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AUGUST 2011
INSIDEATHLETICS.COM.AU
THE 2011 WORLD CHAMPS ISSUE
WATT ON EARTH! THE LONG JUMP REVOLUTION CONTINUES WE TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THE EVENTS AND OUR AUSSIE HOPEFULS
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athletics inside
06 MEN’S SPRINTS 09 WOMEN’S SPRINTS 12 MEN’S FIELD 15 WOMEN’S FIELD
18 MEN’S DISTANCE 22 WOMEN’S DISTANCE 25 relays, walks & Multi
WIN! WORLD CHAMPS TIPPING comp
VISIT www.insideathletics.com.au
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welcome A PREVIEW TO LONDON The most important world championships of the Olympiad are upon us, with the action in Daegu set to provide a thrilling preview to London next year. All but three of the defending champions from Berlin two years ago look set to take part, but the world championships the year before an Olympic Games often signal a changing of the guard. In that respect, Sally Pearson and Mitchell Watt have ascended from being one of the top few athletes in their event to being dominant leading into Daegu, and are deservingly favourites for the gold medals in the 100m hurdles and long jump respectively. In this edition of Inside Athletics we take a more global look at the sport than we have previously, providing an event guide to the 49 gold medals available in Daegu. We’re also proud to have partnered with Nike to have available over $3000 in prizes for our world championship tipping competition, which will answer the question of who Australia’s leading athletics pundit is. Check out www.insideathletics.com.au for more details. Australia has sent one of its strongest ever teams to the championships. At the pointy end, Pearson and Watt start favourites, while two defending champions in Steve Hooker and Dani Samuels will again be in the mix for gold, as well as race walker Jared Tallent. Not since the heyday of Australian athletics in the 1950s and 60s has the nation boasted the depth to have the remote possibility of having five world champions. Aside from the obvious medal chances, athletes like Kim Mickle, Jeff Riseley and Henry Frayne have the chance to throw, run or jump their way into being contenders on the global stage, while the raw talent of debutants like relay runners Steve Solomon and Caitlin Sargent will get their first taste of global athletics, laying the foundations for the next decade of international success. The championships will be broadcast on SBS and thankfully Daegu’s time zone doesn’t differ too much from the east coast of Australia, being just one hour behind. It doesn’t get much better than being able to watch world class athletics in prime time!
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MEN’S SPRINTS
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IS BOLT BEATABLE? Gold medals and world records have been the norm in Usain Bolt’s last two championship outings. On form, records appear unlikely, and gold is by no means a certainty. Over 100m Bolt is the equal fifth fastest in the world with a best of 9.88 seconds, but tops the world in the 200m with his 19.86 run in Oslo being only one of two sub-20 second runs this year.
100m
Perennial championship choker, Asafa Powell, leads the world this year with a 9.78 second run. Will this be the year that the former world record holder puts it together in the rarefied atmosphere of a championship? With bronze in both Osaka and Berlin the Jamaican will join Carl Lewis and Maurice Greene as the most capped medallists should he finish on the podium. With Tyson Gay out due to injury Michael Rodgers is the fastest American in Daegu with a 9.85 second run to his name, although he recently failed a doping test. Compatriots Walter Dix (9.94s) and disgraced drug cheat Justin Gatlin (9.95s), new Trinidad record holder Richard Thompson (9.85) and European hope Christophe Lematire (9.92s) all have the potential to win a medal.
200m
Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade is the only athlete other than Bolt who has broken 20 seconds this year with a 19.95 second run in May. The 21-year-old finished second at the Jamaican Championships in Bolt’s absence, with winner Steve Mullins reportedly failing a doping test and unlikely to compete in Deagu. USA’s Dix (20.02s) and Darvis Patton (20.25s) are experienced and expected to perform well across the rounds, but the race is wide open for the minor medals, with athletes such as Brazil’s Bruno Lins Tennorio de Barrios (20.16s) and Norway’s Jaysuma Saidy Ndure (20.26s) in the hunt if they can improve on their season’s bests.
