Defar breaks women's two-mile indoor record

Boston: Ethiopia's Meseret Defar shattered the world indoor record for the women's two-mile race at the Boston Indoor Games on Saturday, while Australian Craig Mottram clocked the fastest 3,000m time in the United States.

Defar, the 5,000m Olympic and world champion and outdoor world record holder, clocked 9:10.50 to blitz the previous two-mile mark of 9:23.38 by American Regina Jacobs here in 2002.

New Zealander Kim Smith, who trains in nearby Rhode Island, finished second in 9:13.94.

Defar, the 2007 IAAF female athlete of the year, said there was still room for improvement.

"I'm not running today 100 per cent," Defar said.

"I could have run faster."

Mottram, aiming to make up for the disappointment of last year's world championships, cruised to an impressive 7:34.50 in the men's 3,000m - the fastest time recorded over the distance in the United States, indoors or out, and an Australian national record.

Mottram bettered Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie's 2004 indoor US all-comers record of 7:35.24 and topped the outdoor best of 7:35.44 run in 2005 by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge.

He also eclipsed his national record of 7:39.24 set at the same meet last year.

Markos Geneti of Ethiopia was a distant second in 7:41.81.

"Had I known it was Haile's I would have tried a little bit harder," Mottram said with a chuckle.

"He's definitely the greatest distance runner of all time. That's one record I'll be proud of."

Mottram will face double world champion Bernard Lagat in the mile at next week's Millrose Games in New York.

World 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia shook off recurring cramp to win the women's 3,000m with a 2008 world-leading time of 8:33.37.

Her sister, Ejegayehu Dibaba, was second in 8:36.59.

There was disappointment for Olympic and world heptathlon gold medallist Carolina Kluft of Sweden, who could finish no better than third in the long jump with a best of 6.34m.

"I'm very disappointed today," Kluft said.

"It was just one of those bad days where everything goes wrong. I had no feeling. No rhythm," she added.

American outdoor record holder Jenn Stuczynski returned from Achilles and back problems to win the women's pole vault at 4.60 metres but failed in three attempts at a US indoor record of 4.82.