BELGRADE, March 18 (Xinhua) – The World Indoor Athletics Championships started in Belgrade on Friday after a long hiatus.
The first global senior athletics championships since the outbreak of the pandemic drew nearly 700 athletes from around the world.
The first athlete to taste gold was Lazaro Martinez from Cuba who won the men’s triple jump by 17.64 meters. Pedro Pichardo from Portugal was second with 17.46 m, while Donald Scott from the USA took bronze in 17.21.
The women’s title in shot put went to Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo, whose throw reached 20.43 m and beat American Chase Ealey (20.21 meters) to second place. The Netherlands’s Jessica Schilder took the bronze medal in 19.48.
Belgium’s Noor Vidts became world champion in pentathlon indoors with 4,929 points, ahead of Adrianna Sulek from Poland who collected 4,851 points.
Greek Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou won the long jump with a result of 8.55 meters and surpassed Thobias Montler from Sweden (8.38 meters) and Marquis Dendy from the USA (8.27 meters).
In the women’s final of the 3,000 m, Ethiopia’s Lemlem Hailu only finished in 8 minutes and 41.82 seconds, ahead of the USA’s Elinor Purrier St. Pierre (8: 42.04) and Ejgayehu Taye from Ethiopia (8: 42.23).
Mujinga Kambundji, who represents Switzerland, won the women’s 60m in 6.96 seconds, ahead of two American runners – Mikiah Brisco (6.99 seconds) and Marybeth Sant-Price (7.04 seconds).
The three-day championship in Belgrade, organized in front of an audience with strict anti-epidemic protocols, will run until March 20.
Source: sn.dk