Tatyana Andrianova wins the 800m in Stockholm (© Hasse Sjögren)
With reigning World champion Maria Mutola exhibiting sub-par form and Olympic champion Kelly Holmes out with injury, the Helsinki 800m, like the 1500m, could witness the turning of a new page in the middle distance events.
And in both events, Russian’s deep pool of talent looks to play a primary role. Illustrating the depth Russian women have in the two-lap event, the Russian team, including its alternate, are the four fastest of the year, led by world leader Tatyana Andrianova. After a pair of early-season domestic losses, the 25-year-old has been unstoppable. She won the national title with a world-leading 1:56.07 in mid-July, and followed up with a strong 1:56.91 win in Oslo's Bislett Games, the year's second fastest performance, just three days after her 1:57.80 victory in Stockholm.
Svetlana Cherkasova, the winner at the Gaz de France Golden League meeting in Paris (1:57.52), has displayed similar consistency, with four sub-1:58 races this season, including her 1:56.93 personal best from late June. Rounding out the daunting trio is Larisa Chzhao, the European Indoor Champion. Chzhao lowered her personal best to 1:57.33 with her runner-up performance at the national championships.
Posing the biggest threat to the Russian juggernaut is Moroccan Hasna Benhassi, last year’s Olympic silver medallist. With six wins in eight races, the petite Moroccan arrives in Helsinki as a solid contender to improve a notch from her Athens finish.
In an event with a history of producing surprises, several other names have shown the possibility of rising to the occasion. American Hazel Clark (1:57.99), Cuban Zulia Calatayud, Sviatlana Usovich of Belorus, and Kenia Sinclair of Jamaica have had solid seasons in the chase pack, and will be looking for a breakthrough on the big stage.
After winning eight World titles - five indoors and three outdoors - Mutola can never be counted out as a factor. But with just one win in five races this spring and just one performance under 1:59, her reign at the top may be coming to end.
Helsinki 2005 media team
