Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia wins the women's 10,000m final (© Getty Images)
The first day of the World Championships or Olympic Games isn’t always considered the most exciting day, since there are usually only two finals in the stadium – in this case, the men’s Shot Put and the women’s 10,000m.
Here in Osaka however, the Day One programme of the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics on Saturday (25) has been spiced up with Japan’s favourite race – the men’s Marathon – being run through the streets of the city, plus, inside Nagai Stadium, a number of enticing preliminary races on the track.
New men’s Marathon champion to be crowned
The men’s Marathon will begin at 7:00 a.m., with one of the deepest, most talented men’s Marathon fields ever assembled. Twenty-three entrants have run under 2:09, and 11 have broken 2:08. The four fastest entrants are Kenya’s William Kiplagat (PB 2:06:50), Julio Rey of Spain (2:06:52), Hendrick Ramala of South Africa (2:06:55), and Tesfaye Tola of Ethiopia (2:06:57).
But this Marathon won’t be about speed; it will be a war of attrition, of patience and strategy. Despite the early starting time, the runners will have to cope most of the way with the intense Osaka sun, which reaches full strength almost as soon as it rises, and a humidity that stays at or near 100%; even if the day is cloudy, the temperature will be close to 30 degrees Celsius
As has been said, “Under the sun, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong…but time and chance happeneth to them all.”
Translation: the Marathon winner will have to be a bit lucky, too.
Resse vs. returning podium trio in the Shot Put
Shortly after the last Marathon finisher straggles in, the men’s Shot Put trials will begin at 10 a.m., with the 12 best advancing to the final tonight at 8:40 p.m. Don’t be fooled by the qualifying performances; they don’t count in the final.
After they qualify, the putters have to spend 8 hours or so thinking (brooding) about the final. How they handle it mentally will have at least as much to do with their performances as their 130kg-and-up-physiques; it’s a terrific psychic strain to perform at your best twice in one day. Watching the final closely can teach you a lot about human nature.
All three medal-winners from Helsinki in 2005 are back – Adam Nelson (USA), Rutger Smith (NED), and Ralf Bartels (GER) – plus 2003 champion Andrea Mikhnevich (BLR). But this year’s world leader at 22.43m is American Reese Hoffa.
Dibaba’s double duty begins
The last event of the day is the women’s 10,000m final. Every winner since 1999 has been an Ethiopian, and the two fastest times of 2007 have been turned in by Ethiopians --- 21-year-old Tirunesh Dibaba (30:15.67 PB), the defending champion, and her 25-year-old sister Ejegayehu Dibaba (30:18.39 PB). Closest to them are Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey, at 30:21.67 and Russia’s Inga Abitova, at 30:31.42.
Klüft begins chase for unprecedented third Heptathlon crown
Also getting under way is the women’s heptathlon, where Carolina Klüft of Sweden will be trying to win her third World championship in a row. Only 24, Kluft has won 17 consecutive multi-event competitions, and she is one of the three women in history to score more than 7000 points in the “Hep.” Although Klüft’s longtime rival, Eunice Barber of France, has withdrawn to concentrate on the long jump, two new challengers have emerged in Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine, whose 6733 points leads the year list, and Tatyana Chernova of Russia, who scored a wind-aided 6768 in June. The first four events, 100m Hurdles, High Jump, Shot Put, and 200m dash, take place on Saturday, with the Long Jump, Javelin Throw and 800m on Sunday.
Opening rounds...
Also on the day’s program are the first rounds of the men’s 100m and 1500m and the women’s 800m.
The morning’s 100m heats and evening’s quarter-finals begin the long-awaited showdown between World record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica and Tyson Gay of the United States. You’ll want to watch these two closely, especially over the first 50-60 metres, to check their form before they ease up at the finish (in Sunday’s semi-finals and finals, they’ll be running hard all the way).
The men’s 1500 heats, even though they’re only the first of three rounds, could produce some interesting races. With 24 entrants under 3:34, even the top runners won’t be able to loaf through the first round. Same thing’s true for the women’s 800, where 31 entrants have bettered 2:00, and 11 have run faster than 1:58. These first-round races will be worth watching!
James Dunaway for the IAAF
