Spikes26 Feb 2014


13 magic moments from the world indoors

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Ataköy Athletics Arena, Istanbul

Ahead of the Sopot 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships, we look back at some of the most dramatic moments from the event's 27-year history.

1. Foster and McKoy play dominoes
(Indianapolis, 1987)



The 60m hurdles at the inaugural world indoors descended into a demolition derby. The two favourites, Greg Foster and Mark McKoy, both crashed out. Foster, the reigning outdoor world champion, stumbled after hurdle three and took the quick-starting McKoy down with him. OUCH! Tonie Campbell, Foster's US teammate, was the lucky beneficiary, managing to stay on his feet to win gold in 7.51.

2. Paul Ereng's electric lap
(Budapest, 1989)



25 years on, this one still defies belief. Kenyan 800m runner Paul Ereng was 15 metres behind the leaders at the bell but produced a truly scintillating final lap to storm from fifth to first and break the world indoor record.

3. High flying Sotomayor
(Budapest, 1989)

The greatest high jumper in history set a world record 2.43m en route to gold. Wearing his trademark white socks, the great Cuban clipped the bar with his leg but it stayed on the uprights. The mark still stands as the world indoor record. For now...

4. McKean's Mixup
(Toronto, 1993)

Tom McKean's career was dogged by misfortune. Even when the Scottish middle distance runner finally delivered on the international stage: winning the 800m title in Toronto, he still managed to miss the medal ceremony. McKean was talking to his family on a journalist's phone when he realised he needed to be somewhere else! The tracksuited figure only manage to arrive on the podium as the final notes of God Save The Queen sounded.

5. Kipketer's double WR
(Paris, 1997)

In 1997, Wilson Kipketer was at the peak of his powers. The Kenyan-born Dane first broke Paul Ereng's 800m world record in the heats and then smashed his own world record in the final. Kipketer raced to gold by more than 3 seconds, and later in the year broke Seb Coe's 16-year-old outdoor record. All in all, a good year.

6. Geb's games
(Maebashi, 1999)

Haile Gebrselassie, the decade’s dominant endurance performer, showed his remarkable versatility by sealing a 1500m-3000m double in Japan. He won the 3000m in trademark fashion but needed a blistering late surge to snatch the 1500m crown from the grasp of Kenya's Laban Rotich. Their race to the line is simply incredible.

7. Silva's gold
(Lisbon, 2001)

A partisan home crowd raised the roof as Portugal's Rui Silva clawed past his Spanish rival Reyes Estevez on the final lap of the 1500m. A slow, tense final only burst into life with about 250 metres left to run. The great Iberian rivals fought right until the final straight, when Silva moved clear and sent the fans wild.

8. Mutola vs Graf
(Lisbon, 2001)

Perhaps the greatest indoor head-to-head of all time, Maria Mutola and Stephanie Graf locked horns for four absorbing laps. The pair clashed several times before Mutola ultimately prevailed by the margin of 0.04 seconds. It was the fourth of Mutola's seven world indoor 800m titles. Shame YouTube couldn't produce the goods...

9. Russian hat trick
(Budapest, 2004)

Russia dominated in Hungary, winning 19 medals (8 gold) and breaking THREE world records. In the women's pole vault a 21-year-old Yelena Isinbayeva cleared 4.86m and the powerful Tatyana Lebedeva secured the long/triple jump double (setting an indoor record of 15.36m in the latter). Towards the end of the champs, the Russian women's 4x400m relay quartet ran to gold and a world record of 3:23.88.

10. Derval shocks the world
(Moscow, 2006)

Derval O'Rourke's surprise victory in the 60m hurdles is a classic tale of underdog success, the type of which frequently features at the world indoors. The unheralded Irishwoman produced the performance of her life to set two national records and win gold. Another unlikely winner was Tamsyn Lewis of Australia, the 2008 women's 800m champ.

11. Robles misfires in the heat of the moment
(Valencia, 2008)

Hurdler Dayron Robles landed in Spain in scintillating form, having recorded the second fastest time in history in Dusseldorf a month before the champs. In his heat he thought he heard a false start and wound up last, abruptly halting his gold medal quest. Liu Xiang profited from Robles' absence and took gold in the final.

12. Go! Teddy Go!
(Doha, 2010)

Crowd pleaser Teddy Tamgho hopped, stepped and jumped to victory in the men's triple jump final. He knew the jump was big and immediately embarked on a celebratory lap, but it took until he'd reached the back straight for Tamgho to realise quite how far he'd jumped. The screen confirmed a new world record of 17.90m. Tamgho turned and rocketed down the back straight before collapsing on his knees in ecstasy. 

13. Perri (only just) shakes off the competition
(Istanbul, 2012)

Few races can rival the drama of a good 4x400m. Great Britain's narrow victory over the USA in Istanbul was a spellbinding duel. A storming third leg by 2008 Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu gave the British quartet a narrow lead going into the anchor. Compatriot Perri Shakes-Drayton (a 400m hurdes specialist) held her nerve and produced a perfectly timed response to Sanya Richard-Ross' late charge.