400m
After an extended break for taking a substance to extend his… potency, defending champion LaShawn Merritt is the X-factor in an event which is significantly down in standard this year. The defending champion has run 44.74 seconds in his only outing over the distance this year after returning from a ban for a prohibited steroid substance contained within an over the counter product called ExtenZe. The world leader is Grenada’s Kirani James with 44.61 seconds, with countryman Rondell Bartholomew
08 insideathletics.com.au just behind in 44.65 seconds. USAs Tony McQuay (44.68s) defeated Jeremy Wariner, who is absent due to injury, at the USA Championships, while Jamaica’s Jermaine Gonzales (44.69s) has been consistent with wins in Lausanne and Stockholm. However, the athlete likely to get the most media attention is South Africa’s double leg amputee Oscar Pistorius, who this year has improved his personal best by almost a second to 45.07s. With some scientific studies suggesting that his carbon fibre lower limbs allow him to run 10 seconds faster over 400m than he would otherwise be able to with natural limbs, the championships could again be overshadowed by controversy from a South African athlete should Pistorius claim a medal.
110m hurdles
If conditions are right, the world record could be in jeopardy in the final with the three fastest men in history all in Daegu: World record holder and reigning Olympic champion Dayron Robles, 2004 Olympic champion Liu Xiang and USA’s David Oliver have personal bests of 12.87, 12.88 and 12.89 respectively. Oliver is the only athlete under 13 seconds this year with a 12.94 second run in Eugene in June, with Xiang finishing second in that race in 13.00s. Robles best is 13.04 seconds from earlier this month, when winning in less then ideal London weather. With a personal best of 13.08 seconds in London and a win over Oliver in Stockholm, USAs Jason Richardson could be a surprise packet.
400m hurdles
Winner at the 2007 and 2009 world championships, Kerron Clement, is back to defend his title, but with a season’s best of 48.74 seconds to his name he is not among the ten fastest athletes in the world this year. Topping that list, and with the four fastest times this year is South Africa’s LJ Van Zyl (47.66s) but all of those times were before the start of June, with his best since being 48.72s. Jeshua Anderson (47.93s), former world champion Bershawn Jackson (47.94s) and Olympic champion Angelo Taylor (47.94s) could hardly be separated at the USA trials, and Great Britain’s David Greene (48.20s) and 2009 silver medallist Javier Culson (48.33s) carry good form into the championships. The event, as always with its cut-throat semi finals, is wide-open.
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WOMEN’S SPRINTS
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can sally win? 100m
Eight women have run under 11 seconds so far this season, with number two alltime Carmelita Jeter leading the rankings with 10.70s ahead of dual Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown , who moved to equal eighth on the all-time list with a 10.76s run. In an event dominated by Americans and Jamaicans the pair represent the top hopes of their nations, but have company from Marshevet Myers (10.86) and Miki Barber (11.09) (USA), and defending champion Kerron Stewart (10.87), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.95) and Sherone Simpson (11.00) (Jamaica). Further, Trinidad’s KellyAnn Baptiste of Trinidad won in Paris in 10.91 seconds and has not finished worst than second in any race this year. Sally Pearson is entered in the event, and should she compete, she could challenge for the place in the final if she produces her 11.14 second personal best form.
200m
While the 100m this year has been swift, times have not been carried over to the 200m, with the tenth fastest time in the world being 22.58 seconds. Shalonda Solomon won the US title in a world leading 22.15 seconds, while Jeter (22.20) and compatriot Jeneba Tarmoh (22.28) have faster times on the board than defending champion Allyson Felix (22.32), who is attempting a 200m/400m double never previously completed at world championship level. Campbell-Brown has raced five times over the distance this year for only one defeat and has a best time of 22.26 seconds on the board from her most recent performance. Although winning the last two Olympic gold in the event, Felix has the upper hand in the world championships, having won the past three titles.
