Coleman claims world athletics indoor 60m

American Christian Coleman has added to his growing list of achievements in winning the 60m at the world athletics indoor championships.

Christian Coleman

Christian Coleman is ready to lead a new era in athletics after winning the world indoor 60m title. (AAP)

When you get a phone call from former sprint king Maurice Greene straight after setting another record, you know you've done something special.

Christian Coleman added the championship record to his growing list of achievements in winning the 60m at the world athletics indoors on Saturday.

Coleman smashed Greene's 20-year-old world record last month by clocking 6.34 seconds and the American came within 0.03 seconds of that at Arena Birmingham.

Greene called as Coleman was talking to reporters after the race, and Coleman put the phone on speaker so everyone could hear Greene's congratulations.

"Just to have my name up there with those kind of guys is a huge honour," Coleman said after hanging up.

"Maurice is someone I can call a friend now and that's great for me."

Coleman, who turns 22 on Tuesday, never looked in danger as he beat Su Bingtian of China by 0.05 and US teammate Ronnie Baker by 0.07.

He said the gold medal meant more to him than the world record.

Other world indoors records tumbled on Saturday: American Kendra Harrison set a new mark in the 60m hurdles as did compatriot Sandi Morris in the pole vault, and New Zealand's Tomas Walsh in the shot put.

The oldest record in the world indoors book fell when Walsh's last hurl of 22.31 meters eclipsed the record of 22.24 set by Ulf Timmermann in 1987, five years before the New Zealander was born.

It was a third world indoor silver medal for David Storl of Germany. He and Tomas Stanek of the Czech Republic threw 21.44 but Storl had a superior second best throw.

America was favoured to sweep the podium in the 60 hurdles and although Harrison and Christina Manning finished one-two respectively, Nadine Visser of the Netherlands edged Sharika Nelvis for bronze.

There was another American one-two in the women's 400m.

Courtney Okolo controlled from the start and won in 50.55 seconds. Teammate Shakima Wimbley moved ahead of Britain's Eilidh Doyle on the final straight to finish second.

Oscar Husillos thought he broke a championship record in the 400m but he and Luguelin Santos, who originally crossed the line in second, were disqualified for lane infringements, handing a third successive world indoors title to Pavel Maslak.

Morris attempted to break the world indoor pole vault record but failed in three attempts at 5.04m.

She was runner-up at the 2017 world championships and 2016 Olympics, plus at the previous world indoors.

Morris finally got her hands on a gold medal when she broke the championship record with her third attempt at 4.95, although she faced an anxious moment with one more woman left in the competition.


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Source: AAP



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