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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday August 27, 2015
SA’s van Niekerk takes 400 metres gold in stunning time By Nick Mulvenney BEIJING, China (Reuters) - Wayde van Niekerk ran the sixth fastest 400 metres of all-time to beat a stellar field and become the first South African to win a world championship sprint title, yesterday. The 23-year-old went hard from the start and held off reigning champion La Shawn Merritt, of the United States, down the home straight to claim the title in 43.48 seconds. A personal best of 43.65 was worth no better than silver for Merritt, who stayed on the South African’s shoulder around the final bend but could not find enough gas in the last 50 metres to overhaul
him. The South African collapsed onto the track exhausted at the end of the race and was taken straight off for medical treatment. Olympic champion Kirani James of Grenada finished third to claim bronze in 43.78, his best run of the year, ensuring the top three ran under 44 seconds for the first time at a world championships final. “It’s crazy. We’re warriors. We’re animals. The 400 is never easy. We’ll rise to the occasion. I love this. I love this sport,” said Merritt. “I ran well, it wasn’t enough for the gold tonight, but the winning time was a great time I can’t complain. Got the silver and can go
… Olympic champ Kirani James could muster only bronze
Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa reacts after winning the men’s 400m final during the 15th IAAF World Championships at the National Stadium in Beijing, yesterday. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)
Obama welcomes 2014 WNBA champions Mercury to White House
President Barack Obama poses with members of the Phoenix Mercury at a ceremony honouring the 2014 WNBA champions, in the East Room at the White House. (Mandatory Credit: Geoff BurkeUSA TODAY Sports) WASHINGTON, USA (Reuters) - President Barack Obama welcomed the Phoenix Mercury to the White House yesterday but chided last season’s WNBA champions for beating his hometown team in the final. The Mercury, led by fivetime Women’s National Basketball Association scoring champion Diana Taurasi, won a record 29 regular season games en route to their third championship. “I would be happy to be here, except that the Mercury getting here involved beating the Chicago Sky in the final,” Obama, a Chicago native, joked at the East Room ceremony. “In fact, Diana, backstage, was trashtalking me. “You have kept yet another Chicago sports team from getting into the White
House. But there’s always next year.” The Mercury swept the Sky in three straight games to claim the title. Obama praised the players for the charitable work they are doing in the Phoenix area, saying, “This is a team that I think is representative of what the WNBA is all about.” “They’re doing good in their community,” he said. “They’re great athletes. They and women across the WNBA are changing the way that young girls, including my daughters, see themselves.” The President said he has seen a shift in attitude over the last 20 years so that women now are routinely seen as “great athletes and great leaders.” “And that does not happen unless these out-
standing women perform the way they do,” he said, b e f o re a d d i n g w i t h a chuckle, “Plus they look so good. They clean up pretty good.”
home with some hardware.” James, one of a record five runners in the field who had a personal-best under-44 seconds, said he thought he had a chance coming into the final straight but the pace was just too hot for him. “It’s a very special occasion. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said. “I’m just glad to be part of this special group of 400-metre runners in this era. “I just tried to do my best out here.” van Niekerk holds both the South African 200 and 400 metres records but was unable to run in both in Beijing because of the schedule.
With the personal best of 19.94 he ran in the 200 metres earlier this year, he joined Michael Johnson, Merritt and Isaac Makwala as the only athletes to have gone under 20 seconds in the 200 and 44 seconds in the 400. Only Johnson, who set the world record of 43.18 in 1999, and fellow Americans Butch Reynolds and Jeremy Wariner have gone faster over one lap. Botswana’s Makwala, who also joined the sub-44 club this year and had the best time of 2015 going into the final, finished fifth in 44.63.
PCA survey urges fewer domestic games to raise standards DOMESTIC cricketers in England want to reduce the amount of cricket they play in order to improve the standard, according to a study released by the players’ union. In the survey of 240 Professional Cricketers’ Association members, a respondent said the “schedule is ridiculous” while another claimed it was “actually unsafe”. Another unnamed respondent to the survey said they “felt like a zombie” at times, “either waking up to play or waking up and being in the car travelling”. The England and Wales Cricket Board is currently reviewing the domestic game. Currently, each of the 18 counties is scheduled to play 16 four-day games, eight 50-over matches and 14 Twenty20 games - not taking into account later rounds of knockout competitions. That amounts to almost 90 days of cricket between
CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Thursday August 27, 2015)
Compliments of THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market &The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & AUDREY’S TASTY SNACKETTE-176 Charlotte Street, Georgetown (Tel: 226-4512)
Answers to yesterday’s quiz: NZ vs SA, Christchurch, 1932 Pakistan (1972-73); West Indies (1973); India (1974); Sri Lanka (1975) Today’s Quiz: When did two teams first play a Test at a neutral venue? When did two teams first contest an ODI at a neutral venue? Answers in tomorrow’s issue
over domestic competition - the Royal London Cup - is seen as less important and of lower quality than the other domestic competitions. In a statement the PCA added that “the cricketing arguments for retaining the competition in its current form are correspondingly weak”.
EC B chief executive Tom Harrison April and September (163 days). The key findings from the study are: 98.3% of players believe Test cricket remains the pinnacle of the sport The County Championship should remain the premier domestic competition, and the format should only be changed to incorporate a “significantly better overall schedule” The Twenty20 competition should revert to being played in a block The 50-over competition is seen as less important and of lower quality New ECB chief executive Tom Harrison told BBC Test Match Special last week the review will consider reducing the firstclass season from 16 to 14 matches. 50-OVER DOMESTIC CRICKET IS ‘LOWER QUALITY’ The PCA survey concludes that current 50-
T20 SHOULD BE PLAYED IN A BLOCK ECB chief executive Harrison recently stated that it would be “desirable” to have county cricket’s domestic T20 played in a block period. The PCA agreed and in a statement said it would “significantly improve the quality of the product” if England players and other international stars feature more regularly. The NatWest T20 Blast is currently played from May through to July with matches frequently played on Friday evenings and scheduled around firstclass matches. COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP STILL MOST IMPORTANT The PCA state that 85.2% of those who replied to the survey value the County Championship as the most important of the three domestic competitions. And 92.5% strongly agree/agree the current first-class competition is good preparation for players who aspire to play for England. (BBC Sport)