Posted: June 6, 2006

Athletics: Thorkildsen And Pérez Are Back On Top In The Latest IAAF World Rankings

Monte-Carlo - The start of the 2006 IAAF Golden League had an immediate impact on the IAAF World Rankings. Besides resulting in a number of world leading performances for the 2006 outdoor season, there are several significant changes in nearly all Event Rankings.

Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen took full advantage of the home crowd at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo, and won the Javelin Throw with 91.59m (1415 points) to reclaim the Event Ranking lead from Finland’s Tero Pitkämäki. Thorkildsen is four points clear at the top, while World record holder Jan Zelezny also improved one spot and overtook reigning World Champion Andrus Värnik for 4th place. Zelezny finished third in Ostrava earlier last week with 83.52m (1238 points).

Ecuador’s Jefferson Pérez is also a new Race Walking Event Ranking leader, although the South American has not competed since the World Race Walking Cup 20km on 13 May. The reason behind Pérez’s rise to the top is that previous leader Francisco Javier Fernández dropped points as a result of the 365-day-rule, and therefore slipped to second place behind Pérez in the Event Ranking.

Blanka Vlasic of Croatia is back in the Women’s High Jump Event Ranking this week after missing most of last year with injury. The 22-year-old former double World Junior champion added two more victories by winning in Ostrava with 2.00m (1334 points), then also finishing first in Oslo with 1.98m (1342 points), and so re-entered the Event Ranking in second place behind World champion Kajsa Bergqvist of Sweden. In the Women’s Overall Ranking Vlasic is 61st. Russia’s Yelena Slesarenko, the Olympic and double World Indoor champion finished third in Oslo with 1.96m (1280 points), before winning in Prague with 1.93m (1217 points) and so stepped up six places to 4th in the Event Ranking.

Please click here for the latest IAAF World Rankings: IAAF.org.

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