The World Championships witnessed its biggest upset so far in the final of the women's 400m hurdles when the recent world record breaker Yuliya PECHONKINA of Russia was beaten into third place by Australia's 20 year-old Commonwealth Games champion Jana PITTMAN and USA's Sandra GLOVER.
Pechonkina's 52.34 at the Russian championships was more than a second faster than anyone else has run this year, and so dominant had the Russian been throughout the rounds here that all the talk prior to the final was whether we would see the championships' first world record. That would have been remarkable, but perhaps not as remarkable as her actually losing, let alone finishing third.
Pittman's winning time, 53.22, was a personal best by four tenths of a second and only five hundredths slower than the winning time her compatriot Debbie Flintoff-King ran when winning this event at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. Pittman is now coached by Flintoff-King's husband, Phil King.
Sandra GLOVER ran her quickest race of the year, 53.65, robbing the Russian of a silver medal by six hundredths of a second.
It was clear the world record wasn't going to be on from the start as Pechonkina took the initial bend much more conservatively than she has in recent races. But she turned on the heat down the back straight, with Pittman a lane inside her, struggling to maintain contact, and Glover, a lane outside, some way off the pace.
Pechonkina came in the finishing straight some five metres ahead but, amazingly, she was tiring. Pittman stuttered at hurdle nine, but she could see her chance. She cleared the last, gritted her teeth and powered her way past the Russian. Glover was also finishing strongly and, as Pechonkina's strength deserted her, she dipped at the line for her silver.
Pechonkina's 52.34 at the Russian championships was more than a second faster than anyone else has run this year, and so dominant had the Russian been throughout the rounds here that all the talk prior to the final was whether we would see the championships' first world record. That would have been remarkable, but perhaps not as remarkable as her actually losing, let alone finishing third.
Pittman's winning time, 53.22, was a personal best by four tenths of a second and only five hundredths slower than the winning time her compatriot Debbie Flintoff-King ran when winning this event at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. Pittman is now coached by Flintoff-King's husband, Phil King.
Sandra GLOVER ran her quickest race of the year, 53.65, robbing the Russian of a silver medal by six hundredths of a second.
It was clear the world record wasn't going to be on from the start as Pechonkina took the initial bend much more conservatively than she has in recent races. But she turned on the heat down the back straight, with Pittman a lane inside her, struggling to maintain contact, and Glover, a lane outside, some way off the pace.
Pechonkina came in the finishing straight some five metres ahead but, amazingly, she was tiring. Pittman stuttered at hurdle nine, but she could see her chance. She cleared the last, gritted her teeth and powered her way past the Russian. Glover was also finishing strongly and, as Pechonkina's strength deserted her, she dipped at the line for her silver.
