VALENCIA, Spain, March 8, 2008 - China’s Liu Xiang fulfilled predictions by taking the World Indoor Championships 60m hurdles title here on Saturday to begin his Beijing Olympics build-up in style.
The 24-year-old from Shanghai ran 7.46secs to finally add the only major title missing from his collection.
He had taken the bronze medal at the 2003 World Indoor Championships and the silver medal a year later.
However, his dominance over the rest of the world’s top hurdlers here was not quite as overwhelming as he himself had anticipated.
In contrast to flying starts in the heats and semi-finals, Liu was relatively slow out of his blocks in the final, possibly avoiding any possibility of elimination after a false start had been called.
He fell just short of his Asian record of 7.42secs which he had come here believing he was ready to to break.
I found it hard. Three rounds in one day is diffcult, that's one reason why before the event I didn't know whether I could become the world champion,'' said Liu the Olympic and world champion over 110m hurdles. Liu's task was made much easier after Cuba's Dayron Robles, his main rival, was surprisingly eliminated in the heats. Robles, who last month ran the second fastest time ever of 7.33secs, stayed in his blocks and stood up at the start of his heat as the gun went, expecting a recall. However, the judge let the race go. I feel sorry for Robles, I don’t know if I would have won if he had made it to the final. But I’m confident about the Olympics, it would almost be natural for me to win it,’’ added Liu.
The women’s 60m hurdles title seemed certain to go to Sweden’s Susanna Kallur after she had set a world record of 7.68secs last month, but she pulled out of the final just minutes before the start.
I felt a slight hamstring twinge while I was warming up and, with the Olympics as the most important target, I didn't want to risk anything,'' said Kallur. The gold medal instead went to United States' Lolo Jones, Kallur's nearest rival this winter, in 7.80sec. Drama also engulfed a physical men's 1,500m with Ethiopia's Deresse Mekonnen the first across the line in 3min 38.23sec only to be initially disqualified for alleged impeding of other runners. Kenya's Daniel Kipchirchir Komen was then given the gold only to be relegated back to second place nearly two-and-a-half hours later after Ethiopian protests. Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva, arguably the most popular winner here in the absence of Spanish victory so far, found 4.75m sufficient to take a third consecutive world indoor gold medal. I’m happy winning but I’m a little disappointed with the height. I thought I could jump a world record today and I felt as though I let the crowd down a little,’’ said Isinbayeva, who did jump a world indoor record of 4.95m last month.
Another women who took a third consecutive indoor world title was Ethiopia’s Meseret Defar, who came home in 8:38.79 in the 3,000m.
Unlike Isinbayeva, Defar had no ambitions of improving on her own world record record of 8:23.72.
``This race was just about winning. The time was not important, this is a championship so I ran in a way that would make sure I could get the gold medal,’’ said Defar.
The rest of the 12-woman field played to the strengths of the reigning Olympic and world 5,000m champion outdoors with two slow opening kilometres and, when Defar hit the front with 400m to go, there was little doubt she would win.
Sweden’s Stefan Holm made up for any disappointment felt by Kallur’s withdrawal by taking the men’s high jump with a clutch clearance on his first attempt at 2.36m.
Holm had an error strewn competition and had been behind Russia’s Yaroslav Rybakov, who had been flawless up to 2.36m, but when the Swede went clear at the deciding height his Russian rival could not respond.
That’s an excellent jump from Holm at this stage of his career.