News29 Aug 2011


Daegu 2011 - Day 3 SUMMARY - 29 August

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Allyson Felix desperately chasing down Amantle Montsho in the final of the 400m (© Getty Images)

Daegu, KoreaIn the lead in to Daegu 2011, Jason Richardson was working his way into position to play a minor spoiler’s role in what was to be these Championships ‘Battle of the Giants’.


When the dust settled tonight – and it did take awhile – Richardson suddenly found himself starring in the unanticipated role of 'Giant Slayer'.


The 25-year-old’s victory in the 110m Hurdles was but one of several surprises – some downright shocking – that highlighted a massively entertaining third day of action at the IAAF World Championships at Daegu Stadium.


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Robles Dqed, Richardson upgraded to gold


As expected, the meeting of history’s three fastest high hurdlers – also the three fastest of the season – was a dramatic affair from the time U.S. record holder David Oliver, former World record holder Liu Xiang, and World record holder Dayron Robles finished setting their blocks in lanes four, five and six. Robles and Liu got off to a quick start, and so to did an American, but it wasn’t Oliver.


Richardson, in Lane one, was virtually stride-for-stride with the Robles and Xiang for the duration. By the ninth barrier, the contest turned into a mini brawl when the Cuban and Chinese hitting arms. When contact was again made over the final hurdle, Xiang was knocked off balance enough to fall out of contention, finishing third behind Robles and Richardson who were separated by just 0.02sec in 13.14, the edge going to the Cuban.


It was later determined that Robles’ was a tad too aggressive, resulting in a disqualification, giving Richardson the unforeseen gold with Xiang moving up to silver position. [NOTE: Click here to read the full Jury of Appeals decision.]


World leader Oliver was never in the fight. Unable to regroup from a sluggish start he still finished well back in fourth after the order was updated, just edged for bronze by Briton Andy Turner – both were credited with 13.44.


Montsho over Felix in a thriller!


Amantle Montsho was the favourite in the women’s 400m and ultimately prevailed, but boy, did she have to work for it!


Carrying a slight lead over Allyson Felix into the homestraight, Montsho held her ground until about 40 metres remained. At that point the American began to slowly chip away at the gap,  powering forward to the point where they crossed the finish line virtually inseparable. Montsho was pushed to another national record of 49.56, while Felix, who’ll be defending her 200m title later in the week, can’t be disappointed with her 49.59 personal best.


A little further back Anastasiya Kapachinskaya (50.24) took the bronze to claim Russia’s first medal on the track.


For Jeter, finally gold


For Carmelita Jeter, the third time was a charm. After a pair of back-to-back bronze medal finishes, the 32-year-old American – and history’s second fastest woman – took a solid 100m victory in 10.90, well ahead of 2007 winner Veronica Campbell-Brown (10.97).


Yet even after crossing the line with no visible company – at least to spectators - it took her several minutes to realize that the gold was indeed, finally hers. First came a look of shock, then a smile, and finally tears.


Despite the 1.4 m/s headwind, Kelly Ann Baptiste (10.98) and defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.99) dipped under 11 seconds as well.


Wojciechowski resurrects vaulting Pole tradition


More surprises? How about the men’s Pole Vault? Poland’s Pawel Wojciechowski backed up a few high clearances earlier this season by winning when it mattered most to take an unexpected World title. Just a 5.60m vaulter last year, the 22-year-old improved dramatically this year, all the way to the 5.90m he cleared here tonight on his second time of asking. His was the first global title for Poland’s men since back-to-back Olympic victories in 1976 and 1980.


And an even bigger surprise was Cuba’s Lazaro Borges, a 5.72m jumper pre-Daegu, who also scaled 5.90m to equal the World lead and capture the well-deserved silver. Both defeated the pre-meet favourite Renaud Lavillenie, who topped out at 5.85m to take a second straight bronze.


Threepeat for Adams


Valerie Adams made her return from a down year complete with a third successive World title, and another Oceania Area record to boot!


With the win sealed after the fourth round courtesy of a 20.72m launch, the New Zealander let it all hang out in the competition’s final throw and it worked, sending it to 21.24m, extending her own Area record with the farthest throw in a decade.


Adams is now only the second three-time winner in the event, and don’t forget, she’s still only 26. There is more to come.


Murofushi completes medal collection


Koji Murofushi is 10 years Adams’ senior, and offers proof that throwers do indeed age gracefully. After sticking it out through several injury-plagued and low-key campaigns, the 36-year-old put together the most consistent series in Daegu tonight to finally capture that elusive World gold to add to his Edmonton 2001 silver and Paris 2003 bronze. The popular Japanese threw beyond 81 metres three times, topped by an 81.24m effort, a season’s best.


Krisztián Pars made it an extremely tight competition with his 81.18m blast in the final round to take silver ahead of Slovenia’s 2009 champion Primož Kozmus, whose 79.39m was also a season’s best.


Ennis the overnight Heptathlon leader


Jessica Ennis didn’t put together as good a day as she would have liked on the opening day of the Heptathlon, but she did manage to chisel together a 151-point lead over Russian Tatyana Chernova.


The Briton rested her weary body after a 4078 Day 1 tally to Chernova’s 3927, but with a strong second day expected by the Russian, Ennis will be forced to work pretty hard to maintain her title.


Elsewhere in qualifying


As the rounds progress, defending champion Lashawn Merritt is making a stronger case that he quite clearly is the man to beat in the 400m. Again the Olympic champion led the round with a comfortable 44.76 run, more than two-tenths of a second better than Jamaican Jermaine Gonzales, the next fastest. Oddly for an event with a strong U.S. tradition, Merritt will be sole American in the final and will face, among others, the Belgian twins, Kevin and Jonathan Borlee.


In a somewhat low-key men’s Discus Throw qualifying, the major casualty was world leader Zoltan Kovago of Hungary whose 62.16m best was only the 15th farthest of the day. Pole Piotr Malachowski lead the top-12 with a 65.48m best, with reigning champion Robert Harting (64.93m), former champion Virgilijus Alekna (64.21m) and Olympic champion Gerd Kanter (63.50m) among the finalists.


At 8:10.93, Ezekiel Kemboi was the fastest in the morning's 3000m Steeplechase qualifying rounds, where no major surprises emerged. Impressive too was Ruben Ramolefi, whose8:11.50 behind Kemboi was a South African national record.


And finally, no major surprises transpired in the opening rounds of the men's and women's 400m Hurdles. David Greene of Great Britain and South African Cornel Fredericks - both at 48.52 - led the men, while defending champion Melaine Walker (54.86) was one of four women to run under 55 seconds.


Bob Ramsak for the IAAF


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