Felix Sanchez wins the 400m Hurdles world title (© Getty Images)
Thirty newly crowned World Champions from Paris 2003 Saint-Denis head the glittering array of Athletics jewels that will be presented in Monaco’s Stade Louis II this weekend 13 & 14 September for the inaugural IAAF World Athletics Final.
Men’s programme
In the men’s competitions in Monaco this weekend there are an array of duels which will see the world’s top athletes rejoin battles many of which in many cases were last fought in the midst of the packed cauldron of spectators which was the Stade de France.
New sprint king Kim Collins takes on most of the Paris Worlds field which he narrowly beat in Paris. World 100m record holder Tim Montgomery along with US champion Bernard Williams and European record holder Dwain Chambers of Britain will wish to re-address their defeats.
John Capel was on the top of the World’s 200m elite in Paris, and France’s bronze medallist over the full lap Marc Raquil so nearly reached the top of the podium too. They will both be in Monaco this weekend.
Algeria’s Djabir Said-Guerni surprised many in Paris but is one of the few World champions not competing in Monaco which should leave the field open to tasty confrontation between Russia’s Yuriy Borzakovskiy the World silver medallist, and the world season’s fastest Wilfried Bungei who missed selection for Paris as he was sick during the Kenyan trials.
We have the complete elite of Middle distance running Hicham El Guerrouj (1500m), Eliud Kipchoge (5000m) and Kenenisa Bekele (10,000m) all three were crowned top of the world in Paris and will do much to enliven the World Athletics Final. UPDATE: the latter two athletes in a choice between the 3000m or the 5000m originally opted for the longer distance in Monaco but now Bekele has switched to the 5000m.
At both 110m Hurdles and 400m Hurdles, the two World champions Allen Johnson and Felix Sanchez, who both lead their respective Events in the IAAF World Rankings by large margins, are peerless at the moment and we can again revel in their majesty.
The 3000m Steeplechase is not so clear, though Qatar’s Saif Saeed Shaheen has won everything in sight this year, his former Kenyan team mate Ezekiel Kemboi is not one for letting go of Kenyan pride. As in Paris he is sure to give the Qatari as big a challenge as humanly possible if only for the sake of restoring some Kenyan national pride in what has been a parade event.
Double World champion Stefan Holm will be looking to make up for misfortune in Paris where he was beaten for the gold by South Africa’s Jacques Freitag. Holm leads the IAAF World Event Ranking for the men’s High Jump, as does South Africa’s Okkert Brits in the men’s Pole Vault. Brits faces the ‘new kid on the block’ Italy’s Giuseppe Gibilisco who stunned the world with his gold medal at the Italian record height of 5.90m.
Dwight Phillips is the ‘quiet man of Athletics’ but nonetheless the World Indoor and Outdoor champion in the Long Jump is athletics artistry in motion with an exemplary major championships record to boot. Yago Lamela of Spain the world season’s leader and bronze medallist in Paris will be looking to kick a little sand up of his own on Saturday in Monaco.
As dominant on the Triple Jump runway as El Guerrouj or Felix Sanchez are on the track, is Sweden’s Christian Olsson who has a legal best of 17.77m this season, as well as a 2.28m High Jump and a 7.84m Long Jump to his credit too. It would be a miracle if anyone can pass the Swede.
The world’s Shot Put hierarchy will be trying to resist the power of Belarussia’s surprise World champion Andrei Mikhnevich, who is a wild card entrant. European champion Yuriy Bilonog of Ukraine who heads the Event Ranking will lead the chase.
Lithuania’s Olympic Discus gold medallist Virgilijus Alekna took apart European champion Robert Fazekas of Hungary in the World final in Paris despite the fact that in their previous four contests this season the Hungarian had a four to nil win record in his favour over Alekna. Battle will be rejoined in Monaco with Hungary’s World Cup winner who heads this year’s Event Ranking seeking revenge.
The men’s Javelin throw was one of the few under par competitions in Paris, but that means there is all the more reason for the spears to fly far in Monaco, as there is much to prove. World champion Sergey Makarov is the only man over 90m this year but will have to contend with former three time World champion Jan Zelezny who will be hungry to make up for his fourth place in Paris.
A summary of the Women’s events to follow later
Click here for 1st IAAF World Athletics Final Monaco 2003 - Local Organising Committee site
IAAF
