9th February 2013 02:59
An outstanding night of action at the European Athletics Indoor Permit Meeting in Dusseldorf saw a stunning performance among many from Ukraine's world and European triple jump champion Olha Saladuha.
With a leap of 14.52m, Olympic bronze medallist Saladuha moved to the top of the world rankings on an evening of four world leading marks and four meeting records at the 8th PSD Bank meeting.
The Göteborg 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships is less than three weeks away and two men putting themselves in the picture for a podium place are French 60m sprinter Jimmy Vicaut and Hungarian sprint hurdler Balázs Baji.
The men's 60m was typically fast and dramatic in Dusseldorf, so quick in fact that Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre, the European 100m champion, did not make the final as he ran 6.70 in the heat.
But his fellow countryman Vicaut flew the flag in style.
As victory went to Jamaica's Commonwealth 100m champion Lerone Clarke with 6.52 - matching the 2011 meeting record of Kim Collins - Vicaut was second in 6.53, equalling the European best this year run by Italian Michael Tumi in Magglingen.
In third, Angel David Rodriguez produced a Spanish record of 6.55.
Baji, 23, the 110m hurdles silver medallist from the European Under-23 Championships in Ostrava, is now the fastest European this winter after a superb 60m hurdles.
He was third in a personal best of 7.57 as Americans took the first two places - Kevin Craddock winning in 7.50 with Omo Osaghae 7.52 in second.
In the heats, Omo had run 7.53 that equalled the previous world lead, showing the kind of quality on show in Germany.
Murielle Ahoure, of the Ivory Coast, broke the meeting record to win the women's 60m in 7.08 from American Barbara Pierre 7.12, Jamaican Sheri-Ann Brooks 7.20 and Bulgarian Ivet Lalova 7.24.
The 800m did not produce fast times but it was a great race won by Poland's European indoor champion Adam Kszczot in 1:47.96 ahead of countryman Marcin Lewandowski in 1:48.30.
In the women's middle-distance races, Russia's Yekaterina Poistogova won the 800m in 2:03.54 and Anzhelika Shevchenko, of the Ukraine, took the 1500m in 4:09.13.
This winter, the men's high jump had brought some fantastic competitions and Dusseldorf was no different, with German Bjorn Otto giving the home crowd something to raise the roof about as he equalled his season's best with 5.90m, beating Yang Yangsheng whose 5.70m and then 5.80m were national records.
And in the men's 3000m, there was a meeting record in the 3000m for Kenyan Caleb Ndiku.