HENGELO (Netherlands), May 25: World champion Irving Saladino recorded the best long jump after 14 years on Saturday with a 8.73 metres leap at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games.

Saladino’s first-round effort elevated the 25-year-old Panamanian into seventh place in the all-time list.

Saladino’s previous best was 8.57 metres.

Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie boosted his chances of a fourth consecutive Olympic 10,000 metres appearance by finishing second to compatriot and Olympic silver medallist Sileshi Sihine.

Sihine clocked 26 minutes 50.53 seconds and Gebrselassie recorded 26:51.20, the two fastest times of the year.

Twice Olympic 10,000 gold medallist Gebrselassie, 35, quit the track after finishing fifth at the 2004 Athens Games to concentrate on the marathon, where he is the current world record holder.

But he has opted out of the Beijing Olympics marathon because of pollution concerns and decided to try to qualify for the 10,000 again.

Kenenisa Bekele, Gebrselassie’s successor as world and Olympic 10,000 champion, won the 5,000 metres in a year’s best 12:58.94.

Nineteen-year-old Kenyan Pamela Jelimo, the surprise winner of the 800 metres at last month’s African championships, clocked 1:55.76, the fastest time in the world since 2002.

She also broke the world junior record of 1:57.18 set by China’s Yuan Wang in Beijing in 1993. World 1,500 metres champion Maryam Jamal was second.

Ethiopian Gelete Burka won the women’s 5,000 metres in 14:45.84, another year’s best.

Robert Lathouwers of the Netherlands produced one of the biggest upsets of the day with his 1:45.80 victory in the 800 metres, well ahead of world champion Alfred Kirwa Yego of Kenya who was third.

Leading results:

Men’s:

200 metres: 1. Churandy Martina (Netherlands Antilles) 20.50 seconds; 2. Marlon Devonish (Britain) 20.89; 3. Kristof Beyens (Belgium) 21.27.

800 metres: 1. Robert Lathouwers (Netherlands) one minute 45.80 seconds; 2. Amine Laalou (Morocco) 1:46.02; 3. Alfred Kirwa (Kenya) 1:46.06.

5,000 metres: 1. Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) 12 minutes 58.94 seconds; 2. Edwin Cheruiyot Soi (Kenya) 13:13.88; 3. Thomas Longosiwa (Kenya) 13:14.36.

10,000 metres: 1. Sileshi Sihine (Ethiopia) 26 minutes 50.53 seconds; 2. Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) 26:51.20; 3. Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) 26:54.32.

110-metre hurdles: 1. Marcel van der Westen (Netherlands) 13.46 seconds;

2. Ryan Wilson (US) 13.62; 3. Gregory Sedoc (Netherlands) 13.63.

3,000-metre steeplechase: 1. Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong (Kenya) eight minutes 13.00 seconds; 2. Benjamin Kiplagat (Uganda) 8:14.29; 3. Reuben Kosgei (Kenya) 8:16.72.

Long jump: 1. Irving Saladino (Panama) 8.73 metres; 2. Godfrey Mokoena (South Africa) 8.35; 3. Miguel Pate (US) 8.04.

Pole vault: 1. Fabian Schulze (Germany) 5.60 metres; 2. Kevin Rans (Belgium) 5.60; 3. Richard Spiegelburg (Germany) 5.60.

Shot put: 1. Christian Cantwell (US) 20.88 metres; 2. Peter Sack (Germany) 20.60; 3. Dylan Armstrong (Canada) 20.24.

Discus throw: 1. Ehsan Hadadi (Iran) 68.52 metres; 2. Gerd Kanter (Estonia) 68.28; 3. Virgilijus Alekna (Lithuania) 66.82.

Hammer throw: 1. Krisztian Pars (Hungary) 79.93 metres; 2. Vadim Devyatovskiy (Belarus) 77.85; 3. Marco Lingua (Italy) 77.72.

Women’s:

400 metres: 1. Lee McConnell (Britain) 51.66 seconds; 2. Joanne Cuddihy (Ireland) 51.98; 3. Kia Davis (Liberia) 52.04.

100 metres: 1. Kim Gevaert (Belgium) 11.25 seconds; 2. Chandra Sturrup (Bahamas) 11.27; 3. Jeanette Kwakye (Britain) 11.29.

800 metres: 1. Pamela Chelimo (Kenya) one minute 55.76 seconds; 2. Maryam Yusuf Jamal (Bahrain) 1:58.66; 3. Lucia Klocova (Slovakia) 1:59.76.

5,000 metres: 1. Gelete Burka (Ethiopia) 14 minutes 45.84 seconds; 2. Meselech Melkamu (Ethiopia) 14:46.25; 3. Belaynesh Fikadu (Ethiopia) 14:46.84.

100-metre hurdles: 1. Lolo Jones (US) 12.87 seconds; 2. Vonette Dixon (Jamaica) 12.97; 3. Kellie Wells (US) 13.01.

High jump: 1. Nicole Forrester (Canada) 1.93 metres; 2. Marina Aitova (Kazakhstan) 1.93; 3. Tia Hellebaut (Belgium) 1.93.

Shot put: 1. Nadine Kleinert (Germany) 19.64 metres; 2. Petra Lammert (Germany) 19.00; 3. Melissa Boekelman (Netherlands) 17.30.—Reuters