Ennis off to blazing start at worlds
Source: Agencies |
March 10, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
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JESSICA Ennis built up a sizable lead almost halfway through the pentathlon at the world indoor championships in Istanbul yesterday, banking on a blazing start in the 60-meter hurdles to put rival Tatyana Chernova well back.
In the most anticipated duel of the opening day, Ennis bolted out of the blocks and immediately left the taller Russian with an unbridgeable gap. The Briton crossed in 7.91 seconds, and led Chernova by a big .38 seconds, which translates into an 86-point lead in a five-event discipline.
Then, defending champion Ennis extended her lead by clearing 1.87 meters in the high jump, compared to Chernova's 1.84. With three events to go, Ennis leads with 2,217 points, while Chernova, the outdoor heptathlon world champion, was back in third place with 2,093.
In the shot put, outdoor world champion David Storl, Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski and Reese Hoffa all qualified directly for Friday's final.
In a packed morning program, Ethiopian great Meseret Defar set off on her quest to become the first female athlete to win five world indoor gold medals in a row, easily winning her 3,000 heat.
"My feeling is good and my shape is good," Defar said.
While Defar can now rest until tomorrow, Ennis and Chernova had three more events to go before the finale.
Bragging rights
Beyond the title, the clash is also about bragging rights going into the London Olympics. Chernova beat Ennis in the seven-event heptathlon at the world championships in Daegu, South Korea, last year, and Ennis badly wants some gold of her own going into her home games.
It made it all the more important to get off to a "great start" for Ennis, who ran her second-fastest time in the race.
"I needed to put down a good time," Ennis said, knowing Chernova would likely close the gap in later events.
"There's a little bit of distance between us, so that's good."
Ennis might have been counting on putting her rival much further back, but she struggled in the high jump. She only cleared 1.87 on her third and last attempt, and never got closer to her personal best of 1.94. Still, Chernova was even worse as she had to settle for 1.84. Austra Skujyte of Lithuania was second with 2,108 points.
In the high jump, world champion Anna Chicherova eased into the final, clearing 1.95 meters without missing a single jump.
Chaunte Howard Lowe of the United States also went over the qualifying height and was joined by Olympic champion Tia Hellebaut, who was facing elimination when she cleared 1.92 on her third and final attempt.
In the most anticipated duel of the opening day, Ennis bolted out of the blocks and immediately left the taller Russian with an unbridgeable gap. The Briton crossed in 7.91 seconds, and led Chernova by a big .38 seconds, which translates into an 86-point lead in a five-event discipline.
Then, defending champion Ennis extended her lead by clearing 1.87 meters in the high jump, compared to Chernova's 1.84. With three events to go, Ennis leads with 2,217 points, while Chernova, the outdoor heptathlon world champion, was back in third place with 2,093.
In the shot put, outdoor world champion David Storl, Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski and Reese Hoffa all qualified directly for Friday's final.
In a packed morning program, Ethiopian great Meseret Defar set off on her quest to become the first female athlete to win five world indoor gold medals in a row, easily winning her 3,000 heat.
"My feeling is good and my shape is good," Defar said.
While Defar can now rest until tomorrow, Ennis and Chernova had three more events to go before the finale.
Bragging rights
Beyond the title, the clash is also about bragging rights going into the London Olympics. Chernova beat Ennis in the seven-event heptathlon at the world championships in Daegu, South Korea, last year, and Ennis badly wants some gold of her own going into her home games.
It made it all the more important to get off to a "great start" for Ennis, who ran her second-fastest time in the race.
"I needed to put down a good time," Ennis said, knowing Chernova would likely close the gap in later events.
"There's a little bit of distance between us, so that's good."
Ennis might have been counting on putting her rival much further back, but she struggled in the high jump. She only cleared 1.87 on her third and last attempt, and never got closer to her personal best of 1.94. Still, Chernova was even worse as she had to settle for 1.84. Austra Skujyte of Lithuania was second with 2,108 points.
In the high jump, world champion Anna Chicherova eased into the final, clearing 1.95 meters without missing a single jump.
Chaunte Howard Lowe of the United States also went over the qualifying height and was joined by Olympic champion Tia Hellebaut, who was facing elimination when she cleared 1.92 on her third and final attempt.
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