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Mokoena leaps to gold medal
08/03/2008 22:39 - (SA)
Valencia - South Africa's Godfrey Mokoena has struck gold at the World Indoor athletics championships in Valencia when he won the long jump with a distance of 8.08m.
Chris Tomlinson of Briain was second with a jump of 8.06m and Mohamed Al Khuwalidi of Saudi Arabia third in 8.01m.
Raf Casert of AP reported that there is no doubt about it that Liu Xiang is ready for the Beijing Olympics.
And so is Yelena Isinbayeva.
China's biggest star in athletics competed in his first 60m hurdles competition of the season on Saturday and dominated from the heats to the final to win his first gold medal at the world indoor championships.
In the most touted event of the three-day championships, Dayron Robles did not keep his part of the bargain to challenge Liu. The Cuban was eliminated in the heats when he wrongly assumed a false start.
Liu made sure the event was not a let down. Despite a slow start, he moved into the lead halfway through the race to win in 7.46sec. American veteran and triple indoor champion Allen Johnson took silver in 7.55.
As soon as Liu crossed the line, he broke into a boyish grin and held up his index finger to show who will be the man to beat in Beijing.
Medal standings
Isinbayeva was as solid as ever in competition to win her third straight world indoor title, holding off rising US vaulter Jennifer Stuczynski. Both cleared 4.75m, but the Russian needed fewer attempts. Both failed three times at 4.85.
In the women's 60 hurdles, world record holder Susanna Kallur pulled out with a hamstring injury she sustained during her warmup for the semi-finals, robbing the Swede of a likely gold. Instead, LoLo Jones and Candice Davis led an American 1-2 finish in the event.
The result left the US team on top of the medal standings with three golds and eight medals overall. Isinbayeva gave Russia its first gold, and with four medals overall, it is in second place ahead of Sunday's 14 finals.
It was a day of several multiple golds.
Olympic champion Stefan Holm won gold for Sweden in the high jump, clearing 2.36m to beat defending champion Yaroslav Rybakov of Russia. It was his fourth indoor world title.
Meseret Defar won her third straight 3 000m title, leading a 1-2 Ethiopian finish ahead of Meselech Melkamu. In a slow race, Defar kicked for home with 400 meters to go and, predictably, no one could match it.
The day, however, was billed as the clash between Liu and Robles ahead of the Beijing Olympics, and it did not deliver.
Robles was alongside his main rival in the second heat when the starting gun fired. All other racers went off but Robles casually got up before realizing his mistake.
Second pistol
Liu said Robles might have been fooled by his lightning fast start, which was just .005 seconds within the legal limits.
"I feel that this put him off," said Liu, the world record holder in the 110 hurdles. "It is better to continue running until you hear the second pistol."
The 21-year-old Cuban sprinter grabbed his head in despair and fell to the track after the race, with Liu kneeling down beside him. Robles sat disbelieving for several more minutes before he left the track without making any comment.
"It is a shame because I wanted to run against him. He is my reference in the 60 meters hurdles," Liu said.
It was Liu's first indoor competition this season and his first real test in months. The world outdoor champion had played down expectations, saying a top-three finish would be enough. The victory left him giddy with excitement, dancing with the Chinese flag draped over his head.
Liu won bronze in the event in 2003, silver in 2004 and did not compete in Moscow two years ago. Robles was a silver medalist in Moscow.
Cuba got a gold medal from Yargelis Savigne, who set a Central American record of 15.05 on her last attempt in the triple jump, overtaking Hrysopiyi Devetzi of Greece by 5 centimetres.
Maria Mutola of Mozambique won her semi-final heat in the 800 to stay on course for her record eighth gold in the event. Sunday's final will also be the last indoor race of her career.
- Reuters
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