Day one review -Queen Carolina still rules – just – Sotherton gave everything in her bid to become the first athlete to defeat Klüft in a combined events competition since 2002

A thrilling finish to the highest standard competition ever seen in the women’s pentathlon crowned the first day of the 29th European Athletics Indoor Championships at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena and saw Sweden’s Carolina Klüft defend her title despite a valiant challenge from Britain’s Kelly Sotherton.

With a lead of just 24 points, Klüft needed to stay within 1.5 seconds of the Briton before the final 800m. As ever, she was the ultimate competitor and set her sites on Sotherton’s back, tracking her to the finish. She crossed the line just half a second behind the Briton to finish with a total of 4944 points, four short of the championships record she set in Madrid two years ago.

„What a great competition to win,“ said Klüft. „I feel very happy to come out on top of this event. It was very hard right from the start and Kelly pushed all the time on every event. It is good for the event to have so many athletes so close together.

„On the last lap, I just had to hang on and I’m glad I did. All the points the rest of the women got is great to see and it shows that we are all getting better.“

Sotherton gave everything in her bid to become the first athlete to defeat Klüft in a combined events competition since 2002, setting three personal bests on route to a points total of 4927 that smashed her own British and Commonwealth record and pushes her up to fourth on the world all-time list.

„I would have liked to have come first,“ said Sotherton. „But being in a competition and doing so well against the Olympic champion shows I’m going the right way.“

Other records tumbled too. Dutchwoman Karin Ruckstuhl, Austra Skujyte of Lithuania and Nataliya Dobrynska of Ukraine all set national records, while in sixth place, the diminutive Briton, Jessica Ennis, set a massive PB by 300 points. The first six women all surpassed 4,700 points, a feat unparalleled in the history of the sport.

„I’ve really worked my guts out and it’s been fantastic to come here as we’ve all raised our game,“ said Sotherton, neatly summing up the mood. „With people like Carolina in the field it always makes it a lot harder but it’s still great fun. It’s been a really great day.“

Susanna Kallur added to the great day for Sweden when she held on to her European indoor 60m hurdles title, despite a terrible start.

The reigning champion added to her European outdoor crown as she recovered from the back of the field at the first hurdle to win in 7.87, three-hundredths slower than her silky smooth semi-final victory.

„After that bad start, it was really good that I was able to get back up,“ she said.

By contrast, Russia’s Aleksandra Antonova had an outstanding reaction to the gun and held on to take a surprise silver medal in 7.94 with Germany’s Kirsten Bolm, another fast starter, getting her second successive bronze medal with a season’s best of 7.97.

It was case of double Dutch glory in the men’s 60m hurdles final as fast-starting Gregory Sedoc led home a shock one-two for the Netherlands. Sedoc pipped his close friend Marcel van der Westen in a dramatic finish in which only five-hundredths of a second separated the top five.

60mhmena Sedoc matched his lifetime best of 7.63 to repel the fast-finishing Van Der Westen by just 0.01, while Spain’s Ecuadorian-born Jackson Quinonez took the bronze medal in 7.65.

It was the slowest winning time for 21 years at the championships but an elated Sedoc was unconcerned. „This is ridiculous,“ said Sedoc. „Unbelievable. I never thought I would be able to become European champion. It’s crazy but I’m very pleased.

But there was disappointment for home hope Andy Turner. The Briton, who won a European 110m hurdles bronze medal last summer, ran below expectations to place fourth in 7.67. „The medal was there for the taking,“ said a deflated Turner. „You don’t know how disappointed I am to miss this great opportunity.“

Mikulas Konopka secured the first gold of the championships, and the first ever gold for Slovakia in a European indoors, with a magnificent series of throws in the men’s shot put final, exceeding 21 metres on all five of his valid attempts.

His best of 21.57m came in the second round, and added a massive one metre and two centimetres to his two-year old national record. Konopka had opened with 21.32m and went on to produce 21.57, x, 21.36, 21.14 and 21.40.

„My training in recent months had been very good and I’d had signals that I was ready to throw over 21 metres but I didn’t expect to throw that far,“ said the delighted Konopka. „There was a defiant idea to get a big throw out early to surprise the other competitors.“

He certainly did that. Pavel Lyzhyn of Belarus took the silver and the pre-championships favourite, Joachim Olsen of Denmark, had to be satisfied with bronze.

mensp The disappointed Dane said: „I was not expecting Mikulas to throw that far. For me, it was very bad. I had all sorts of technical problems and then with the big distances that the others were throwing I just had to go for it.“

Britain’s Nicola Sanders looks set for a tough battle in the final of the women’s 400m tomorrow evening. The fastest woman in Europe over two laps by more than a second before these championships, Sanders qualified fastest from the semi-finals this evening in 51.06, but Ilona Usovich of Belarus was equally impressive in winning the first semi in 51.23.

Germany’s Bastian Swillims looks like the man most likely in the men’s 400m final tomorrow after qualifying fastest from the semis in a comfortable looking personal best of 45.92.

In the absence of defending champion and world record holder Christian Olsson, it was Britain’s Nathan Douglas who led the qualifiers for the final of the men’s triple jump, while this morning another British medal hope, Mo Farah survived a tumble in the men’s 3000m heats to make it to tomorrow’s final as a fastest loser.

Source:
European Athlelic Association
EAIC07/newsteam/mkb