ALBUQUERQUE (USA, Mar 11) – Kyle Garland, a heptathlete from the NCAA, turned in a brilliant performance at the first division indoor championships in Albuquerque, USA, falling just short of breaking the world indoor record for the event.
Garland’s score of 6639 points was just six points shy of the record of 6645 set by Ashton Eaton at the 2012 World Indoors in Istanbul.
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Despite the near miss, Garland turned in a stunning performance in a field that included some of the world’s top athletes. Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme scored 6518 points to secure third place and set a new national record, while Germans Leo Neugebauer and Till Steinforth turned in personal best scores of 6214 and 6196 points, respectively.
In other events, Jamaican talent Jaydon Hibbert set a new U20 world record and Jamaican senior indoor record in the triple jump with a mark of 17.54, while Matthew Boling ran a blistering 200m in 20.12 to set a new world lead. Elija Goodwin equalled his 400m world lead time of 44.75 to take the victory, and Bahamian Terrence Jones won the 60m in 6.46.
British runner Yusuf Bizimana set a personal best time of 1:46.02 to win the 800m, while Moroccan Fouad Messaoudi won the 3000m race in altitude with a time of 7:48.10. Giano Roberts set a new personal best time of 7.55 to top the hurdles, and Romaine Beckford cleared 224 in high jump. Jordan Geist won the shot put with a throw of 21.15, beating out Jonah Wilson’s personal best of 20.91.
Arkansas, a team made up of athletes from various nationalities, won the 4x400m relay in a time of 3:02.09, capping off an exciting and closely-fought competition that showcased the incredible skill and determination of some of the world’s top athletes.