400m
With her flowing style three-time world 200m champion Allyson Felix has always looked suited to the one lap event, and after some scintillating 4x400m relay legs (including a 48.8 split in Berlin) the 25-year-old will
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campbell-brown make her championship debut over the distance after winning the USA title. Her major opposition will come from Commonwealth champion Amantle Montsho from Botswana, who has dominated her races this year, with wins in Eugene, Oslo, Lausanne and Monaco, but has only ever finished eighth in global championship finals; and defending champion Sanya RichardsRoss, who has the second fastest time in the world this year (49.66s), behind Anastasiya Kapachinskaya (49.35). However, the Russian’s mark was set at her national championships and history has shown her countrywoman often fail to reproduce the same form come world championship time.
100m Hurdles
Sally Pearson is the overwhelming favourite for the event in which she is undefeated in Europe this year. In fact, come the start of the championships, it will have been a whole year since any athlete has defeated Pearson.
However, the hurdles is always a close event, and USAs Kellie Wells (12.50) and Danielle Carruthers (12.52) have seasons best just behind Pearson’s 12.48 Australian record, so victory is by no means assured.
400m Hurdles
Often looked at as one of the softer events in global athletics, there is real depth in the 400m hurdles with six athletes under 54 seconds, with Kaliese Spencer from Jamaica laying down the gauntlet to the rest of the world by moving to eighth on the all-time list with a 52.79 second run in London. With Zuzana Hejnova having good wins in Paris and Oslo and a season best of 53.29, and 2009 silver medallist Lashinda Demus just behind with a 53.31 second run, the event could come down to which athlete can handle the rounds the best. Lauren Boden was rewarded by the selectors with a discretionary spot after a number of B-qualifiers. Ranked 25th in the world on a three-per-nation basis, the Canberran should challenge for a semi-final berth.
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watt on earth! Long Jump
Triple Jump
MEN’S FIELD
Mitchell Watt enters the championship as the bronze medallist from the previous edition, but with the four longest leaps in the world, including an Australian record 8.54m. Among the challengers will include Zimbabwe’s Ngonidzashe Makusha (8.40m), who boast 9.89 second 100m speed, Panama’s Olympic champion Irving Saldino (8.40m) and Morocco’s Yahya Berrabah (8.37m), while 3-time and defending champion Dwight Phillips has wild card entry, but has only recorded 8.07m this year. Fabrice Lapierre has shown inconsistent form this year, with a best of 8.02m, while Robbie Crowther has leapt to 8.12m. Both are good enough to join Watt in the final if they can produce good jumps in the qualifying, with Lapierre also possessing the je ne sais quoi ability to produce something from nothing. France’s world leading jumper Teddy Tamgho (17.91m) is out with injury, leaving no clear favourite. Ukraine’s Sheryf El Sheryf has the next best jump with a breakthrough win a the European U23 championships in 17.72m – the first and only time he has cleared 17 metres. Cuba’s Alexis Copello and USA and NCAA champion Christian Taylor each have 17.68m jumps to their names, but it is reigning champion Phillips Idowu who has been most consistent of all jumpers, with more 17.30m plus performances than anybody else in the world this year. Former world junior finalist Henry Frayne makes his senior debut in the green and gold after moving to fourth on the Australian all-time list with 17.04m last month. If repeated the performance should be enough to qualify for the final.
High Jump
USA champion Jesse Williams leads the world with a 2.37m leap, but four Russians will provide strong competition via Aleksey Dmitrik (2.36m), Aleksandr Shustov (2.36m), Ivan Ukhov (2.34m) and reigning champion Yaroslav Rybakov (2.30m). It is over a decade since Australia has had a representative in the event.
Pole Vault
Steve Hooker won the title two years ago in Berlin with a miraculous effort following injury and might need a similarly remarkable performance if he is to defend his title. Hooker has competed only twice this year, with his best of 5.60m ranking him only equal 35th in the world. It would be foolish to discount him, but Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie has all of the momentum behind him with a best of 5.90m and four clearances over 5.80m outdoors, following an exceptional indoor season where he leapt over that same standard five times and improved his personal best to 6.03m.
