Home crowd should spur Isinbayeva higher

LONDON, Mar 9 (Reuters) World and Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva has promised to produce another record-breaking performance on home soil at the world indoor championships in Moscow this weekend.

The peerless Russian has made a habit of breaking world records almost at will in the last two years but has never set one in front of her home crowd.

Isinbayeva increased her world indoor record to 4.91 metres in her opening competition of 2006 in Donetsk last month, although she failed her next two attempts -- in England and again in France last week.

''I was very close to setting the new record in Lievin but came up just short,'' she was quoted as saying by Russian media.

''But hopefully, I'll do a better job in Moscow, in front of a big home crowd. I don't get a chance to compete on home soil very often, so I'm really pumped up to perform and want to do my best,'' the bubbly 23-year-old added.

Russian women should be the dominant force in the track events after beginning the year in storming form, with world indoor records from Yelena Soboleva in the 1,500 metres, Liliya Shobukhova over 3,000 metres and the 400 relay quartet.

Russians top the season's best lists in all but one of the women's track events scheduled for the March 10-12 competition.

The exception is the 60 metres hurdles for which the year's best performance of 7.83 seconds is held by Jamaica's Lacena Golding-Clarke.

In the 60 flat, world leader Mariya Bolikova can expect tough competition from the American world 100 metres champion Lauryn Williams, her compatriot Me'Lisa Barber and in-form Frenchwoman Christine Arron, who set a national record last month.

The main rivals for Shobukhova, who sliced almost two seconds off the 3,000 metres world record last month, will be Ethiopia's world 5,000 champion Tirunesh Dibaba and Olympic gold medallist Meseret Defar.

STRONG SHOWING

In the men's events, Olympic 800 metres gold medallist Yuriy Borzakovsky represents the hosts' best chance of victory.

Russia's head coach Valery Kulichenko expects a strong showing from his team.

''Our medal plan calls for winning a total of 18 medals, six of each colour -- gold, silver and bronze,'' he said on Tuesday.

The men's 60 metres is likely to be dominated by the Americans, with Leonard Scott clocking the year's fastest time of 6.52 seconds to win his national championship.

Scott is joined by Terrence Trammell, who finished second to him in Boston. Trammell will double up in the 60 hurdles, for which he holds the world leading time of 7.46.

China's Olympic high hurdles champion Liu Xiang will make his first appearance of the season in Moscow after suffering an ankle injury.

World 5,000 and 10,000 metres record holder Kenenisa Bekele and his younger brother Tariku make up the Ethiopian men's team and will compete over 3,000.

Vying with the Bekeles will be Kenya's world 5,000 metres champion Eliud Kipchoge and world steeplechase champion Saif Saaeed Shaheen of Qatar.

The world's top two decathletes, Bryan Clay and Roman Sebrle, renew their rivalry in the seven-discipline heptathlon.

Olympic champion Sebrle of the Czech Republic nabbed the 2004 world indoor title from Clay, who had led going into the final event. The American, however, denied Sebrle the only major title he has never held with victory in the decathlon at last year's world championships in Helsinki.

Missing from the championships in Moscow will be Sweden's world indoor high jump record holder and outdoor champion Kajsa Bergqvist, who pulled out last week because of an ankle injury.

World and Olympic heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft decided against competing indoors this season in a bid to stay fit after suffering from leg cramps in training.

Reuters