TWO AND A QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS PRIZE MONEY TO BE WON IN MOSCOW
2 March 2006
Monte-Carlo - A total of 2,288,000US$ in prize money awaits the medallists from the 26 events which will be contested at the 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships, Moscow, Russia (10-12 March), and as usual there is a bonus of 50,000US$ for any athlete who sets a new World record during the three days of competition.
At the last edition of the World Indoor Championships, which were hosted by Budapest, Hungary in 2004, a total of six World Indoor records were either equalled or broken. Two of the three individual record setters from Budapest, Russians Tatyana Lebedeva (TJ) and Yelena Isinbayeva (PV) – Sweden’s Christian Olsson (TJ) is recovering from persistent injury – and some members of the Russian 4x400m women’s World record relay quartet in Hungary, will be in Moscow to further push the statistical boundaries of our sport in this lucrative World Indoor Championships setting.
So in which events might we expect global records to fall in Moscow?
In the men’s timetable, there seem to be two distinct possibilities. Romania’s Marian Oprea, the World championship bronze medallist has been edging closer and closer to the World Indoor Triple Jump record (17.83m), and has a best so far of 17.74m (18 Feb). Then of course, only recently a USA squad clocked a new record* for the 4x400m relay (3:01.96 – 11 Feb).
In the women’s category, a pair of middle distance marks were upgraded by Russians at their national championships two weekends ago (Yelena Soboleva, 3:58.28* – 1500m; and Liliya Shobukhova, 8:27.86* – 3000m), and they could be in for further revision on home soil next week. Also in danger is the best for the women’s 4x400m (3:23.37* – 28 Jan), and of course the Pole Vault (4.91m*) thanks to the prolific record breaker Yelena Isinbayeva, who last rose to the occasion on 12 February 2006.
Even with the participation of Sweden’s Kajsa Bergqvist in doubt, as she recovers from an ankle injury, the new World indoor record breaker’s High Jump best of 2.08m* (4 Feb) is by no means secure in Moscow, as Croatia’s Blanka Vlašic is also flying high (2.05m – 14 Feb). If these two jumpers do get to compete together in Moscow’s Olimpiyskiy Sport Palace Complex, there is no telling what heights could be achieved.
*World records subject to ratification
Moscow 2006 Prize Money
The following Prize Money is being awarded by the IAAF to the finalists (Top-6) in individual events and relays, pending negative doping results:
Individual Events
- $40,000
- $20,000
- $10,000
- $8,000
- $6,000
- $4,000
Relays
- $40,000
- $20,000
- $10,000
- $8,000
- $6,000
- $4,000