9th March 2008

12th IAAF World Indoor Championships

 

9 March 2008

 

Day 3- Afternoon Session

 

Phillips Idowu (Belgrave Harriers) polished off a fantastic weekend for the Norwich Union GB&NI team at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia by winning gold in the triple jump with a truly world class performance.

 

Idowu made the fifth longest indoor jump of all time and set a new British indoor record to win with 17.75m on his second attempt.

 

His victory pushed team GB&NI up to fourth in the medal table, with one gold and four silver.

 

Idowu said: "I wanted to come here, jump well and jump far. I’ve had a few injury problems but I knew I was in great shape. I always knew it was there.”

UK Athletics Performance Director, Dave Collins said: “I’m thrilled for Phillips, he’s an incredible athlete. He and coach John Herbert have worked really hard. As a team we’re gaining momentum but there’s still a long way to go.”

 

Jenny Meadows (Wigan AC) finished fifth in the final of the 800m. The race was slow with a lot of pushing and shoving on the bends. As the eventual winner Tamsyn Lewis (Australia) accelerated Meadows, who was lying in a comfortable fourth place throughout the early stages, failed to react and found herself in difficulties on the last lap.

 

She said: “I made my first world final and I was in really great shape. I was third on paper and really thought I was in there with a chance.

 

“I thought I would get fourth, if not a medal, so I’m really gutted. I don’t remember much of the race but on the last lap I found that I was boxed in and that was always going to make it difficult.”

 

Mo Farah (Newham & Essex Beagles) battled hard in the 3000m and finished sixth in a race predictably dominated by Africans.

 

Farah was the first European home in 7:55.08 in a race that started slowly but steadily picked up pace and which was eventually won by favourite Tariku Bekele of Ethiopia in 7:48.23.

 

He said: “I’m really disappointed, I just couldn’t add the speed at the end. My target is the Olympics so I have to be selfish with my training which makes indoors hard.”   

 

Steve Green, Richard Buck, Dale Garland and Rob Tobin came fifth in the high quality final of the men’s 4 x 400m relay with 3:09:21.

 

Final medal table:

1. USA (Five gold, five silver, three bronze)

2. Russia (Five gold, four silver, three bronze)

3. Ethiopia (Three gold, one silver, two bronze)

4. GB&NI (One gold, four silver)

 

Final placing table:

1. Russia (129pts)

2. USA (118pts)

3. GB&NI (52pts)

4. Ethiopia (46pts)