# 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships

The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7–9, 2008.

## Bid

Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, Russia.

## Results
### Men

2004 | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2012
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 60 m details | Olusoji A. Fasuba Nigeria | 6.51 (WL) | Dwain Chambers Great Britain | 6.54 (PB) | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 60 m details | Olusoji A. Fasuba Nigeria | 6.51 (WL) | Kim Collins Saint Kitts and Nevis | 6.54 (SB) | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| Fasuba's win became the first indoor short dash World Championship title for Africa ||||||
| 400 m details | Tyler Christopher Canada | 45.67 (WL) | Johan Wissman Sweden | 46.04 (PB) | Chris Brown Bahamas | 46.26 (SB) |
| Tyler Christopher stayed behind Wissman and Brown until the final homestraight, when he sped to victory off the last bend. ||||||
| 800 m details | Abubaker Kaki Khamis Sudan | 1:44.81 (WL) | Mbulaeni Mulaudzi South Africa | 1:44.91 (NR) | Yusuf Saad Kamel Bahrain | 1:45.26 (AR) |
| Abubaker Kaki Khamis led from the start in attempt to win and held off the fast approaching Mbulaeni Mulaudzi by a tenth of a second to win his first major international title at just 18! ||||||
| 1500 m details | Deresse Mekonnen Ethiopia | 3:38.23 | Daniel Kipchirchir Komen Kenya | 3:38.54 | Juan Carlos Higuero Spain | 3:38.82 |
| Mekonnen was initially disqualified for stepping on the inside of the track, and Spaniard Arturo Casado was named as the bronze medallist, but the Ethiopian was reinstated. Higuero's was the first medal of the championships for the host country. ||||||
| 3000 m details | Tariku Bekele Ethiopia | 7:48.23 | Paul Kipsiele Koech Kenya | 7:49.05 | Abreham Cherkos Ethiopia | 7:49.96 |
| Tariku Bekele won his first World title, succeeding his brother as 3000 m champion, who had won the title at the previous championships. ||||||
| 60 m hurdles details | Liu Xiang China | 7.46 (SB) | Allen Johnson United States | 7.55 | Evgeniy Borisov Russia | 7.60 |
| 60 m hurdles details | Liu Xiang China | 7.46 (SB) | Allen Johnson United States | 7.55 | Staņislavs Olijars Latvia | 7.60 (SB) |
| Liu Xiang and Dayron Robles, the favorites for this event, were expected to battle for the gold, but Robles was eliminated in the heats after mistakenly believing there was a false start. ||||||
| 4 × 400 m relay details | United States (USA) James Davis Jamaal Torrance Greg Nixon Kelly Willie Joel Stallworth* | 3:06.79 (WL) | Jamaica (JAM) Michael Blackwood Edino Steele Adrian Findlay DeWayne Barrett Aldwyn Sappleton* | 3:07.69 (SB) | Dominican Republic (DOM) Arismendy Peguero Carlos Santa Pedro Mejía Yoel Tapia | 3:07.77 (NR) |
