March 04, 2007	Sunday	Safar 14, 1428

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BIRMINGHAM (England), March 3: A relieved Carolina Kluft maintained her five-year unbeaten record in combined events with victory in the pentathlon at the European indoor championships on Friday.

Kluft led Kelly Sotherton by 34 points going into the final event, the 800 metres, and with a look of grim determination shadowed the Briton around the track to secure Sweden's second gold of the day with a total of 4,944 points - the best in the world this year.

“On the last lap, I just had to hang on and I'm glad I did,” the 24-year-old world and Olympic heptathlon champion told reporters.

“It was very hard right from the start and Kelly pushed all the time on every event. It's good for the event to have so many athletes so close together,” added Kluft who had found herself in the unusual position of second overall during two of the five disciplines.

Sotherton set a national record of 4,927 for the silver as did bronze-medallist Karin Ruhkstuhl of the Netherlands with 4,801 points.

Susanna Kallur gave Sweden their first gold, overcoming a poor start to retain her 60 metres hurdles title in 7.87 seconds ahead of Aleksandra Antonova (7.94).

Kallur had set the fastest time of the year with 7.84 in the semis and she showed her strength in the latter part of the race.

German Kirsten Bolm, who finished second to Kallur in the final of the 100 hurdles at last year's European outdoor championships, was third in 7.97.

“It's really great and I can't believe it after that bad start,” Kallur said. “It shows I'm in good shape that I was able to get up to win.”

Gregory Sedoc and Marcel van der Westen gave the Netherlands cause for a double celebration with a one-two in the men's 60 hurdles.

Sedoc equalled his personal best of 7.63 to nab the title, 0.01 ahead of van der Westen in a blanket finish. Spain's Jackson Quinonez was third in 7.65.

It was the first Netherlands men's gold at the European indoors since Emiel Mellaard won the long jump in 1989.

The honour of the first gold of this year's championships went to Mikulas Konopka with a surprise victory in the men's shot put.

Defending champion Joachim Olson of Denmark had been favourite to retain the title after topping the morning's qualifying session but he had no answer to Konopka's best effort of 21.57 metres, which was the furthest by a European this season and a Slovakian record.

Pavel Lyzhyn of Belarus took the silver with 20.82 and Olson had to settle for bronze with 20.55.

It was Konopka's first senior medal after he was stripped of the European indoor bronze he won in 2002 for doping.

The championships ended early in unfortunate circumstances for Karen Harewood of Britain, who broke her left leg in a pile-up during the women's 800 metres heats.

Harewood fell after being caught by Russian Mariya Shapayeva, who also went down along with Portugal's Maria Carmo Tavares and Eleni Filandri of Greece.

Shapayeva, 20, finished the race but was disqualified.

Ukraine's Tatyana Petlyuk won the heat in 2:05.44 seconds.

Indoor world record holder Jolanda Ceplak showed she was back to her best after struggling with injury with the fastest qualifying time of 2:02.82. The final is on Sunday.

Britain's Mo Farah also took a fall on the track during the men's 3,000 metres qualifying but he finished sixth and scraped through to Saturday's final as a fastest loser.

European outdoor champion Tia Hellebaut jumped 1.93 as all the favourites went through to Saturday's women's high jump final, including world leader Venelina Veneva of Bulgaria, who has attempted an indoor world record 2.09 this season.—Reuters