Shot Put
Four USA athletes in defending champion Christian Cantwell
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(21.87m), Adam Nelson (22.09m), Reese Hoffa (21.87m) and Ryan Whiting (21.76m) provide formidable competition, but it is their northern neighbour from Canada, Dylan Armstrong, who has the best throw in the world this year at 22.21m. 2003 champion Andrey Mikhnevich from Bulgaria has the only other 22m+ throw with 22.10m, while Poland’s Olympic champion Thomasz Majewski is coming into form with a 21.60m throw last month.
Discus
Hungary’s Zoltan Kovago leads the world with a 69.50m throw but Germany’s Robert Harting has been by far the most consistent thrower in the world, with all of his competitions during the European summer resulting in throws over 65 metres, including a season best of 68.99m. Experienced campaigners Virgilijus Alekna (67.90m) and Mario Pestano (67.97m) will both be in the hunt, while Australia’s Commonwealth Games champion Benn Harradine, who is ranked 15th in the world this year with a best throw of 66.07m has shown consistent enough form to expect a finals berth, and has the potential to medal if he can approach his Australian record of 66.45m.
Javelin
Defending champion Andreas Thorkildsen looks in good
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form to retain his title, with a 90.61m world leading throw at the recent Norwegian Championships and wins in his previous six competitions. His main challenge is likely to come from last year’s Diamond League winner Vadims Vasilevkis, who has impressed with a series of good throws at smaller European meets, including an 88.22m season’s best. The Latvian has former championship pedigree including an Olympic silver medal and fourth places at the past two world championships. Six other athletes, including Tero Pitkamaki of Finland and Sergey Makarov of Russia have throws of over 85m this year and will be in contention for the minor medals, while Australian record holder Jarrod Bannister is ranked 29th in the world this year with a 82.01m throw, but has the potential to make the final if he repeats that performance.
Hammer
Russia’s Aleksey Zagorniy (81.73m) has been out over 80 metres five times this year, almost as much as everyone else in the world put together. However, with only three metres separating the top ten athletes in the world, the event is anybody’s for the taking; Olympic and world champion Primoz Kozmus is yet to set the world alight in his comeback year after taking a 20 month break from the sport, with his best of 77.17m currently ranking him 19th in the world.
WOMEN’S FIELD
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klishina
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can dani defend? Long Jump
Russia’s Darya Klishina will be turning a lot of heads in Daegu after leading management group IMG signed the glamorous 20-year-old during the year and has already established multi-year deals with Nike and Redbull. However Klishina is not to the athletics world what Anna Kournikova was to tennis, with the European indoor, U23, junior and world youth titles to her name. The Russian is one of the favourites with her 7.05m season best ranking her second in the world behind defending champion Brittney Reese (7.19m).
Triple Jump
The top of the world list is very cluttered with a number of athletes just below the 15 metre mark; Dual defending champion Yargelis Savigne (14.99m), Colombia’s Caterine Ibarguen (14.99m), Uzbekistani Olha Saladukha (14.98m) and Olga Rypakova (14.96m) are all within 5 centimetres of each other. Savigne and Saladukha have been the more consistent of the quartet, with Savigne having a slight upper hand in head-to-head competitions this year, two to one.
High Jump
Defending champion Blanka Vlasic is in doubt to defend her title after recently suffering pain behind her knee in training. With 99 career clearances at 2.00m or above Vlasic is the sentimental favourite of many athletics fans, but this year the stylish Croatian has not been as dominant as in the past, with three losses and only a single 2 metre clearance. In fact, it is Russia’s Anna Chicherova who leads the world by a huge 7 centimetre margin with her 2.07m clearance at the Russian Championships. However, it is the only time she has been over 2 metres this year and has avoided most of the major meets, except for Lausanne. A silver medallist at the last two championships, this year could be her opportunity to leap to the top of the podium.