| High jump details | Stefan Holm Sweden | 2.36 | Yaroslav Rybakov Russia | 2.34 | Andra Manson United States | 2.30 (SB) |
| High jump details | Stefan Holm Sweden | 2.36 | Yaroslav Rybakov Russia | 2.34 | Kyriakos Ioannou Cyprus | 2.30 |
| Stefan Holm regained his title from Rybakov who won in 2006 to become 4-time world indoor champion. Ioannou earned Cyprus its first ever medal at an Indoor World Championship. ||||||
| Pole vault details | Yevgeniy Lukyanenko Russia | 5.90 (WL) | Brad Walker United States | 5.85 (PB) | Steven Hooker Australia | 5.80 (SB) |
| insert write up: ||||||
| Long jump details | Godfrey Khotso Mokoena South Africa | 8.08 (SB) | Chris Tomlinson Great Britain | 8.06 | Mohamed Salman Al-Khuwalidi Saudi Arabia | 8.01 |
| Tomlinson's 8.06 held the lead from the first round, until the fifth when Mokoena reached 8.08, which Tomlinson was then unable to match. Mokoena's result was the shortest winning jump in the history of the World Indoor Championships. ||||||
| Triple jump details | Phillips Idowu Great Britain | 17.75 (NR)(WL) | Arnie David Giralt Cuba | 17.47 (PB) | Nelson Évora Portugal | 17.27 |
| Idowu's winning jump came in the second round, and set a new British and Commonwealth record. ||||||
| Shot put details | Christian Cantwell United States | 21.77 | Reese Hoffa United States | 21.20 | Tomasz Majewski Poland | 20.93 (NR) |
| Hoffa set a 21.49m best at the qualification. Cantwell's victory put was the 4th best in the history of Indoor World Championships. ||||||
| Heptathlon details (60 m, LJ, SP, HJ, 60 m H, PV, 1000 m) | Bryan Clay United States | 6371 (WL) | Andrei Krauchanka Belarus | 6234 (NR) | Dmitriy Karpov Kazakhstan | 6131 |
| Heptathlon details (60 m, LJ, SP, HJ, 60 m H, PV, 1000 m) | (6.71 - 7.75 - 16.21 - 2.09 - 7.86 - 5.00 - 2:55.64) | (6.71 - 7.75 - 16.21 - 2.09 - 7.86 - 5.00 - 2:55.64) | (7.19 - 7.63 - 14.29 - 2.15 - 8.11 - 5.30 - 2:46.49) | (7.19 - 7.63 - 14.29 - 2.15 - 8.11 - 5.30 - 2:46.49) | (7.20 - 7.31 - 16.19 - 2.06 - 8.15 - 5.20 - 2:47.45) | (7.20 - 7.31 - 16.19 - 2.06 - 8.15 - 5.20 - 2:47.45) |
| Clay dominated from early on, leading by 170 points after the first two events. Clay was on world record pace as the first day came to a close. Clay fell short of the world record but held on for a comfortable win, taking first in four of seven events. ||||||
| WR world record | AR area record | CR championship record | GR games record | NR national record | OR Olympic record | PB personal best | SB season best | WL world leading (in a given season) |||||| |

