Fast 400s registered in Vienna

Vania Stambolova of Bulgaria.

Bulgaria's Vania Stambolova, the reigning European 400m champion, ran 51.80 at the Vienna indoor meeting on Tuesday, the third fastest time in the world this year.

Stambolova has an indoor best of 50.21, the Bulgarian national record, set when finishing second at the 2006 World Indoor Championships. She will go to this year's edition of the Championships, which will be held in Doha next month, as a clear candidate to get on the podium again.

Russia's Tatyana Firova is the fastest woman in the world this year over two laps of the indoor track, having run 51.64 in Moscow on Saturday.

Behind Stambolova, the Czech Republic's 400m hurdles record holder and 2008 Olympic Games finalist Zuzana Hejnova improved her indoor best to 52.75.

In the men's 400m, Austria's Clemens Zeller impressed with 46.63, the second fastest time by a European this year. He just edged home ahead of Ireland's 20-year-old Brian Gregan, who reduced his indoor best by nearly a second when he ran 46.68.

Czech 400m hurdler Josef Prorok improved to 46.88 when winning a separate race while Turkey's Tamac Serdar was the best in another heat and clocked a national record 47.08. Italia's Aurora Salvagno was the fastest in the women 60m with 7.39.