Pole Vault
USAs Jennifer Suhr leads the world with a big 4.91m leap in July and recently won in London with the second highest jump in the world this year (4.79m) and so deserves favourite status. However, the pole vault is unpredictable, as seen two years ago when Yelena Isinbayeva no heighted. The Russian has cleared 4.76m this year, but has competed on only three occasions. Also in strong contention are Germany’s Martina Strutz (4.78m) and Silke Spiegelburg (4.75m) and Poland’s Anna Rogowska (4.75m). Alana Boyd has had an injury interrupted preparation,
but if she can reproduce her season’s best of 4.60m she could progress through to the final.
Shot Put
World leader Olga Ostapchuk is keen to regain the world title she won in 2005, and it looks as if the Belarussian has the form on the board to at least challenge dual defending champion Valerie Adams of New Zealand, who was the prohibitive favourite two years ago in Berlin. Ostapchuk has thrown 20.94m this year to Adams’ 20.78m, but Adams has won all four of their head to head encounters in Europe.
Discus
Dani Samuels became the youngest ever world champion in the discus two years ago in Berlin, but it appears the Sydneysider has an uphill battle to defend her title after a lacklustre Australian summer and a season’s best of 62.33m, which ranks her 22nd in the world this year. However, the 23-year-old’s training form is reportedly better than it was prior to Berlin, and Samuels is a big time performer. The favourites looks to be Germany’s Nadine Muller and Cuba’s Yarelis Barrios, who have 12 of the top 18 performances in the world shared between them and season’s best of 66.99m and 65.44m respectively. China’s Yangfeng Li leads the world with 67.98m, while Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic is a strong contender to equal Samuels’ feat of winning the event as a 21-year-old, with a best throw this year of 67.96m.
Javelin
World record holder Barbora Spotakova leads the world with a 69.45m throw this year, but has been beaten on six occasions by Germany’s Christina Obergfoll, whose season’s best is 68.86m. The event is one of the few where the defending champion will not be in action, following the retirement of 2009 winner Steffi Nerius. Kim Mickle has looked on the verge of an international breakthrough for a number of years, and with a eighth ranking in the world with a 63.82m personal best, Daegu could be the Western Australian’s chance to impress.
Hammer
2009 silver medallist Betty Heidler broke the world record earlier this year with a throw of 79.42m and maintained strong form. Barring disaster Heidler should win, leaving Tatyana Lysenko, Wenxiu Zhang, Kathrin Klaas and Yipsi Moreno to battle it out for the minor medals.
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rudisha
MEN’S DISTANCE
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where africa dominates 800m
World record holder David Rudisha will have the chance to add a major championship title to his name. The Kenyan has had an injury interrupted season, but is undefeated and has the fastest time in the world thanks to a 1:42.61 victory in Monaco. The only athlete in the field of the calibre to attempt to challenge Rudisha is Sudan’s Abubaker Kaki, who has a 1:43.15 run to his name as well as having demonstrated over distance capability with a 3:31.76 1500m run. USAs Nick Symmonds and Khadevis Robinson are both under 1:44.50 on a number of occasions this season and could challenge for minor medals. Jeff Riseley, who set a new PB of 1:45.02 earlier in the season, is Australia’s sole selected athlete in the event, but is likely to focus on the 1500m due to an unfavourable timetable for doubling.
1500m
On paper Kenya looks set to dominate the event through the fluid moving world leader Silas Kiplagat (3:30.47), Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop (3:31.76) and 20-year-old Nixon Chepseba (3:31.42), yet no Kenyan has ever won the world title. If the final develops as a tactical affair there are plenty of athletes in the field who could surprise if they time their run to perfection. This season USA champion Leo Manzano has twice outkicked Bernard Lagat, who will focus solely on the 5000m, and has a 3:33.66 personal best. New Zealand’s Nick Willis has lowered his personal best to 3:31.79 and is a strong championship performer, while Morocco’s Amine Lalou, who ran 3:31.92 to win in Torino in June by almost five seconds, is an underestimated runner. Jeff Riseley has been the form Australian athlete in the event in Europe, figuring within the top half dozen in the Dream Mile at Oslo. With a 3:33.42 season best as well as 1:45.02 speed over 800m he is a definite finals chance, where anything can happen. Ryan Gregson was selected off a single B-qualifying performance of 3:36 and is not the same athlete as he was last year when he set the Australian record of 3:31.02, but nonetheless will gain valuable championship experience ahead of next year’s Olympic Games.
