Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim sits dejected on the bench during the final of the high jump event at the World Championships in Beijing yesterday. Barshim, the world leader and pre-championship favourite, failed with his first attempt at 2.29m and could not make it into the jump-off. He finished fourth. (AFP)
Agencies/Beijing
There were no records set in the high jump yesterday as the bar never went higher than 2.36m, but the medals were decided in an unprecedented, as far as the World Championships are concerned, three-way jump-off, won by Canada’s Derek Drouin.
Torrential rain came down in the afternoon ahead of the final session of the Championships but, at least, the rain stopped just ahead of the start of the competition and the apron dried quickly and didn’t seem to have any lasting effect on the majority of the 14 men in the final.
The competition started in earnest when the bar was raised to 2.33m with seven jumpers still in the hunt. It proved to be a height too far for Czech Republic’s 2004 Olympic Games bronze medallist Jaroslav Baba and Russia’s 2015 European indoor champion Daniil Tsyplakov, while The Bahamas’ 2007 world champion Donald Thomas decided to gamble and pass after taking two attempts at 2.29m.
However, Canada’s 2012 Olympic and 2013 World Championships bronze medallist Derek Drouin, home favourite Zhang Guowei and Ukraine’s defending champion Bogdan Bondarenko continued their flawless competition by going clear at the first time of asking.
Mutaz Essa Barshim also got over this height on his first attempt but, having taken two attempts to clear 2.29m, Qatar’s 2014 world indoor champion, was lagging behind the leading trio on countback.
At 2.36m, the tension started to show with everyone. None of the five managed to clear the bar on any of their three attempts—although all of them apart from Thomas have jumped higher this year—but Bondarenko did come close though on his first and third attempts, just bringing it down with his heels on both occasions.
With Barshim and Thomas having failures earlier in the competition, after 15 successive failed attempts, this pair were eliminated and it was left to Drouin, Zhang and Bondarenko to have a fourth attempt at 2.36m in a sudden death jump-off. This season only Barshim met the mark with a jump of 2.41m early in the season, but his form seems to have dipped since then.
Barshim among six elected to IAAF athletes’ commission
Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva and Qatar's high jump icon Barshim are among six athletes elected to the athletes’ commission of the ruling body IAAF. Isinbayeva, The other members of the body are New Zealand’s Valerie Adams, Christian Olsson of Sweden, Koji Murofushi of Japan and Norwegian Andreas Thorkildsen. The new members start their mandate in the 18-member commission headed by Namibia’s Frank Fredericks on January 1, 2016.
Results & Medals Table
Men’s 1,500m: 1. Asbel Kiprop (KEN) 3min 34.40sec; 2. Elijah Motonei Manangoi (KEN) 3:34.63; 3. Abdalaati Iguider (MAR) 3:34.67
Men’s high jump: 1. Derek Drouin (CAN) 2.34m; 2. Zhang Guowei (CHN) 2.33; 3. Bohdan Bondarenko (UKR) 2.33
Men’s 4x400m relay: 1. United States 2:57.82 (Verburg, McQuay, Nellum, Merritt); 2. Trinidad and Tobago 2:58.20 (Quow, Gordon, Lendore, Cedenio); 3. Great Britain 2:58.51 (Yousif, Williams, Dunn, Rooney)
Women’s marathon: 1. Mare Dibaba (ETH) 2:27:35; 2. Helah Kiprop (KEN) 2:27:36; 3. Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (BRN) 2:27:39
Women’s 5,000m: 1. Almaz Ayana (ETH) 14:26.83; 2. Senbere Teferi (ETH) 14:44.07; 3. Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) 14:44.14
Women’s javelin: 1. Kathrina Molitor (GER) 67.69m; 2. Lu Huihui (CHN) 66.13; 3. Sunette Viljoen (RSA) 65.79
Women’s 4x400m relay: 1. Jamaica 3:19.13 (Day, Jackson, McPherson, Williams-Mills); 2. United States 3:19.44 (Richards-Ross, Hastings, Felix, McCorory); 3. Great Britain 3:23.62 (Ohuruogu, Onuora, Child, Bundy-Davies)
Medals table (Top 9)
Country G S B T
Kenya 7 6 3 16
Jamaica 7 2 3 12
US 6 6 6 18
Britain 4 1 2 7
Ethiopia 3 3 2 8
Poland 3 1 4 8
Canada 2 3 3 8
Germany 2 3 3 8
Russia 2 1 1 4