Training partners Usain Bolt and Daniel Bailey share a smile as they both qualify easily for the 100m semi-finals (© Getty Images)
The first weekend of the championships promises to come to an explosive end with the men’s 100m final on Sunday evening. Everything is leading up to the hoped for culmination, a confrontation between the two fastest men in the world, the Olympic champion and World record holder, Usain Bolt of Jamaica, and the defending champion, Tyson Gay of the USA.
There have been echoes of Bolt in Beijing thus far. The young Jamaican won the Olympic title (and broke the World record) without being fully extended, and so it was during the first two rounds on Saturday. Bolt was giving nothing away, even letting training partner Daniel Bailey of Antigua & Barbuda take him in their second round heat.
Gay meanwhile, though running the second best time of the day, 9.98sec, can only get better. His starting was ragged in both rounds, but he was not remotely threatened. Former World record holder, Asafa Powell is again flattering to deceive. But his 9.95sec in round two was more to make amends for his erratic run of the morning, when he almost lost an automatic qualifying spot.
Heptathlon momentum with Ennis
The momentum seems to be with Briton Jessica Ennis after an exemplary first-day in the Heptathlon, in which she set a personal best in the shot and a season’s best in the 200m, coupled with a distant win in the hurdles, and a height above all her competitors in the High Jump. Yet in a brief chat after her labours, Ennis said she was disappointed. Which can only bode well for the Briton.
She has a tougher job on day two, because although Olympic champion, Nataliya Dobrynska is over 300 points behind Ennis, the Ukrainian is much better on paper in the Javelin, and over 20cms better in the Long Jump. But with Ennis having the advantage in the 800m, the final event could be one of those rare occasions when the race winner is also the overall event winner.
Kaniskina to follow in Borchin's footsteps?
The women’s 20k Walk has every likelihood of reproducing a similar result to the men’s event on Day One, which is to say that the reigning Olympic (and defending world) champion, Olga Kaniskina is, like her Russian colleague, Borchin who won on Saturday, the big favourite.
Like Borchin, she followed up Beijing gold by winning both the Russian Winter Walking title, in a season’s fastest 1.24.56, and then the IAAF Challenge at home in Wuxi. Undefeated in over two years, her colleague Vera Sokolova is likely to be her closest rival, along with veteran Norwegian, Kjersti Platzer.
Vili's defence begins
Valerie Vili’s form this year, another Area record of 20.69 metres for the New Zealander suggest that the women’s shot will not be the exciting contest that saw Christian Cantwell wrest the men’s title from Tomasz Majewski on Saturday evening. The Belorussians, Natallia Mikhnevitch and Nadezhda Ostapchukh are Vili’s main threat, but the likelihood is that they will be reduced to a private struggle for the minor medals.
World leader Sanya Richards of the US had the satisfaction of beating great rival Christine Ohoruogu, when happenstance threw them together in their first round heat of the 400 metres. But the Briton will be a doughtier performer as things progress to the semi-finals today. As will Ohoruogu’s colleague, Nicola Sanders, coming back after an injury into the sort form that took her to silver behind her compatriot in Osaka. But African champion Amantle Monsho had the fastest time of the opening rounds, and Russian heat winners, Lyudmilla Litvinova and Antonina Krivoshapka look likely finalists too.
The women’s 100 metres gets underway, with the Jamaicans threatening to do what they did in Beijing, and sweep the field. Olympic silver medallist, Kerron Stewart has been the front runner for most of the season, but pointedly, had to concede to Olympic champion, Shelley-Ann Fraser in the national championships last month. Carmelita Jeter has been the best of the US sprint squad, but with Olympic 200 metres champ, Veronica Campbell-Brown making up the Jamaican complement, Jeter and her colleagues have a mighty task ahead of them in the next two days.
A morning Kenyan gathering as men's steeplechase, women's 800m gets underway
The rest of the morning session should have a strong Kenyan flavour, with qualifying heats for both women’s 800m and men’s 3000m Steeplechase. The latter event has been the preserve of the East Africans since their mass entry to the Olympic Games began in 1968. And the women’s two-lapper was utterly dominated by Pamela Jelimo and Janeth Jepkosgei at the Olympics in Beijing last year.
Jelimo had a slow start to her season, losing badly in two opening races, before going back under two minutes. Although she lost to her compatriot at the national championships, the month of fine tuning since then will surely see her back to he explosive best.
Best Russian this year has been Mariya Savinova, with 1:57.90, and US concentration on raising standards through the distances has been rewarded with a solid two-lap trio, with Maggie Vessey’s world-leading 1.57.84. There will be much interest in the showing of 18-year-old South African, Caster Semenya, who had a Jelimo-style breakthrough to win the African Junior title in 1.56.72.
Pat Butcher for the IAAF