5000m and 10000m
The 10000m is first on the program and new UK record holder Mo Farah is the favourite to become the first European winner since Alberto Cova in 1983 after being undefeated in 10 consecutive races from 3000m to the half marathon. He won the year’s deepest 10000m in Eugene with a 26:46.57. Defending champion Kenenisa Bekele hasn’t raced since September, 2009 but has wild-card status in the
riseley event and cannot be discounted. Other challengers include Ethiopian trio Imane Merga (second behind Farah in Eugene) Sileshi Sihine and Ibrahim Jeilan as well as 2009 silver medallist Zersenay Tadesse. Australia will be represented by Ben St Lawrence, who set a national record of 27:24.95 in May. In the 5000m Farah will be among the favourites if he decides to double, with his 12:53.11 win in Monaco being the fastest time in the world this year. USAs Bernard Lagat is a consummate championship performer, with the 2007 title to his name. With a 12:53.60 run to his name this year (in Monaco) he will be a force to be reckoned with. Australia will be represented by a resurgent Craig Mottram, Collis Birmingham and Ben St Lawrence, all of whom are good enough to gain a place in the final.
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3000m Steeplechase
Brimin Kipruto went within one-hundredth of a second of breaking the world record earlier in the year in Monaco with a 7:53.64 run. The 2007 champion will be looking to avenge his seventh place finish in Berlin, but will be challenged by countrymen Richard Matelong, Abraham Chirchir ands Ezekiel Kemboi in an event that Kenya has dominated. France’s Olympic silver medallist Mahiedine Mekhissa Bennabbad is in good form with a 8:02.09 run and has avoided suspension for a punch up with countryman Mehdi Baala in Monaco. Together with Bouabdellah Tahri (8:05.72) they will be challengers for the podium. Youcef Abdi slashed his season’s best with a near Australian record run of 8:16.41 and is ranked 12th in the world on a three-per-nation basis.
Marathon
Always a wide open event in a championship, there is no clear favourite for the event. Also incorporating the World Marathon Cup, up to six athletes per nation are able to be entered, with Kenya posing a strong team, including Rotterdam runner-up Vincent Kipruto (2:05:33), Paris winner Benjamin Kiptoo (2:06:33) and Dubai winner David Tumo Barmasai (2:07:18). Gebre Gebremariam spearheads Ethiopia’s charge following a 2:04:53 third place in Boston this year, while Japan is traditionally strong with five men under 2:10. Jeff Hunt is Australia’s lone marathon representative and will be seeking a high finish to secure Olympic selection, with a top 20 place recognised by the IAAF as being equivalent to meeting the A-qualifying standard.
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WOMEN’S DISTANCE
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can semenya bounce back? 800m
Two years ago Caster Semenya was the sensation of the world championships in Berlin, with doubt regarding her gender following her emphatic victory. After a forced layoff for most of last year and suspected hormone treatment the South African is yet to record times similar to her 1:55.45 personal best, but has run 1:58.61 and according to sensationalist promoting from her management company, is ready to win gold and break the world record in both the 800m and 1500m in Deagu. Nonetheless, she is as strong a candidate to win the 800m as any other athlete. Times from the Russian Championships lead the world list but the same form is often not carried over to the world titles, with world leader Mariya Savinova’s (1:56.95) best time outside of Russia this year being 1:58.44. Jamaica’s Kenia Sinclair has been consistently under two minutes and has lost only once all season at the hands of Britain’s world championship bronze medallist Jenny Meadows, who ran a season’s best of 1:58.60 in her London Diamond League victory.
