Title holder Dvorak dominates decathlon
( 2001-08-07 10:19 ) (7 )

Defending champion Czech Tomas Dvorak produced a personal best in the long jump on Monday to take an early lead in the decathlon on the fourth day of the world championships.

Dvorak took the lead after the second event, leaping 8.07 metres. His jump relegated Olympic champion Erki Nool of Estonia to second place.

After three of the 10 events, Dvorak led by 209 points with a total of 2,912. Nool was second with 2,703 and Briton Dean Macey third on 2,696.

Dvorak's team mate Roman Sebrle, who took the world record past 9,000 points this season, was fourth on 2,674.

Macey, eager to get a good start in the championships after finishing fourth at last year's Sydney Olympics, registered a false start in the 100 metres, the first event of the day.

The men's distance runners returned to the track on Monday in the heats of the 5,000 metres.

Olympic silver medallist Ali Saidi-Sief of Algeria, a last-minute entrant after deciding to opt out of the 1,500, ran a polished race to qualify fastest for Friday's final in a time of 13 minutes 28.58 seconds.

Ethiopia's Hailu Mekonnen, fastest man in the world this year, survived a fall early in the race to win his heat in 13 32.11, securing himself a finals berth.

Kenyan Sammy Kipketer, who has the second fastest time this year, qualified as one of the five fastest losers after being squeezed out to sixth, and compatriot John Kibowen, competing in what could be his last world championships, also qualified as a fastest loser.

Only two competitors managed to achieve the qualifying standard of 65.50 metres in the men's discus on Monday morning.

Germany's four times world champion Lars Riedel threw a season's best of 68.26 metres while Belarussian Vasiliy Kaptyukh, fourth in Sydney, threw 65.71 metres.

Olympic champion Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania was the third fastest qualifier (65.22) and Sydney bronze medallist Frantz Kruger of South Africa had the fourth best throw (64.79).

World shot put champion John Godina of the United States failed to qualify.