Tyson Gay powers to 9.76w in New York (© Victah Sailer)
The track and field caravan wheels on to another city on Sunday (15) as a generous smattering of the world’s best athletes land in Sheffield for the ‘Norwich Union British Grand Prix’, an IAAF Grand Prix status meeting as part of the IAAF World Athletics Tour 2007.
Hopefully the Don Valley Stadium will have dried out after the recent floods that all but drowned the surrounding area in muddy water a few weeks ago.
World record build-up
Among those hoping to bring a ray of sunshine to this steely northern English town is the man of the moment, Tyson Gay.
The double US champion has emerged this year to challenge Asafa Powell as the hottest property on the sprinting block, and the organisers are even playing up his appearance here as a potential World record opportunity, pointing out that the Sheffield track is “believed to be faster” than the strip in Gateshead where Powell so unexpectedly equalled his own world mark at this meeting last year.
“A lot of things have to be right to achieve a World record but without a doubt Tyson has the ability to do it on the day if conditions are good,” meeting director Ian Stewart said recently.
The last time Gay ran here, two years ago, the weather was indeed glorious as he took on Justin Gatlin over 200m, losing to the newly crowned double World sprint champion by just 0.05s. Gay ran an odd race that day, leading easily until the last few metres when he appeared to pull up abruptly, apparently allowing his garlanded US teammate the predicted victory.
How things have changed. Gay emerged from Gatlin’s tainted shadow last season when he became world number one at 200m and world number two at 100m. With his astonishing double victories at the US championships this June Gay has become the sport’s bright new smiling star for 2007, a sure sign that he won’t be easing off for anybody this time around.
“I’d love to break the record over here,” he says. “I really believe if I get the right conditions it can happen.”
“I’m sure the competition in Sheffield will be tough, but that’s great for me and I’m ready for it. This season is very important to me. I’ve proved I’m capable of winning races and recording great times, now I want to come back from the world championships with medals.”
Gay’s “tough opposition” here includes Portugal’s European champion Francis Obikwelu, fellow Americans Leonard Scott and Shawn Crawford, plus the in-form Briton Marlon Devonish who’s lowered his best this year to 10.06.
Devonish has a busy day ahead of him as he also takes on Jamaica’s Usain Bolt and USA’s Wallace Spearmon over 200m, a useful preparation for his assault on both UK sprint titles at the national championships in two weeks time.
Whatever the quality of the two shorter sprints, however, the bulk of pre-event publicity has centred on the men’s 400m where South Africa’s Paralympic Oscar Pistorius, a double leg amputee, who has been entered in the same race as World and Olympic champion, Jeremy Wariner. Commonwealth champion John Steffensen of Australia is the American’s primary opponent after Britain’s Tim Benjamin was forced to pull out with a foot strain.
Bekele vs Mottram
Pre-event hype aside, the highlights of the packed 18-event programme could well come from disciplines other than the men’s sprints. In the men’s 3000m, for example, Craig Mottram will renew his burgeoning rivalry with the Bekele family as he takes on Kenenisa in the stadium where he set an Australian Two Mile record two years ago.
That was a precursor to Mottram’s 5000m bronze medal winning run at the Helsinki World championships and the Australian is hopeful that another strong run in Sheffield will point to an even more successful campaign in Osaka this August. “I love racing in Britain and can’t wait to return to Sheffield as I have fond memories of breaking that record two years ago,” he says. “I had some decent runs in New York last month, but my main goal is in Osaka later this summer so I’m just building up to that.”
For his part, Bekele is racing sparingly in the run-up to Osaka and the World 5000 and 10,000m record holder will want to reassert his authority over his closest rivals. Alongside Mottram and Bekele, the line-up includes Britain’s European 5000m silver medallist Mo Farah, Kenya’s Abraham Chebii and Ireland’s Alistair Cragg.
Liu Xiang and the Americans
Bekele won’t be the only World record holder on show in Sheffield as China’s Liu Xiang heads a strong field in the 110m Hurdles that includes Cuba’s Dayron Robles, the veteran American Allen Johnson and his compatriot Anwar Moore.
In the field events, a top quality pole vault pitches USA’s Brad Walker and Tim Mack, against Australians Paul Burgess and Steve Hooker, while Norway’s Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen will be favourite in the Javelin Throw. While Phillips Idowu has been forced out of the Triple Jump through injury, another leading Briton, Chris Tomlinson, will be hoping to make his mark in the long jump buoyed by extending his British record recently.
World and Olympic titleholders collide…Richards too
The women’s sprints are as enticing as the men’s, especially the 200m in which World champion Allyson Felix faces Olympic champion Veronica Campbell and 2006 World athlete of the year Sanya Richards. With all three fast approaching peak form, this could well be a dress rehearsal for the world championship final, a fact not lost on Felix who will be out to repeat her success here two years ago.
“There is no doubting that things are hotting up in the sprint field now, with all of us putting in some good performances,” says the recently crowned US champion. “The race is going to have a loaded line-up, which is great because I thrive on racing in big competitions. Whether it will provide an insight into what might happen at the world championships we will have to wait and see, but I can guarantee that nobody will want to lose.”
Sanders and Lyne, the British standouts
The 400m features Britain’s Nicole Sanders as she tries to reproduce her blistering indoor form after an injury-delayed start to the outdoor season. Sanders, the European Indoor champion, races against Olympic relay gold medallists Monique Hennagan and Monique Henderson of the USA.
European bronze medallist Becky Lyne, another Briton returning from injury, will be cheered on by her hometown crowd in an 800m packed with British talent, including Jenny Meadows, Marilyn Okoro and Jemma Simpson.
Dibaba at 3000, and Klüft to follow Perry in the hurdles
Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba will start as favourite in a 3000m field that includes Kenya’s in-form Vivian Cheruiyot and Britain’s Jo Pavey, while another World champion Carolina Kluft will test herself in a high-class 100m Hurdles. The Swedish Heptathlon star will make her first outdoor appearance in Britain against three of the four fastest in the world this year – World champion Michelle Perry, who’s still in the hunt for the Golden League Jackpot, Delloreen Ennis London of Jamaica and USA’s Lolo Jones.
Bergqvist returns
Australia’s Commonwealth champion Jana Rawlinson will take on USA’s Sandra Glover and Britain’s Tasha Danvers-Smith in the 400m Hurdles while the one women’s field event, the High Jump, has Kajsa Bergqvist returning to the stadium where she equalled the UK all-comers record of 2.03 two years ago, the highest jump anywhere in 2005.
With good conditions more all-comers records could well be on the cards on Sunday, even if a new world 100m mark is probably a little too much to hope for, whatever the hype says.
Matthew Brown for the IAAF
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