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Schippers eyes a record mark

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It is less than two years since Dafne Schippers decided to put sprinting ahead of the heptathlon. The outcome speaks for itself with one world title and three European titles.

But here’s a frightening prospect for the rest of her rivals who on Saturday will line up against the brilliant Dutchwoman at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland: Schippers has only just started training solely for the events.

The outcome of that could be something quite spectacular this weekend as she looks to add world 60m gold to the glory she achieved over the distance at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Prague 12 months ago.

This winter Schippers has matched the 30-year-old Dutch record of 7.00 which Nelli Cooman ran at the European Athletics Championships in Madrid 1986.

Now, with a peak planned for these championships themselves, could she break that seven-second barrier?

Schippers has always mixed and matched her training over the past few years, also working towards the heptathlon, where she made her name internationally.

But these past few months have been different.

'This is the first winter I've trained as a sprinter, so I've been able to dedicate much more time to my starts,' said Schippers, speaking to AP. 'You can see in my results that we've made a lot of progress with starts.

'That was very important to be able to take the next step, also with an eye to the 100 and 200 metres. It's just a case of investing more time.'

The proof has been in the results.

Schippers, 23, started 2016 with a 60m personal best of 7.05 which she ran in winning gold in Prague, but three times last month she went under that time, first with 7.04 and then the 7.00 on the same day in Berlin before running 7.03 in Apeldoorn.

American Barbara Pierre, 28, has also run 7.00 this winter - last weekend infact at this same Oregon Convention Centre in Portland during the US trials.

But it is Schippers who is on the golden roll: she won the 100m and 200m at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich before her Prague success prior to winning 200m gold - and 100m silver - at the World Championships in Beijing.

It would be quite a coup for the continent, too, as a European woman has not won this 60m since Ekaterini Thanou in Maebashi back in 1999.

Her top European competition will come from German’s Tatjana Pinto (who has run 7.07 this year) and British pair Asha Philip (7.10 in 2016) and Dina Asher-Smith (7.11), the runner-up in Prague.

Lavillenie and Stefanidi first to the stage

The main three days of the championships are from Friday to Sunday but this evening in Portland, Renaud Lavillenie will seek a touch of revenge as he chases glory.

The men’s and women’s pole vault finals take place at 7.05pm local time with Frenchman Lavillenie aiming to regain a title he won in Istanbul 2012.

Since then indoors, Lavillenie has twice been European Champion (he has won that event four times in a row) and victory would bring the Olympic champion his 10th major gold.

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Twice this year he has cleared six metres, with his world-leading 6.03m from Jablonec nad Nisou earlier this month and his 6.02m from Clermont-Ferrand in February, while his closest rival should be Canada’s Shawnacy Barber, the man who beat him to the world title in Beijing (the Frenchman shared bronze).

Barber is the only other athlete to have reached six metres in 2016 - clearing exactly that in Reno in January - while the championship record of 6.01m will surely be threatened.

Ekaterini Stefanidi, of Greece, carries Europe’s main hopes in the women’s event after her national record and European lead of 4.90m. Favourite is American Jennifer Suhr, the Olympic champion who broke her personal best with 5.03m in January.



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