Commonwealth
Games
enough quality
to silence the cynics
Matthew
Brown for the IAAF
25
July 2002 - Manchester,
England -
It would be
easy to be cynical about the 17th Commonwealth Games, whose athletics
programme starts here in Manchester on Friday without some of the Commonwealth’s
biggest track and field stars.
It would be
an
easy but mistaken assumption to make.
It would be easy, too, to see why some people in the wider athletics world might regard the Commonwealth Games almost as an irrelevance, a sideshow that breaks up the season – allowing the top Americans to go home for a rest before returning to their Golden League exploits, and giving world class athletes from most of Europe and half of Africa a chance to prepare quietly for their continental championships.
A glance at the list of leading absentees from Manchester 2002 might suggest that some of them regard it as an irrelevance too. Take the men’s distance events. The 1500m, for example, will be without Kenya’s Olympic gold and bronze medallists, Noah Ngeny and Bernard Lagat, who say they are simply not interested in taking part. For similar reasons Paul Tergat has not entered the marathon and Reuben Kosgei, the world and Olympic champion will not be on the start line for the steeplechase.
Others are missing for different reasons – Trinidad’s Ato Boldon will not defend his 100m title because of his poor form throughout 2002; Olympic bronze medallist Greg Haughton will miss the 400m because of a dispute with the Jamaican federation; and Francis Obikwelu will be absent from the sprints because of his recent switch from Nigeria to Portugal.
The women’s events have also been hit. Take the 400m, for example, where none of the first four from the Sydney Olympic final – all of whom are Commonwealth athletes – will be running. The British pair Katherine Merry and Donna Fraser, third and fourth in Sydney, are both injured, while Jamaica’s Sydney silver medallist Lorraine Fenton is fit enough only to compete in the relay.
More significantly, this event was to have been Cathy Freeman’s return to top flight action after her post-Olympic breather, but that was before the announcement of her husband’s illness forced her to reassess the year’s priorities. The Olympic champion’s late decision to run in the relay here was a major boost, not only to the Australian team, but to the organisers too.
Even the home nation hasn’t been free of drop-out fever. As well as Merry and Fraser, the England team will be missing medal prospects such as Mark Richardson from the men’s 400m (injury), defending champion Larry Achike from the triple jump (not selected), Olympic champion Denise Lewis from the heptathlon (she had a baby) and world bronze medallist Dean Macey from the decathlon (injured).
However, the Commonwealth Games are always about more than appears on the outside, and the athletics in Manchester will no doubt throw up memorable moments to sink the cynicism, matching those from the past, such as Roger Bannister’s victory over John Landy in Vancouver in 1954, and Filbert Bayi’s world record 1500m triumph over John Walker in Christchurch in 1974, that remain part of the sport’s legend today.
One unique athletics moment special to the Commonwealth Games came in 1982 when Scotland’s 1980 Olympic 100m champion Allan Wells and England’s Mike McFarlane ‘dead heated’ in the 200m final. Such a scenario is unlikely to be repeated here, although the men’s sprints will again be among the most hotly contested events on the programme.
Dwain Chambers, the man now coached by McFarlane, will start as favourite to capture the 100m crown, although a fierce rivalry is brewing between him and his teammate, Mark Lewis-Francis, the 19 year-old former world junior champion. Such is the home nation’s sprinting strength that Jason Gardener, the European indoor champion, could even make it an England one-two-three on the podium.
The foreign challenge will come from South Africa’s Morne Nagel and Kim Collins, from St Kitts and Nevis, not to mention the 34 year-old former Olympic silver medallist Frankie Fredericks. The evergreen Namibian – fully recovered from two years of Achilles troubles – will start as favourite for the 200m, although he could face the biggest home crowd roar of all when he faces the Manchester-raised Olympic silver medallist Darren Campbell.
World record holder Colin Jackson, running here for Wales, will seek to make his swansong season a golden one by winning the men’s 110m hurdles. It would be the 35 year-olds third Commonwealth title. In contrast, England’s Chris Rawlinson will hope his fine 400m hurdles form can carry him to a first major championship medal, although South Africa’s Olympic bronze medallist Llewellyn Herbert may have other ideas. There should be another close duel in the 400m flat, where Bahamas’ world champion Avard Moncur will go head-to-head against the English world indoor champion Daniel Caines.
Despite the absence of Ngeny and Lagat, Kenya’s 10,000m runner John Korir still reckons his countrymen will sweep the middle and long distance events. With the likes of Benjamin Limo and Sammy Kipketer in the 5000m, and William Chirchir and David Kiplak in the 1500m, it’s difficult to look beyond that prediction.
The women’s sprints are likely to be dominated by the Caribbean contingent, with Merlene Ottey’s Jamaican successors, Tayna Lawrence and Veronica Campbell, battling with reigning 100m champion Chandra Sturrup and her Bahamas teammates Debbie Ferguson and Savatheda Fynes.
Meanwhile, Mozambique’s Maria Mutola will start as overwhelming favourite to retain her 800m title, even against England’s Kelly Holmes who should be lifted by home crowd support to put up a strong fight. Holmes will start as favourite for the 1500m, as will her teammate Paula Radcliffe for the 5000m. However, both could face strong battles with Kenyans, Holmes with defending champion Jackline Maranga, and Radcliffe with Edith Masai, whom she defeated over 3000m in Monaco last week.
World triple jump record holder Jonathan Edwards is attempting to complete his set of major honours by adding his first Commonwealth Games gold to Olympic, world and European titles, while England’s other hop, step and jumper Ashia Hansen is looking to retain the crown she won in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, the year she broke the world indoor record.
The home nation will be seeking to reverse the overall result four years ago when it finished with one medal below Australia in the medal table. Australia has its hopes too, though, particularly in field events, with Tatyana Grigorieva in the pole vault, Bronwyn Eagles in the hammer, and Bronwyn Thompson in the long jump.
South Africa’s major title challenge could come in the women’s high jump, through world champion Hestrie Cloete, while the relatively small Canadian team will be looking to their high jump hope, Mark Boswell, for some golden inspiration.
For another Canadian athlete, however, these Games will bring down the final curtain on a long and distinguished career. Bruny Surin the former double world indoor 60m champion, won his first international sprinting honours when he finished third at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand. And he’ll take his last bows in Manchester next Wednesday after he anchors Canada’s 4x100m relay team to what he hopes will be another international medal.
“This will be my last competition,” said the veteran of five world championship 100m finals yesterday. “I can still remember the feeling of Auckland and I want to savour these Games just the same – I’ll stay in the village, go to the ceremonies, and just live it, from start to finish.”
For him, at least, these Commonwealth Games are no sideshow . . . just the final act.
