KARLRUHE, Germany, Mar 2: China's Sun Cayan and Germany's Nicole Rieger set a new women's world Indoor record In the pole vault Tuesday by soaring 4.08 metres (13.38 feet) at the Karlsruhe international track meet, reports AP.

A few minutes before both women broke Sun's, old mark by a centimetre (0.4 inch). England's Unford Christie had blazed to a new European record of 6.48 seconds to capture, the 60 metres.

The 1992 Olympic gold medalist in the 100 metres broke out in front at the start, then leaned into the tape two-hundredths of a second ahead of indoor world record-holder Bruno Surin of Canada.

"Finally everything worked right from the start." Christie said, "I knew I had it in me — it's great that it happened today."

His performance bettered the 6.51-second mark he shared with several others.

Kenya's Paul Ereng ran his best time in a year, finishing the indoor 800 metres in 1:46.19.

On Reiger's second attempt. she set the new world record and cinched the meet victory, while forcing Sun to match her height moments later on her final leap.

Rieger jumped 6 centimetres (2.4 inches) over her personal best and European record, which she had set last weekend in Dortmund. Germany.

"It's crazy — I can hardly believe it," the German said.

Both women failed at attempts to clear 4.12 metres (13.51 feet).

Germany's Heike Drechsler also won the long Jump In a rematch against her strongest competitor at the Stuttgart world championship.

The Barcelona gold medalist leaped 7.06 metres (23.16 feet) to easily outdistance Larissa Bereshnaja of Ukraine whose best Jump was 6.62 (21.72 feet).

Jamaica's Merlene Ottey won the women's 60 metres in 7.11 seconds and Canada's Mark McCoy the 60-metres hurdles in 7.52. ■

Ereng, the 1988 Olympic champion In the 800 metres, raced from far behind to erase a 20-metre (yard) lead by Germany's Nico Motschebon on the last lap. The German ran a time of 1:46.83.