Athletics: Relay gold in new indoor medal haul record

GREAT Britain yesterday claimed their biggest medal haul in World Indoor Championship history – despite believing Mo Farah would be awarded one and then having the decision overturned minutes later.

Farah finished fourth in a physical 3,000 metres final in Istanbul, but was promoted to third when, prompted by UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee, the race referee agreed that Kenya’s Edwin Soi had been guilty of obstruction.

That was briefly reflected in the official medal table, but was then overturned following an official appeal from the Kenyan team, something which the British team were then not allowed to challenge further under IAAF rules.

“For me it was clear,” Van Commenee said. “I have studied the footage many times and the referee agreed so that’s why he changed the result. I feel pretty stuffed really.”

However, five medals on the final day took the team’s tally to nine, surpassing the total of seven achieved in Birmingham in 2003, with the highlight a thrilling gold for the women’s 4x400 metre team of Shana Cox, Nicola Sanders, Christine Ohuruogu and Perri Shakes-Drayton.

The men’s team of Conrad Williams, Nigel Levine, Michael Bingham and Richard Buck also claimed silver, while there were bronze medals for Shara Proctor in the long jump, Andrew Osagie in the 800m and Holly Bleasdale in the pole vault.

In the women’s relay, Britain were down in third place when Ohuruogu took the baton, but the Olympic champion signalled a welcome return to form with a storming leg to hand over to hurdles specialist Shakes-Drayton in first place.

It looked as though American individual champion Sanya Richards-Ross would overhaul the Briton down the home straight, but Shakes-Drayton bravely held on and crashed to the track as she lunged for the line, sealing gold by 0.03 seconds.

“Training’s been going well so I’m just happy that I’ve come out and we’ve won a gold medal,” said Ohuruogu, who has suffered from injuries and a loss of form since winning Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008.

“I didn’t really want to come here, I don’t like indoors very much. It’s been five or six months of winter training now so I’m happy that I could come here, finish my winter training in one piece with a successful run. I’m in a good place. I knew if I didn’t run well, Lloyd [Cowan, her coach] was going to kill me anyway.”

In the men’s race, Bingham was overtaken on the third leg, but not before the start of the top bend which decides where the athlete on the next leg stands on the track to receive the baton.

With his team-mate Manteo Mitchell in the lead, American Gil Roberts moved to the inside lane and broke IAAF rule 217.5, leading to his team’s disqualification, but after the US team launched a protest, the initial result was upheld.

It proved an afternoon of appeals and protests, with Farah convinced he was obstructed in the 3,000m final that ultimately brought a third successive defeat. “For a minute I did think they’d awarded me the bronze medal, but I’m disappointed no matter what, whether I finished third or fourth,” Farah said. “I think that as I was coming round the final bend I was obstructed and I couldn’t get out. But that was only my opinion, that’s what referees are for.”

There was no dispute in the women’s pole vault where world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva (4.80m) needed just two vaults to win gold, with Bleasdale and France’s Vanessa Boslak the only other athletes to clear 4.70m.

However, Boslak took silver by virtue of clearing it at her first attempt compared to Bleasdale at her second, while the 20-year-old will be disappointed at messing up her approach at 4.75m and twice failing to get in a proper attempt.

“I’m really, really happy with my first major medal. I’m so excited,” 20-year-old Bleasdale said. “But me being so happy meant I didn’t focus enough on the 4.75 and only really attacked it on my last attempt. I know I can improve on that leading up to the summer.”

In the long jump, Proctor took the lead by equalling her British record with a jump of 6.86m in the third round, but then saw American duo Janay Deloach and Brittney Reese overtake her with jumps of 6.98m and 7.23m respectively in the final round.

Proctor was last to jump in the competition and improved to 6.89m in the final round, but had to settle for bronze.

“I came here to jump far and that’s what I am doing, I’m doing my job,” the Anguilla-born athlete said. “This is a good indication of what I will do outdoors.”