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Personal bests boost Ennis’s confidence for Istanbul trip
Jessica Ennis geared up for her first gold medal bid of what she hopes will be an unforgettable year with a performance which banished the painful memories of last year’s World Championships.
The Sheffield multi-eventer ran the fastest time in the world this year to win the 60 metres hurdles at the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham on Saturday.
And the 26-year-old followed it up with another impressive personal best in the long jump at the NIA to prepare for the defence of her pentathlon crown at next month’s World Indoor Championships in Istanbul in the best possible fashion.
But fellow Olympic hopeful Mo Farah was disappointed as he was beaten in to second over two miles, despite adding another British record to his growing collection of achievements, while Asafa Powell had to settle for third in the 60m as he was upstaged by fellow Jamaican Lerone Clarke.
Ennis, who surrendered her world heptathlon crown to Russia’s Tatyana Chernova in Daegu last summer, said: “I feel in really good shape and to come here and do two PBs is definitely where I need to be in a few weeks time for the world indoors.
“You never know how the next year’s going to go, how you are going to build on it, if you are going to improve.
“At this stage in my career I don’t expect to be making massive, massive improvements so when you do do personal bests it gives you a lot of confidence and I have really built on last year.”
Ennis clocked 7.87 seconds in the hurdles, a huge personal best, to beat a host of specialist hurdlers, including last year’s World Championship silver medallist Danielle Carruthers.
The time took the Sheffield athlete to the head of the 2012 world rankings, 0.02secs ahead of American two-time world indoor champion Lolo Jones.
She she then leapt out to 6.47m in the long jump to end that competition in third place.
Victory in the long jump went to Ennis’s Great Britain team-mate Shara Proctor in a new national record of 6.80m.
Liu Xiang won the showdown of the two fastest hurdlers of all time, setting a new Chinese record of 7.41 to edge out Cuban rival Dayron Robles in the 60m hurdles.
Holly Bleasdale won the pole vault with 4.70m. World Championship silver medallist Hannah England was second behind Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba in the 1500m.
Other British winners included Robbie Grabarz in the high jump, Shana Cox in the women’s 400m and JJ Jegede with 8.04m in the long jump and Nigel Levine in the men’s 400m.
Richard Buck (City of York) had a superb run in the National 400m – effectively the B race – to win in 45.88. Running from the outside lane, Buck set off fast, going through 200 metres in 21.33, and held his lead on the second lap. The time was a personal best and well inside the World Indoor qualifying mark. Amazingly it beats Buck’s best outdoor time.
This performance should give Buck a place in the British team alongside Levine.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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