Slightly windy but 10.68 just the same for Magnificent Marion
1 August 2000 – Stockholm, Sweden – It was just windy (2.2 m/s), but Marion Jones’s 100 metres time was still the fastest recorded in the past 12 years for the event after her own 10.65 clocking at altitude in Johannesburg in 1998. Only Florence Griffith Joyner has run faster at sea-level.
Jones’s time will not get her in the record books – except here at the DN Galan, where her time won her a one carat diamond for a new stadium record (previously 10.90) – but that does nothing to detract from yet another amazing barnstorming performance for Marion. There was no-one else in the running, as Jones got off to a perfect start and in her inimitable head-down style powered away from the rest of the field from the halfway mark.
Jones herself was elated with her performance: "This is a dream result. I have been having technical problems all season and this run, particularly the time, is just the boost I needed at this point in the season.
"The stadium record and a diamond that is superb, but I have got to look more widely at the significance this result has on my build up to Sydney. I could not be more pleased!"
Second place went to Zhanna Pintusevich-Block (UKR) in 10.98, third to Jones’s compatriot Chryste Gaines with a time of11.04.
Trindad’s Ato Boldon kept his promise in winning the men’s 100 metres in an acceptable 10.01 seconds photo-finish with Barbadian Obadele Thompson. Great Britain’s Darren Campbell took third with 10.06.
Reigning Olympic champion Donovan Bailey was far from impressive, finishing seventh in 10.27. Bailey had barely scraped into the race on his first heat fifth place time of 10.16, looking nothing like the man who broke the world record on that day in Atlanta 1996.
Boldon continues his preparations for Sydney with some quiet, solid performances, doing just what it takes to win the race: "The main thing for me is that I’m controlling all my races at the moment. The rest of the competitors don’t have an answer and that situation gives you increased confidence," he commented after the race.
"Times don’t matter at the moment. It’s who you’re beating coming up to the Olympics."
Boldon will be doubling in both the 100 and 200 in Sydney and there look to be few men at the moment who can better the Trinidad athlete in the half lap race. He is certainly confident: "I have always looked to the double in Sydney. It doesn’ matter who is in or out of a race, it’s never bothered me who the competition would be.
"I have matured as a racer in the last four years and the pressure of two Olympic events is something with which I know I can cope."
Another stadium record and a season’s world best performance was marked up by Japhet Kimutai in the men’s 1000 metres. The 22-year old Kenyan athlete timed 2.14.28 to win himself a one carat diamond and knock half a second off the previous seasonal best of Noah Ngeny.
Kimutai was followed across the line by his compatriots Patrick Konchellah (2:14.73) and William Yampoy (2:14.79).
The third diamond of the evening went to the Ukrainian pole vaulter Anzhela Balakhonova. The silver medallist from last year’s World Championships cleared 4.50 at her first attempt, before going on to try for 4.60 unsuccessfully. The World Record holder and reigning World Champion, Stacy Dragila of the USA, was second after failing at 4.50. She had successfully cleared 4.45 at her second attempt.
Rotislav Dimitrov from Bulgaria won the men’s triple jump with his second bound of 17.30 metres – fourth best performance so far this year. Great Britain’s Larry Achike, recently the winner in the European Cup in Gateshead was second with 16.99 metres, on his final attempt. Third place went to Sweden’s Christian Olsson (16.86 metres).
Dimitrov, who improved his own season’s best by five centimetres, said that he was looking forward to Sydney: "I am sure that I can jump a medal there. I got plenty of mental strength from this result and I don’t worry about the condition of Jonathan Edwards or anyone else".
In the men’s 3000m steeplechase, Reuben Kosgei overcame a spiking to take the first place ahead of World Record holder Bernard Barmasai in a well-paced race that saw the two sprinting for the line. Despite Barmasai’s last minute dip, it was Kosgei first across in 8:06.58 to Barmasai’s 8:06.62.
Kosgei expressed satisfaction after the race: "At about two laps to go my left foot was caught by someone’s spikes and as you can see my shoe is torna and I am bleeding badly. Obviously in this condition I’m very pleased to have finished the race, let alone won it!
"I can run much faster and could have done so today. I have been World Junior Champion and I’m sure that very soon I will win a major senior title. My next race will be in the IAAF Golden League meeting in Zurich (11 August)."
The season’s leader Allen Johnson confirmed his domination of the men’s 110m hurdles, crossing the line first in 13.15. Johnson was challenged strongly by Dominique Arnold as the pair came up to the final hurdle, but rnold hit hurdle band fell badly, leaving the field clear for Johnson to win ahead of Holland’s Robin Korving (13.25) and Jevgeni Pechonkin (RUS) with13.39.
The women’s 100m hurdles was won by the winner of the Jamaican Trials, Delloreen Ennis-London, in 12.74. She just beat the runner-up in the US Trials, Melissa Morrison, timed at 12.82. Canadian Katie Anderson was third in 12.86.
Ennis-London is now looking forward to Sydney: "I won my country’s Olympic Trials in a new personal best of 12.52 and now I have come over to Europe and won against strong international competition, but I am trying not to let the success go to my head. I just want to take each race at a time.
"I don’t want to raise mine or other people’s expectations regarding the Olympics as that would put too much pressure on me."
There were few surprises in the women’s 800m, which was won by Mozambique’s Maria Mutola in 1:56.98, she beat Austria’s Stephanie Graf (1.57.32) and Russian athlete Olga Raspopova (1:57.70). Suzy Favor Hamilton finally came in 7th, outclassed by a field of 800m specialists.
There was a surprise in the women’s 5000m, where Gete Wami suffered a rare defeat at the hands of Olga Yegorova from Russia. Yegorova played Wami at her own game, using the tactics that have taken the Ethiopian to countless victories. She hung back to the last bend and ran through in the final eighty metres, when Wami appeared, for once, to have nothing left.
The race was run tactically throughout, with the leaders trading the front back and forth until the final lap, when the pace really stepped up and what had looked as though it was going to be a pedestrian time turned into the fastest time this year.
Yegorova crossed the line in a new season’s world best of 14:42.91, nearly a second and half in front of Wami (14:44.34), herself closely followed by her friend and compatriot Derartu Tulu (14:44.57).
Full results are available in the Results section of the IAAF web site.