1500m
Dual world champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal leads the world in a year where no woman has yet broken four minutes. The Bahrani athlete’s season best of 4:00.59 came in her last race in Monaco, indicating a return to form after a mid-season slump following early season wins in Rome and Hengelo. With a further nine runners with season bests under 4:02 the final will be a closely fought affair, with everyone possessing the physical capabilities to win a medal. Wins have been shared evenly around on the European circuit, and a number of the high ranking athletes have one or two fast times around the 4:01 mark, with the remainder of their times around the 4:056 region, including Ethiopia’s world indoor champion Kalkidan Gezahenge, Moroccan’s Ibtissam Lakhouad and Siham Hilali, Spain’s Natalie Rodriguez and USA’s Morgan Uceny. Kaila McKnight is the sole Australian representative following a run of 4:05.65 that moved her to fourth on the Australian all-time list. If the Victorian can rekindle that form (her three most recent performances have been 4:07, 4:12 and 4:08) and run a tactically astute race, she is an outside chance of qualifying for the final. However, in recent races McKnight has been outclassed by the potent finishing kick of national champion Zoe Buckman, who narrowly missed the A-qualifier with a 4:06.06 run and in a myopic decision was not given a discretionary spot in the team by Australian selectors.
5000m and 10000m
Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot broke what had become an
wellings Ethiopian stranglehold on the 5000m with her win in Berlin, and with an undefeated season so far and a comfortable margin of nine seconds for the fastest time in the world (14:20.87) is odds on favourite to retain her title. The 27-year-old world cross country champion will double in the 10000m, where she is expected to face stiffer competition, with compatriot Sally Kipyego having recorded a swift 30:38.35 at Stanford, just ahead of the USA’s Shalane Flanagan, who set a US record of 30:38.35. Ethiopia have spread their talent across the two events, with former champion Meseret Defar focusing on the 5000m. She is yet to meet Cheruiyot head to head this year and is also undefeated, with a 14:29.52 season’s best. Meselech Melkamu leads the 10000m chances for her country and will be looking to improve on her silver medal performance two years ago. Lightly raced this year with a 31:14 best in her single outing over the 25 laps, the 26-year-old is one of only five women in history to have broken 30 minutes for the distance, with her 29:53.80 run in 2009 ranking her second all-time.
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CHEruiyot
Eloise Wellings will compete in the 10000m after slashing her personal best to 31:41.31 in May, a performance which ranks her 18th in the world on a three-per-nation basis.
3000m Steeplechase
Kenya’s Milcah Chemos enters Daegu as the overwhelming favourite after an undefeated season. Ethiopia’s Sofia Assefa, with the second fastest time in the world this year, will be out to prevent a Kenyan sweep of the medals, with Chemos’ team mates Mercy Njoroge and Lydia Rotich third and fourth in the world on times this year.
Marathon
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Kenya’s Mary Keitany won the London Marathon earlier this year in a world leading 2:19:19 ahead of Russia’s Lillya Shobukhova, but neither will be in action in Daegu, leaving third placegetter Edna Kiplagat (2:20:46) as the fastest athlete in the field this year. 2009 champion Bai Xue (China) has had injury problems, but silver and bronze medallists Yoshimi Ozaki (Japan) and Aselefech Mergia (Ethiopia) will couple their individual aspirations with that of their teams, with runs this year of 2:23:56 and 2:22:45 respectively in their marathons this year.
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DEAKES
RELAYS, WALKS & MULTI
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Men’s 4x100m
Jamaica are the obvious team to beat with the likes of Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell in the team. However, the world record holders have suffered the loss of Steve Mullins through a doping ban. The USA will be the main contenders, but don’t rule out Trinidad and Tobago being in the mix, with Richard Thompson bettering Ato Bolden’s national record with a 9.85 run and the top four at their trials running faster than 10.10. Australia will be represented by a squad of Aaron Rouge-Serret, Matt Davies, Anthony Alozie, Liam Gander and Isaac Ntiamoah. With only national champion Rouge-Serret consistently approaching being an international calibre sprinter, the team’s fate will relay on the quality of their changes.
