesses a very spirited sprint finish, is another medal contender along with the experienced Russian Yelena Zadorozhnaya.
The British will be represented by City of Norwich’s Barbara Parker, who has set a PB of 8:52.90, as well as UK indoor silver medallist Gemma Turtle.
Women’s shot
ON the infield, the shot put should provide one of the most enthralling head-to-heads as defending champion Valerie Vili takes on Belarussian powerhouse Nadzeya Ostapchuk for the title.
Ostapchuk produced a blazing performance at the Belarussian Indoor Championships where the former world champion set a PB of 21.70m, which was the world’s longest putt since the 1988 Olympic Games to move to No.3 on the all-time lists.
Despite this mark which was an advancement of 61cm on her PB, Ostapchuk has something of a reputation for failing to produce her best form at the major championships, unlike Vili, who always gauges her preparation in order to peak for the big occasion.
Even though Vili hasn’t got within one metre of Ostapchuk’s world-leading mark, the New Zealander has dominated this event since 2007 and the world and Olympic champion has won eight of her previous nine encounters against the Belarussian, with Ostapchuk’s last win coming at the World Athletics Final three years ago.
Other medal contenders include Ostapchuk’s compatriot Natallia Mikhnevich, who will be seeking to regain the title she won in 2006, and German veteran Nadine Kleinert.
Men’s 3000m
SIX entrants have ducked under the 7:35-barrier this year to show this race will be one of the highest standard.
Kenya’s Augustine Choge leads the world rankings with a PB of 7:31.75 and the Commonwealth Games 5000m champion has also set a 1500m lifetime best of 3:33.74 but the 22-year-old only leads the world rankings by a marginal distance and the Kenyan can be somewhat suspect in a slow-run race.
Compatriot Sammy Mutahi only made his indoor debut this year but the 20-year-old, who took victories at the Aviva International and Aviva Grand Prix, is favoured for a medal.
After missing the majority of the 2009 campaign, defending champion Tariku Bekele returned to form with a lifetime best of 7:31.78 last month and his Ethiopian team-mate Abreham Cherkos, who won a bronze medal in Valencia, should not be discounted either.
East Africa have dominated long-distance running over the past decade but the Europeans could have a say in the direction of the medals through Sergio Sanchez and Bouabdellah Tahri, who have firmly established themselves in the higher echelons of long-distance running.
Sanchez, motivated by this summer’s European Championships on home soil in Barcelona, set European indoor records at 2000m and 3000m this year and the Spaniard’s 3000m PB of 7:32.41 ranks him in the top ten of all-time while Tahri, who took a bronze medal in the steeplechase in Berlin, lowered the European indoor 5000m record to 13:11.13.
Bernard Lagat, who won this title in 2004 for Kenya, and Galen Rupp comprise a very strong American duo, who will also be in medal contention.
Scott Overall, who comes fresh from a PB of 7:50.66, is the sole British entrant.
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