Gorée (© IAAF)
Saturday’s Meetingthe only African meeting to have been granted IAAF Grand Prix status as part of the IAAF’s 2006 World Athletics Tour will have a symbolic prelude on Friday 2_ April.
For more than three centuries, the island of Gorée, a few miles off the coast of Dakar, was the largest dispatching point for the African slave trade, with millions of men and women being loaded onto vessels that would carry them to a lifetime of enforced labour in the Americas and around the world.
On Friday, this site, which is classified a World Heritage Site by UNESCO will host the first athletics competition in its history as some of the leading Shot Put talent in the world, led by reigning World Champion Adam Nelson and reigning indoor World Champion Reese Hoffa, compete for the honours just a few yards from the landing stage trodden by those enchained hordes.
A throwing circle has been specially laid in the small square bordering the small island’s harbour and the powerful throwing of these great athletes will be seen by many as symbolizing the burden of slavery being cast away as they release their shot. Competing against Nelson and Hoffa will be Italy’s Marco Dodoni , Miran Vodovnik from Slovenia, Anton Lyuboslavskiy from Russia and South Africa’s Hannes Hopley.
In another way, the whole Meeting of Dakar is a symbol this year, as it becomes the first meeting on the continent to have achieved Grand Prix status within the World Athletics Tour. It is also the biggest meeting in Africa in terms of attendance, with nearly sixty thousand spectators attending the meeting last year, putting it on an equal footing with the Paris and Berlin Golden League meetings by the criteria.
A similar number are expected to attend this year, and they can look forward to en excellent level of competition.
The stadium spectators will not be deprived of the shot put either, as the heavy guys will also be competing in the main stadium on Saturday too.
Among the other events to watch will be, of course, the sprints; with ideal weather conditions for the discipline, we can look forward to a good showin in both the men’s 100 and 200 metres, with Ghana’s Abdul Aziz Zakari starting as favourite in both races and his strongest contenders, Nigeria’s Uchenna Emedolu and Deji Aliu in the 100 and Burkina Faso's Idrissa Sanou and Gambia’s Jaysuma Ndure in the half lap race.
In the sprint hurdles, Brazilians Anselmo Da Silva and Redelen Melo Dos Santos compete against Andrea Giaconi from Italy, Frikkie Van Zyl from South Africa and David Oliver from USA, with Senegal’s Seleke Samake making up the field.
Algeria’s Ali Saidi Sieff will be looking to shine in the 3000 metres, as he competes against a strong Kenyan field, including Mark Bett, Shadrack Korir and Enock Koech and Qatar’s Gamal Belal Salem.
In the Pole Vault, the crowd will certainly be rooting for local lad Karin Sene, but the pundits will be watching Tim lobinger, Okkert Brits and Lars Borgeling, who are the class contenders in this event on Saturday.
the strongest local contender in the women’s events is, of course, Amy Mbacke Thiam in the 400 metres and we can expect a fast time as she competes in front of her home crowd against Chad’s Kaltouma Nadjina, Romania’s Angela Morosanu and Burkina Faso's Aissata Soulama.
In the 100 metres watch out for Endurance Ojokolo from Nigeria, competing against Delphine Atangana from Cameroun and her compatriot Myriam Leonie Mani, Great Britain’s Emma Ania and Ghana’s Vida Anim.
Belarus triple jumper Natalia Safronova starts favourite in this event, where her strongest challengers are likely to be the Romanian duo Adelian Gavrila and Mariana Solomon Sarbu.
In the women’s Javelin Throw we are likely to see a showdown between Denmark’s Christina Scherwin and Romania’s Tilea-Moldovan. Local athletes Florence Correa and Adama Sane, the Senegalese national record holder with 45.93 metres, will be doing their best to give their compatriots a good display of their throwing talents, even if frankly outclassed by the visitors.
