Isinbayeva breaks world indoor record again

Russian Olympic champion Yelena Isinbayeva broke the world indoor women's pole vault record for the second time within a week on Friday.

Isinbayeva, who set eight world records indoor and outdoor last year, vaulted 4.88 metres on her second attempt at the Birmingham indoor meeting after her compatriot Svetlana Feofanova, the world champion, failed three times at 4.79 metres.

Last Saturday Isinbayeva vaulted 4.87 metres at the Sergei Bubka meeting in Donetsk, Ukraine, in her first competition of the season. She won $30,000 for her efforts on Friday.

"I didn't realise I was in such good shape," said Isinbayeva. "I was tired going into the event but the crowd was so good and it really pushed me over the bar."

American Leonard Scott won the showpiece event of the evening, the men's 60 metre final, after three of his opponents had been disqualified for false starts.

Mark Findlay of Trinidad and Tobago was first to the sidelines, followed by Portugal's Olympic 100 silver medallist Francis Obikwelu and Briton Mark Lewis-Francis, who anchored his country's 4x100 metres relay team to victory at last year's Athens Olympics.

Scott clocked 6.49 seconds, second fastest this year, to finish ahead of world 100 champion Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis with world record holder and former Olympic 100 champion Maurice Greene in third place. Both men clocked 6.54.

Olympic 10,000 champion Kenenisa Bekele suffered a rare defeat when he was beaten into second in the men's two miles by compatriot Markos Geneti. Geneti outsprinted Bekele on the final lap to win in eight minutes 14.28 seconds.

HOLMES WINS

Bekele, whose teenage fiancee died unexpectedly this year, said: "After all that has happened recently it was just good to be racing."

Britain's Olympic 800 and 1,500 metres champion Kelly Holmes received a rapturous reception as she strode to victory in the women's 1,000 in 2:35.39.

Holmes, 34, said she had not yet decided whether she would run in next month's European indoor championships in Madrid.

"I couldn't let my home crowd down," she said. "I had to perform tonight. I still haven't decided whether I will do the [European] indoors, my training hasn't been going as well as I had expected."

Olympic champion Veronica Campbell made no contest of the women's 200 metres, winning in a year's best of 22.38. It was the sixth fastest time ever and the 25th consecutive win for the Jamaican in an unbeaten five-year streak.

Campbell said her first race of the season indoors would also be her last as she now concentrates on the Helsinki world championships in August.

"I'm full of confidence right now after my great year last season," she said.

Campbell's team mate Tanya Lawrence won the women's 60 metres in a personal best of 7.13, the second fastest time in the world this year.

Olympic and world heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft won the women's long jump with her final attempt of 6.66 metres. Briton Jade Johnson led the field until the last round with a personal best of 6.52.

"I was a bit tired today because I've done a lot of events in the last week," Kluft said.

The Swede's fatigue was evident in the 60 metres hurdles, where she finished eighth out of nine. Sarah Claxton of Britain won in 7.98 seconds.