Athletics: Sjoberg on the rise: Former champion flying high

PATRIK SJOBERG, Sweden's former world high jump champion and record-holder, scored an encouraging win at an international meeting in Copenhagen yesterday as he continues his comeback after an Achilles tendon injury.

Sjoberg cleared 2.30 metres to win from Norway's Steinar Hoen (2.25m) and Great Britain's Steve Smith (2.20).

Sjoberg, the 1987 world champion, has been nursing the injury since early July, returning to competition last Friday with 2.28 for second place at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix meeting, behind his Cuban rival Javier Sotomayor, who cleared 2.40.

The poor weather conditions scuppered Richard Chelimo's attempt on the 5,000 metres world record at the same meeting. Chelimo, who held the 10,000m world record for five days this month before losing it to his fellow Kenyan Yobes Ondieki, was paced by Peter Rono and Ismail Kirui, his younger brother.

He was on target for the first 2,000 metres but could not maintain the pace and finished 15 seconds outside the world mark of 12min 58.39sec, set by Said Aouita in 1987. Chelimo won in 13:13.85.

Chelimo, the Olympic and world championship silver medallist at 10,000m, said he would compete over the longer distance in Stuttgart and would probably try to recapture the world record after the championships. There were further Kenyan victories for Nixon Kiptrotich in the 800m and William Tanui in the 1500m.