Rio hopeful Schippers clocks 60m season's best

Dafne Schippers ran a world leading seven seconds dead on Saturday to win the women's 60m at Berlin's Indoor meeting and lay down a marker for the Rio Olympics.

The 23-year-old, who won 200m gold and 100m silver at the world athletics championships in Beijing last year, had already run 7.04secs, the previous best time for the season, in the first round.

The Dutch sprinter is a medal hopeful for the Rio de Janeiro Games which starts on August 5.

Britain's Shara Proctor jumped a personal best of 6.91m, but it was not enough to win the women's long jump as Germany's Alexandra Wester leapt a season's best 6.95m in front of her home crowd.

Evergreen Kim Collins of Saint Kitts and Nevis, who turns 40 in April, clocked his season's best 6.53secs in the men's 60m final.

South African Henricho Bruintjies ran a personal best of 6.62 to finish second.

There was a surprise in the men's pole vault as reigning Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie lost to Brazilian Thiago Braz da Silva, 22.

French world record holder Lavillenie cleared 5.85m, but his Brazilian rival, the 2012 junior world champion, managed to clear 5.93m.

Olympic discus champion Robert Harting made his return after missing the world championships last year with a knee injury with victory after throwing 64.81m.

"I have to keep practising. We'll have to see what comes at the end of the summer," said Harting.
Source :AFP