Tallin, July 07: Olympic champion Denise Lewis comfortably qualified for the World Championships with an impressive comeback display at the Spar European Cup of Combined Events in Tallinn. Lewis finished second overall in her first heptathlon for three years as European champion Carolina Kluft of Sweden dominated the two-day event. But the Briton's tally of 6,282 points easily bettered the IAAF qualifying standard of 6,105 points for next month's Championships in Paris.
Lewis had been second after day one with a score of 3,658 points, 264 behind Kluft. But outstanding performances in the long jump and javelin with marks of 6.33 metres and 49.57m made hitting the Paris qualifying mark a formality.

The 30-year-old Midlander ran the final event, the 800m, in two minutes and 20.34 seconds.

Her finishing tally gave Lewis one of the top six scores in the world this year, guaranteeing her selection for the World Championships where she won silver medals in both 1997 and 1999.

It was also better than the 6,200 score her coach Frank Dick predicted she would achieve before the event got under way.

Bureau Report.