More top performances at the London Grand Prix -European Athletics (EAA) – NEWS

Yevgeniy Lukyanenko made a little bit of athletics history at the London Grand Prix this afternoon when the Russian pole vaulter was one of two men to clear 5.97m at the same meeting for the first time ever.

Lukyanenko won the battle of the six-metre men on count back from Australia's Steve Hooker (he took two attempts to Hooker's three) as world number one Brad Walker was pushed back into equal third with Germany's Alexander Straub.

"I think I jumped very well," said the 23-year-old Lukyanenko, who has cleared 6.01 this year. "I'm not disappointed but I would have liked to have jumped higher."

There was another impressive Russian victory in the women's High Jump as Anna Chicherova cleared 2.01 to win by 9cm from Canada's Nicole Forrester.

However, Belgium's European Champion Tia Hellebaut struggled and finished fourth with a disappointing 1.92.

Christine Obergföll declared herself "satisfied" after she won an all-European women's Javelin competition with 65.93m. Britain's Goldie Sayers was pleased with her third best ever, 63.82m, good enough for second place, while Steffi Nerius was third with 61.81m.

On an day of superb Jamaican sprinting there were also breakthrough performances from a number of Britain's Beijing-bound track stars, not least from 400m man Martyn Rooney who slipped under 45 seconds for the first time.

The former World Junior bronze medallist ran 44.83 in a race he described as "Just perfect" to beat Canada's Tyler Christopher, second in 45.29.

"I've been in this shape but I just needed a good race to push me along, and this was it," said the tall south Londoner who now has his sights set on an Olympic final place.

"I will be upset if I don't make the final in Beijing," he said. "Once you are in the final anything can happen."

Ireland's David Gillick was third in 45.35, ahead of the Americans David Neville and Darold Williamson.
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In the women's 800m Marilyn Okoro showed why she could have an outside chance of a medal in Beijing if the Russians and Kenyans slip up. The British number one ran from the front from 300m out to secure a personal best of 1:58.45.

"I'm not surprised at my performance today," said Okoro who took 0.31s from her previous best. In second Italy's Elisa Cusma also finished under two minutes in 1:59.33.

Greg Rutherford, another Briton, continued his good form to win the men's Long Jump with 8.16, but his compatriot Chris Tomlinson hobbled away after two rounds nursing a worrying calf problem.

Kelly Sotherton was smiling again after the frustration of yesterday's bungled hurdles race as she won the Four Event Challenge from USA's Gi-Gi Johnson.

The Olympic bronze medallist answered some of her critics as she produced her best Shot Put performance of the year with 14.36m and ran 23.63 in the 200m.

"With that Shot Put and the Long Jump yesterday it's been an encouraging weekend," she said.

However, there were some repercussions from the previous day's frustrations as Sotherton picked up a slight injury to her abductor muscle while climbing over the misplaced hurdle on Friday night.

"My doctor and physio both told me not to run today but I wanted to run," she said. "It could have been really serious. To get that time, close to my season's best, when I couldn't go flat out is obviously encouraging."
 
There were some close second places too. In the men's 800, British Champion Michael Rimmer was an encouraging second to Abraham Chepkirwok of Uganda as the Olympic silver medallist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi failed to finish, the victim of a collision after 200m.

Richard Yates made a big improvement to finish second in the 400m Hurdles behind Kerron Clement, clocking 49.06 to the American's 48.36. Unfortunately, it's too late for Yates to make the British Olympic team.

Poland's Anna Jesien was second in the women's 400m Hurdles behind Melaine Walker. Jesien ran 54.98, 0.76 behind the Jamaican.

In the day's big sprints, European Champion Kim Gevaert could only finish seventh in the women's 100m in 11.28 as Veronica Campbell-Brown produced her best of the year to win in 10.87.

But Ireland's Paul Hession found his best form of the year to finish third in the men's 200m behind Usain Bolt's blistering 19.76. Hession clocked 20.37 to finish a tenth of a second behind Wallace Spearmon, the American World bronze medallist.

Another Irishman, Alistair Cragg, was third in the men's 3000m in 7:38.60, a race won by Boniface Kiprop who set a Ugandan record of 7:36.96. Britain's Laura Kenny set a PB of 8:57.39 to finish third in the women's 3000m won by USA's Jennifer Rhines.