### Women

2004 | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2012
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 60 m details | Angela Williams United States | 7.06 (WL) | Jeanette Kwakye Great Britain | 7.08 (NR) | Tahesia Harrigan British Virgin Islands | 7.09 (NR) |
| After several seasons of injury, Angela Williams finally wins her first world title in personal best time. Ene Franca Idoko of Nigeria was a favorite, but she stumbled out of the blocks, finishing 7th. ||||||
| 400 m details | Olesya Zykina Russia | 51.09 (WL) | Natalya Nazarova Russia | 51.10 (SB) | Shareese Woods United States | 51.41 (PB) |
| Olesya Zykina won the event, which was the closest women's World Indoor 400 m final in history, with Nazarova second for a 1–2 win for Russia. ||||||
| 800 m details | Tamsyn Lewis Australia | 2:02.57 | Tetiana Petlyuk Ukraine | 2:02.66 | Maria de Lurdes Mutola Mozambique | 2:02.97 |
| Tamsyn Lewis surprised by winning her first World title, breaking Mutola's hopes of winning her eighth title on her last competitive year. Home hopeful, Mayte Martínez was a disappointing fourth. ||||||
| 1500 m details | Gelete Burka Ethiopia | 3:59.75 (AR) | Maryam Yusuf Jamal Bahrain | 3:59.79 (AR) | Daniela Yordanova Bulgaria | 4:04.19 (NR) |
| Yelena Soboleva led for most of the fast race to win in a new world record time, breaking her own one-month-old world record by 0.34 s. Soboleva was later disqualified for doping along with second placed Yuliya Fomenko, and her world record was rescinded. ||||||
| 3000 m details | Meseret Defar Ethiopia | 8:38.79 | Meselech Melkamu Ethiopia | 8:41.50 | Mariem Alaoui Selsouli Morocco | 8:41.66 |
| Meseret Defar completed a hat-trick of World Indoor 3000 m titles in her kick-finish, which her countrywoman Meselech Melkamu was unable to respond to. ||||||
| 60 m hurdles details | LoLo Jones United States | 7.80 | Candice Davis United States | 7.93 | Anay Tejeda Cuba | 7.98 |
| After new World record holder Swede Susanna Kallur injured a hamstring during her warm-up for the semi-final and pulled out of the competition, Lolo Jones became the favorite, and did indeed win by a fairly large margin. Spanish Josephine Onyia, the home crowd's hope, tripped over the fifth hurdle to finish last. ||||||
| 4 × 400 m relay details | Russia (RUS) Yuliya Gushchina Tatyana Levina Natalya Nazarova Olesya Zykina | 3:28.17 (WL) | Belarus (BLR) Anna Kozak Iryna Khliustava Sviatlana Usovich Ilona Usovich | 3:28.90 (SB) | United States (USA) Angel Perkins Miriam Barnes Shareese Woods Moushaumi Robinson | 3:29.30 (SB) |
| insert write up: ||||||
| High jump details | Blanka Vlašić Croatia | 2.03 | Yelena Slesarenko Russia | 2.01 | Vita Palamar Ukraine | 2.01 (NR) |
| Blanka Vlasic was the clear favourite for the win after taking the world outdoor title the previous year. ||||||
| Pole vault details | Yelena Isinbayeva Russia | 4.75 | Jennifer Stuczynski United States | 4.75 (PB) | Fabiana Murer Brazil | 4.70 (AR) |
| Pole vault details | Yelena Isinbayeva Russia | 4.75 | Jennifer Stuczynski United States | 4.75 (PB) | Monika Pyrek Poland | 4.70 (SB) |
| Yelena Isinbayeva won her third consecutive Indoor World title. ||||||
| Long jump details | Naide Gomes Portugal | 7.00 (WL) | Maurren Maggi Brazil | 6.89 (AR) | Irina Simagina Russia | 6.88 |
| Naide Gomes set a National Record to win her first world title. ||||||
| Triple jump details | Yargelis Savigne Cuba | 15.05 (AR) | Marija Šestak Slovenia | 14.68 | Olga Rypakova Kazakhstan | 14.58 (AR) |
| Hrysopiyi Devetzi led until the last round, when Yargelis Savigne leaped a new Area Record into victory. Devetzi was retrospectively disqualified in 2016 after failing a doping test. ||||||
| Shot put details | Valerie Vili New Zealand | 20.19 (AR) | Li Meiju China | 19.09 (PB) | Misleydis González Cuba | 18.75 (PB) |
| Vili set two area records in her first indoor contest for four years-- ||||||
| Pentathlon details (60 mH, HJ, SP, LJ, 800 m) | Tia Hellebaut Belgium | 4867 (WL) | Kelly Sotherton Great Britain | 4852 (SB) | Anna Bogdanova Russia | 4753 |
| Pentathlon details (60 mH, HJ, SP, LJ, 800 m) | (8.54 - 1.99 - 13.85 - 6.41 - 2:16.42) | (8.54 - 1.99 - 13.85 - 6.41 - 2:16.42) | (8.25 - 1.81 - 14.57 - 6.45 - 2:09.95) | (8.25 - 1.81 - 14.57 - 6.45 - 2:09.95) | (8.39 - 1.84 - 14.56 - 6.38 - 2:15.67) | (8.39 - 1.84 - 14.56 - 6.38 - 2:15.67) |
| Tia Hellebaut's 1.99 clearance in the High jump moved her into the lead which she was able to keep until the end. In the last event, 800 m, Kelly Sotherton would have needed a 7.7 s lead over Hellebaut to win gold, but finished only 6.47 s ahead. ||||||
| WR world record | AR area record | CR championship record | GR games record | NR national record | OR Olympic record | PB personal best | SB season best | WL world leading (in a given season) |||||| |

