Ferguson’s
fine double
Commonwealth Games Day 4
Matthew Brown for the IAAF
29 July 2002 – Manchester, England - The Bahamas'
Debbie
Ferguson ran the world’s quickest time of the year – 22.20
- this evening
at the
Commonwealth Games in Manchester
to add
the women’s 200m title to the 100m gold medal she won on Saturday.
It was a commanding performance by the world silver medallist. First out of the blocks, she stormed the bend and showed magnificent form in the straight to clock a 22.20 win. Only one hundredth of a second outside her personal best, it erases the Commonwealth Games record of 22.25 set by Cathy Freeman in 1994.
“When I saw the clock I was like ‘Oh my God’,” said Ferguson. “It was a perfect race. I’m not going to complain. I haven’t been training as much for the 200m and considering what I’ve done for the year, it’s fantastic.”
Juliet Campbell of Jamaica repeated her silver medal performance from four years ago, running a season’s best 22.54, while Australia’s Lauren Hewitt took the bronze in her best of the year, 22.69.
Ferguson showed she was on course for the double earlier in the evening when she was the only semi-final qualifier to go under 23 seconds, easing up metres clear of her competitors to clock 22.67.
Her victory capped a great night for her country, for only minutes before Laverne Eve had won the women’s javelin with a fifth round throw of 58.12m. She also had the second best effort of 57.62m, while Australia’s Cecilia McIntosh took the silver and England’s Kelly Morgan the bronze.
Much had been expected of Morgan after she smashed the British record three times this season, and posted the second furthest throw in the world at the British championships. But she has been hampered by a shoulder injury for months, and fell ill to a virus last week. Clearly out of sorts, she could not improve on her first round attempt of 57.09m, well down on her best this year of 64.87m.
Eve, who has competed at three Olympic Games and five world championships, and has a best of 63.73m, was delighted with her first championships title.
“It feels good, really good,” said Eve.
Gallantly, Morgan said her illness had played no part in her below par performance. “I had a chest infection last week and an injection in my shoulder, but that’s no excuse. I warmed up well and I was really up for it,” she said.
In the men’s 200m Frankie Fredericks regained the Commonwealth Games 200m title he won eight years, with a time marginally outside his Games record of 19.97. The 34 year-old Namibian had looked invincible in his semi-final, which he cruised in 20.34. He showed even classier form in the final which he headed from the gun and won by two metres in 20.06.
The victory marks a marvellous return to form and fitness for the former world champion, who has had three nightmare years of injuries. Having made every world and Olympic 100m and 200m final in the 1990s, he withdrew injured from the 1999 100m semi and the 200m final, and ran just once in 2000. Many speculated that he would never return.
But this season he has again been among the world’s best sprinters and came to the Games as the fastest man in the field in both 100m and 200m – the only man, in fact, to have run sub-10 and sub-20. His decision to skip the 100m was justified tonight.
“I missed 2000 and I missed 2001. This is an emotional time for me,” said Fredericks. “To win this medal is something special. I knew if I stayed relaxed there would be no one who could run with me.”
Behind him there was a thrilling battle for the minor medals, and the spoils went to two Englishmen. Marlon Devonish produced a personal best 20.19 to take silver, with local boy Darren Campbell getting the verdict in a photo with Dominic Demeritte of Bahamas. They were both given 20.21, a season’s best for Campbell and equalling Demeritte’s national record.
The bronze represented a triumph for the Olympic silver medallist, Campbell. Six weeks ago he was facing the prospect of not being able to compete at his home town’s big event. Having suffered from early season injuries the local man came to the trials in the City of Manchester Stadium not yet fully fit. Having finished out of the qualifying places in the 100m, he missed the 200m with a virus and might not have been selected had the England team managers not shown him sympathy. He repaid their faith in him tonight.
“When you come back from what I’ve been through and get to the Commonwealth Games and win a medal, that’s an achievement,” said Campbell. “To be honest with you, I’ve learned a lot of lessons from this experience. I don’t know if people can appreciate the pain I’ve gone through emotionally. It’s not always about coming out and winning gold medals, it’s about coming back from adversity.”
The biggest winning margin of the night went to Maria Mutola who took some 20 metres out of her opponents in the final straight of the women’s 800m to break her own Games record. Clocking 1:57.35, Mozambique’s Olympic champion looked entirely untroubled. Behind her though, six more women were breaking two minutes, all but one of them for the first time ever.
Canada’s world finallist Diane Cummins took the silver in a season’s best of 1:58.82, while Agnes Samaria set a new Namibian record of 1:59.15 for bronze. Susan Scott of Scotland also set a national record, 1:59.30, while England’s 17 year-old sensation Charlotte Moore again smashed the British junior record with 1:59.75, marginally ahead of her teammate Jo Fenn, who ran her first sub-2, 1:59.86.
South Africa’s Mbulaeni Mulandzi ran a well-timed, if less dramatic race to win the men’s final, in 1:46.32, from Kenya’s Joseph Mutua and Australia’s Kris McCarthy, who both came with late runs to claim silver and bronze respectively.
Another Games record went to Australia’s glamour girl, and Olympic silver medallist, Tatyana Grigorieva who won the pole vault gold with 4.35m. Her compatriot, Kym Howe took silver with 4.15m , while three women tied for bronze.
England’s Chris Rawlinson won a messy men’s 400m hurdles final, in 49.15, but he was made to work hard for his first major championships title by the Welshman Matt Elias, who pushed him all the way to the line, finishing only 0.13 seconds behind.
Rawlinson, the sixth fastest man in the world this year, became the clear number one in the field when South Africa’s Llewellyn Herbert did not turn up for the semi-finals. He was relieved, as much as delighted, to prove the predictions right. “Having seen some English favourites not succeed in the last few days, I was a little bit scared that might happen to me,” he said. “I have not won in a great time, but the amount of pressure you face as a favourite . . . I never want to be a favourite again.”
He went off hard from the gun in lane six, chased by Elias running a lane inside. England’s Anthony Borsumato was also running well in lane four. Rawlinson held his advantage into the home straight and, despite chopping his stride badly at the last barrier, was strong enough to win. Elias faltered too, but Borsumato’s stumble was worse and he was caught on the run-in by Jamaica’s Ian Weakley, who took the bronze in 49.69.
Canada took gold and silver in the men’s high jump, the gold going to Olympic and world finallist Mark Boswell, with Kwaku Boateng taking the silver. Both were below their best, however, clearing 2.25m and 2.28m respectively.
Defending champion Dalton Grant of England went out at 2.25m, which Boswell passed. He sailed over 2.28m on his first attempt and that was enough for victory. The 1998 silver medallist Ben Challenger failed at 2.28m, as did Boateng, but the Canadian had taken only one attempt at 2.25m to Challenger’s two. It was a season’s best for both. Boswell then took three poor attempts at a Canadian record of 2.36m.
Jamaica’s Elva Goulbourne won the long jump, with 6.70m, 12cm beyond England’s under 23 champion, Jade Johnson. Anju Bobby George gave India it’s first ever track and field medal, taking the bronze with 6.49m.
World 110m hurdles record holder Colin Jackson made his first appearance of the Games. Running in the red vest of Wales, he was easily the fastest qualifier from the men’s semi-finals, clocking a relaxed 13.34.
There was a rash of personal bests in the women’s sprint hurdles semis, with four women running sub-13. The fastest was Jamaica’s Lacena Golding-Clark, in 12.74, followed by her compatriot Vonette Dixon.
