BIRMINGHAM: Poland’s sensational 400 metres relay men and inspired British hurdler Andrew Pozzi transformed the final day of the world indoor championships into an athletics celebration as the sport bade a fond farewell to Roger Bannister on Sunday.

A few hours after the announcement of the death of the pioneer who first broke the four-minute mile, the Polish 4x400 metres relay quartet set a world indoor record of three minutes 01.77 seconds.

Karol Zalewski, Rafal Omelko, Lukasz Krawczuk and Jakub Krzewina saved the biggest sensation of the four-day event in Arena Birmingham until the very last track event as they downed a supposedly untouchable US foursome.

Krzewina swept past a tiring Vernon Norwood with a magnificent anchor leg after the Americans had led throughout and had looked on course to break the record themselves.

To add insult to injury, the Poles eclipsed the mark of 3:02.13 set by another US team at these championships four years ago. The silver medallists’ only consolation was also being inside the old mark with 3:01.97.

“It is a big shock and surprise for us,” Omelko said. “We were targeting the European record but really did not expect a result like this and never dreamed about the world record.”

The American women fared better, winning their 400m relay in a championship record of 3:23.85.

The team of Quanera Hayes, Georganne Moline and individual 400 gold and silver medalists, Courtney Okolo and Shakima Wimbley, dominated with the second-fastest indoor time ever less than half a second off the world indoor record of 3:23.37.

Fittingly on the day Bannister died aged 88, Pozzi said his victory in the 60m hurdles had been inspired by the great British hero.

“Roger Bannister was an unbelievable athlete and unbelievable person,” said Pozzi, whose winning 7.46sec edged American Jarret Eaton into silver.

“I’m very sorry that he has left us but I read one of his quotes before heading down to the track: ‘Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up and it knows it must move faster than the lion or it will not survive’.”

Bannister, who remained a keen observer of international miling to the end, would also have loved seeing the breakthrough of 18-year-old Ethiopian Samuel Tefera, who became the youngest-ever 1,500 metres champion as he held off Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski for gold in three minutes 58.19 seconds.

Earlier, another Ethiopian, Yomif Kejelcha, still only 20, successfully retained his 3,000 metres crown in a manner as emphatic as his compatriot Genzebe Dibaba’s win in the women’s 3,000 on Thursday.

Fellow Ethiopian Selemon Barega took silver, missing out on his bid to become the youngest-ever world indoor winner at 18 years and 43 days.

Burundi’s Oregon-based Francine Niyonsaba was in a class of her own in defending her 800 metres title in one minute 58.31 seconds, the fastest time in the world in 2018.

Elsewhere, world record holder Renaud Lavillenie won the world indoors pole vault for a third time, but it was his first significant title in two years after an injury-hit season last year.

Lavillenie was clearly emotional on the podium after being the only competitor to clear 5.90 metres. American Sam Kendricks was second, ahead of Poland’s Piotr Lisek after both cleared 5.85 in a competition which lasted more than three hours.

There was no luck however for Brittney Reese, the American bidding for a fourth world indoor long jump title who was pushed into silver by Serbian Ivana Spanovic. Spanovic went out to 6.96m on her fourth jump to beat Reese by 7cm.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2018