by Alfonz Juck
Genezebe Dibaba, photo by PhotoRun.netDibaba 3:57.45, five World leads
KARLSRUHE (GER, Feb 3): Third IAAF World Indoor Tour started in Karlsruhe with 5 World leads before capacity crowd of 4500. Dibaba in the 1500 m and Gebrhiwot in 3000 m along with Nelvis in the hurdles were the running highlights. Great duel Holzdeppe-Lavillenie the technical one, long jump was also a fine battle decided in last round. The tour continues on Tuesday in Dusseldorf.
Event by event
Men
60 m: China’s Su Bingtian was the fastest in the heats at 6.53 and e blasted to an Asian record of 6.47 in the final ahead of Jamaica’s Everton Clarke (6.54 PB) and Spain’s Yunier Perez (6.54).
800 m: Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski clung on for the victory in 1:46.90 by 0.01 from USA’s Erik Sowinski.
3000 m: Hagos Gebrhiwet closed the programme with a 25.73 last lap to win the 3000m in a 7:37.91 world-lead ahead of Ethiopian teammate Yomif Kejelcha (7:38.67).
Pole vault: Raphael Holzdeppe cleared a world-lead and indoor PB of 5.88m to defeat Renaud Lavillenie (5.83m) and Pawel Wojciechowski (5.70m) before attempting an outright PB of 5.95m.
Long jump (non Tour event): 19-year-old Juan Miguel Echevarria from Cuba won with 7.97m on his indoor debut.
Women
60 m (non Tour event): Tatjana Pinto led a German one-two in 7.10 ahead of Lisa Mayer with a 7.12 PB. European indoor champion Asha Philip was given the same time in third.
400 m: European-leading mark for Switzerland’s Lea Sprunger at 52.03. Second overall Slovenian Anita Horvat who won the other race in 52.58.
1500 m: Genzebe Dibaba blasted to a 3:57.45 world-lead, the third fastest time in history indoors behind her world record of 3:55.17 from 2014 and her 3:56.46 1500m split en route to her world mile record in Stockholm in 2016. Konstanze Klosterhalfen just missed the 33-year-old German indoor record with a 4:04.00 PB in second.
60 mH: Sharika Nelvis claimed the world-lead at 7.80 ahead of Christina Manning in 7.81 (for both also PB´s). European indoor and outdoor champion Cindy Roleder returned to form after injury with a European-lead and equal PB of 7.84 in third.
Long jump: Malaika Mihambo went out to a world-leading 6.72m from Sosthene Moguenara in 6.70m. European indoor champion Ivana Spanovic only managed one legal mark (6.61m) while Olympic champion Tianna Bartoletta was eighth with 6.16m.
High jump: Bulgaria’s Mirela Demireva returned to form with a 1.95m indoor PB (her season debut) ahead of world silver medallist Yuliya Levchenko at 1.92m.
