Murielle Ahoure blasted out of her blocks to lead Ivory Coast to a 1-2 after scorching to a historic gun-to-tape victory in the women’s 60m at the World indoors on Friday.
Ahoure, with two previous World indoor silvers to her name, clocked an electric 6.97 seconds down the blue track in Birmingham, the fastest time run over the sprint this season.
Ahoure’s teammate Marie-Josee Ta Lou (7.05sec) took silver by five-thousandeths of a second in a photo-finish from Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji.
It was not only a first world indoor gold for Ivory Coast but also the first time an African sprinter, male or female, has won the 60m title.
South Africa’s World outdoor champion Luvo Manyonga was upstaged by Cuban teenager Juan Miguel Echevarria in a thrilling men’s long jump competition that went down to the wire. Echevarria leapt 8.46 metres, two centimetres more than Manyonga.
First of its kind
Every runner was disqualified in a bizarre 400 metres heat that made athletics history on the second day of the world indoor championships on Friday.
It is the first time every athlete has been disqualified from a heat at a major championships, according to statistician Mark Butler. All decisions were subject to appeal.
The results:
Men: High jump: 1. Juan Miguel Echevarria (Cub) 8.46, 2. Luvo Manyonga 8.44, 3. Marquis Dendy (USA) 8.42.
Women: 60m: 1. Murielle Ahoure (Civ) 6.97s, 2. Marie-Josee Ta Lou (Civ) 7.05, 3. Mujinga Kambundji (Sui) 7.05.
Shot put: 1. Anita Marton (Hun) 19.62m, 2. Danniel Thomas-Dodd (Jam) 19.22, 3. Lijiao Gong (Chn) 19.08.
Pentathlon: 1. Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Gbr) 4750 points, 2. Ivona Dadic (Aut) 4700, 3. Yorgelis Rodriguez (Cub) 4637 .
