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Stefanidi and Lasitskene extend win streaks in Glasgow

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Ekaterini Stefanidi produced her 19th successive win in the pole vault at the Muller Indoor Grand Prix Glasgow but she had to overcome a cold - and her compatriot - to keep hold of her win streak at the Emirates Arena on Sunday (25) afternoon.

Stefanidi was lying in second on countback to Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou who cleared a season’s best of 4.65m on her first attempt but the reigning Olympic, European and world champion produced an under-pressure third time clearance at 4.75m to add another competition to her unbeaten run which dates back to February 2017.

After setting a stadium record, Stefanidi then had three attempts at a season’s best height of 4.84m. The 28-year-old couldn’t improve on this mark but despite not being at full health, Stefanidi was pleased with her performance from a physical standpoint.

“I knew I was running much better today; we got to go on much bigger poles that I haven’t been on since the outdoor season. Physically I’m right there where I need to be for the World Indoor Championships but mentally I wasn’t quite ready,” said Stefanidi, who will be looking for her fifth successive major title in Birmingham on Saturday.

“Coming into the indoor season, I really thought I would start with a big, big jump but after my first meet, I had a bit of a pain and I think it affected me more mentally than physically. Today I was pain free - it was the first meet I was pain free.”

Stefanidi still has some way to go before she matches Mariya Lasitskene who won her 37th successive competition in the high jump. The reigning two-time world outdoor champion cleared 1.95m on her first attempt before just missing out on 2.00m.

Sagnia equals Swedish long jump record

Khaddi Sagnia’s best placing in a major competition thus far is a sixth-place finish at the 2016 European Championships in Amsterdam but the 23-year-old will be a contender for global honours at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham.

Sagnia momentarily held the world lead last weekend with a 6.85m performance at the Swedish Indoor Championships but she moved back up the world lists in Glasgow, equalling Carolina Kluft’s 14-year-old national record of 6.92m to move within one centimetre of Ivana Spanovic’s world-leading mark.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Sagnia. “I haven’t been jumping that good except for last week when I did 6.85m and I didn’t think I would jump so far today because I’ve been a little ill.”

Spanovic opened her competition with 6.82m before retiring from the competition after three jumps, finishing third behind Sagnia and Germany’s Sosthene Moguenara with 6.83m.

Kszczot makes it six from six

Adam Kszczot made it six wins from as many races in the build-up to the World Indoor Championships, leading a Polish one-two in the men’s 800m.

Kszczot ran a typically well-paced race to claim the win in 1:47.15 with his domestic rival of many years Marcin Lewandowski second in 1:47.50. Jake Wightman was third in an indoor lifetime best of 1:47.69.

Liga Velvere won the women’s 800m in a Latvian record of 2:02.01, defeating Lynsey Sharp (2:02.39) in the last race on the programme.

There was an encouraging performance from reigning European 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith who finished second in the 60m final to double world silver medallist Marie-Josee Ta Lou from Ivory Coast, 7.07 to 7.09.

Asher-Smith, who equalled her lifetime best of 7.08 in the heats, also took two very notable scalps: Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson in third in 7.12 and two-time world 200m champion Dafne Schippers in fifth in 7.22.





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