Men’s 4x400m
The USA is the dominant force in the 4x400m, but in what has been an off year globally, don’t expect them to run away from the field by the same margin as they have previously. In fact, the tiny Caribbean nation of Grenada, with a population of just over 100,000 people, has the two fastest men in the world this year through junior Kirani James and Rondell Bartholomew, but with the nation’s fourth best athlete only having a personal best of 48 seconds have
decided to not send a team. Australia will be represented by Steve Solomon, Sean Wroe, John Steffensen, Ben Offereins and Tristan Thomas. Wroe has recently come into some better form, running 45.93 at the World University Games, but with only mid-46 second form from most of the other runners, a medal looks a long shot. Salvaging a finals berth and putting two solid performances on the board for next year’s Olympics would be the team’s expectation.
Women’s 4x100m
USA and Jamaica will battle out this event for the gold medal, with the quality of changes being a decisive factor. Australia will likely get a good start with the explosive Sally Pearson, but lack some depth on the second and third legs with Charlotte van Veenendaal, Laura Whaler and Hayley Butler only recently clocking times in the 11.70’s and 11.80’s. Presumptive anchor runner Melissa Breen has consistently run around 11.50 seconds during her European preparation.
Women’s 4x400m
USA, Germany, Jamaica and Russia all boast depth that makes this event thrilling, and unpredictable. Perhaps more so than in the men’s event, sprinters
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jamaica 4x100m 2009
insideathletics.com.au 27 stepping up from the 200m have had had considerable success in helping their teams with fast legs. A selection debacle involving Tamsyn Lewis has left Australia represented by a team where no athlete has a season’s best of under 53 seconds. Caitlin Pincott, Caitlin Sargent, Anneliese Rubie and 400m hurdler Lauren Boden will have their work cut out trying to break 3:30 – the mark usually required to progress to the final.
Men’s Decathlon
USA’s Ashton Eaton, who set a world indoor heptathlon record earlier in the year, leads the world with a 8729 point performance. However, in Eaton’s absence compatriot Trey Hardee won at Gotzis, the major non-championship decathlon of the year, with a mark of 8689. Competition for the bronze medal will be fierce, with ten athletes having recorded between 8200 and 8400 points this year.
Women’s Heptathlon
One of the faces of next year’s Olympic Games in London, Jessica Ennis, will start favourite to defend her title, with a world leading mark of 6790 points to her name at Gotzis. However, her advantage is only slight, with Russia’s Tatyana Chernova recording a mark only 17 points less a fortnight later in Kladno.
Men’s 20km and 50km Walks
Australia has strong representation in both events through Jared Tallent (20km and 50km), Luke Adams (20km and 50km), Adam Rutter (20km) and former world record holder Nathan Deakes (50km). Tallent has been the most consistent performer over the past few years, but Deakes is on the comeback trail after a long period of injury, but has the sheer class needed to win gold in the sport’s longest event if he has the fitness to match. The rare sight of a Kenyan at the top of the world list in the 20km walk via David Kimutai (1:18:20) may be a sign of ushering in a new era where the sport’s dominant distance continent in Africa takes up the challenge of race walking, but there are significant cultural barriers in a nation where running is king. Sergey Bakulin of Russia has the fastest time in the world over 50km, some ten minutes faster than Deake’s season’s best with 3:38:46. However, the warm, humid conditions of Daegu will clearly have an impact on the events.
Women’s 20km Walk
Russia’s Vera Sokolova set a new world record of 1:25:08 in February, a single second ahead of compatriot Anisiya Kornikova-Kirdyapkina. The duo are expected to fight it out for gold. Australia will be represented by debutant Regan Lamble and Claire Tallent.
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aus 4x400m 2009
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Pilates and Running – The Benefits: • • • • • • •
Increases core stability through strengthening muscles that support the spine, pelvis and shoulder girdle. Isolates and activates specific muscles during training. Corrects muscle imbalance which aims to prevent and reduce injury related to running. Improves posture and flexibility to increase range of movement at the joint. Teaches correct breathing techniques and strengthens the diaphragm. Increases running economy and efficiency by reducing unnecessary movement. Allows for greater force production by creating a solid core for the transfer of power to the outer muscles.
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