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States (USA) | 5 | 5 | 3 | 13 |
| 2 | Russia (RUS) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 3 | Ethiopia (ETH) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | Cuba (CUB) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | China (CHN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | South Africa (RSA) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Sweden (SWE) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Australia (AUS) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Portugal (POR) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 | Belgium (BEL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Canada (CAN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Croatia (CRO) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | New Zealand (NZL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Nigeria (NGR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Sudan (SUD) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Belarus (BLR) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | Kenya (KEN) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 19 | Bahrain (BHR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 | Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 | Ukraine (UKR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 22 | Jamaica (JAM) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Slovenia (SLO) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | Kazakhstan (KAZ) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 25 | Poland (POL) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 27 | Bahamas (BAH) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | British Virgin Islands (IVB) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | Bulgaria (BUL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | Cyprus (CYP) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | Dominican Republic (DOM) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | Latvia (LAT) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | Morocco (MAR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | Mozambique (MOZ) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | Saudi Arabia (KSA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | Spain (ESP) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (36 entries) | Totals (36 entries) | 26 | 27 | 28 | 81 |

## Participating nations

* Algeria (2)
* Andorra (1)
* Antigua and Barbuda (2)
* Argentina (1)
* Armenia (1)
* Australia (9)
* Austria (2)
* Azerbaijan (1)
* Bahamas (7)
* Bahrain (4)
* Belarus (9)
* Belgium (4)
* Bermuda (1)
* Bolivia (1)
* Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)
* Botswana (3)
* Brazil (13)
* British Virgin Islands (1)
* Brunei (1)
* Bulgaria (6)
* Burkina Faso (1)
* Burundi (1)
* Cameroon (1)
* Canada (8)
* Cape Verde (1)
* Chile (1)
* China (11)
* Chinese Taipei (2)
* Cook Islands (1)
* Colombia (1)
* Comoros (2)
* Costa Rica (1)
* Ivory Coast (1)
* Croatia (1)
* Cuba (11)
* Cyprus (1)
* Czech Republic (13)
* Denmark (2)
* Dominica (1)
* Dominican Republic (4)
* Egypt (1)
* Equatorial Guinea (1)
* Estonia (3)
* Ethiopia (6)
* Federated States of Micronesia (1)
* Fiji (1)
* Finland (2)
* France (12)
* French Polynesia (1)
* Gabon (1)
* Germany (16)
* Ghana (2)
* Great Britain (28)
* Greece (GRE) (5)
* Grenada (2)
* Guam (1)
* Guinea (1)
* Guyana (2)
* Haiti (1)
* Honduras (1)
* Hong Kong (1)
* Hungary (1)
* Indonesia (1)
* Iran (1)
* Ireland (2)
* Israel (1)
* Italy (13)
* Jamaica (13)
* Japan (5)
* Jordan (1)
* Kazakhstan (5)
* Kenya (7)
* Kiribati (1)
* Kyrgyzstan (2)
* Kuwait (1)
* Laos (1)
* Latvia (3)
* Lebanon (1)
* Liberia (5)
* Liechtenstein (1)
* Lithuania (3)
* Macau (1)
* Macedonia (1)
* Madagascar (1)
* Maldives (1)
* Malaysia (1)
* Mali (1)
* Malta (2)
* Mauritius (1)
* Mexico (5)
* Moldova (1)
* Monaco (1)
* Morocco (8)
* Mozambique (1)
* Myanmar (1)
* Namibia (1)
* Nauru (1)
* Netherlands (3)
* New Zealand (3)
* Nigeria (6)
* Norfolk Island (1)
* Norway (1)
* Palau (1)
* Paraguay (1)
* Poland (15)
* Portugal (7)
* Puerto Rico (2)
* Qatar (4)
* Romania (13)
* Russia (47)
* Rwanda (1)
* Saint Kitts and Nevis (1)
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1)
* El Salvador (1)
* Samoa (1)
* San Marino (2)
* Saudi Arabia (2)
* Senegal (1)
* Serbia (2)
* Seychelles (1)
* Sierra Leone (1)
* Singapore (2)
* Slovakia (4)
* Slovenia (5)
* Solomon Islands (1)
* South Africa (3)
* Spain (23)
* Sudan (2)
* Sweden (10)
* Switzerland (1)
* Syria (1)
* Tajikistan (1)
* Togo (1)
* Tonga (1)
* Trinidad and Tobago (1)
* Turkey (4)
* Turkmenistan (1)
* Uganda (1)
* Ukraine (16)
* United Arab Emirates (1)
* United States (49)
* United States Virgin Islands (2)
* Uruguay (1)
* Uzbekistan (2)
* Vanuatu (1)
* Venezuela (1)
* Zambia (1)