Ryan hoping to raise the bar even higher

Deirdre Ryan will be hoping to repeat her performance at the world championships in Daegu when she competes in the first qualifying group of the women’s high jump this morning (9.30am).

The 30-year-old Dubliner has been a regular competitor at the highest level since competing at the world youth championships in 1999. She also competed in the European indoor championships in 2002 and finished 13th in the European outdoor championships in Gothenburg 2006.

In 2009 she competed in the world indoor championships and, the following year, in the world outdoor championships. In January 2009 she cleared 1.93m indoors in Leverkusen and, last August, jumped 1.93 outdoors. The same month she went to the world championships in Daegu where she set a new Irish record at 1.95m in the qualification round. She went on to finish sixth in the final.

That jump tied her for sixth and also provided her the A standard for London 2012 and she will be looking for more of the same today.

Tia Hellebaut was a surprise winner of the high jump title in Beijing but, since then, the Belgian has taken time out twice to have babies. The former heptathlete returns this year to defend her title and, while she is ranked only sixth, she has been extremely consistent indoors and outdoors.

World champion, Anna Chicherova, and world indoor champion Chaunte Lowe will be the joint favourites this time around. Chicherova tops this year’s world lists with her 2.03m.