Brimin Kipruto en route to his sizzling 7:53.64 in Monaco (© Philippe Fitte)
Daegu, KoreaAfter Olga Kaniskina’s runaway victory in the 20Km Race Walk on Wednesday, action returns to Daegu Stadium on Day Six of the IAAF World Championships Daegu 2011.
The 26-year-old Russian star made her decisive break in the 14th kilometre and romped to an 18-second victory in 1:29:42 to take home an astounding third straight World title. Kaniskina, also the Olympic champion over the distance, is the now the first woman to win three World crowns in the event. Hong Liu of China took the silver in 1:30:00, a comfortable 13 seconds ahead of Russian Anisya Kirdyapkina.
Six titles will again be decided and all have the ingredients to cook up plenty of drama and surprise, elements certainly not missing from the Championships’ first half.
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Kenyan sweep in the men’s Steeplechase?
Kenya finished 1-2-3 in Osaka four years ago, and all indications point to the east African powerhouse maintaining their hold on the 3000m Steeplechase title. But can they sweep again? After their sensational race in Monaco just over a month ago, Brimin Kipruto (7:53.64) and Ezekiel Kemboi (7:55.76) are considered to have a lock on spots 1 and 2. Third man Richard Mateelong, a bronze medallist in Osaka 2007 and Beijing 2008 and silver medallist in 2009, is hardly a pushover. You can expect a fast performance, too.
Both 400m hurdles titles up for grabs
With Kerron Clement’s departure in the semis, a new champion will be crowned in the men’s 400m Hurdles, with a few candidates looking quite good in Tuesday’s semis. Puerto Rico’s Javier Culson was the fastest, Briton David Greene looked the most relaxed, while Olympic champion Angelo Taylor was made to work pretty hard. Six countries will be represented in what is looking to be a very wide open final.
On the women’s side, Lashinda Demus, the 2005 and 2009 silver medallist, appears ready to move up to that final step in Daegu. The quickest by nearly seven-tenths of a second in the semis at 53.82, the American produced the dictionary definition for the term composure in her heat victory. Russian Natalya Antyukh looked strong as well while the Jamaican duo of defending champion Melaine Walker and world leader Kaliese Spencer weren't quite as sharp as they would have liked in the their last tune-up. At 53.29 this year, Czech Suzana Hejnova may be ready for a big step forward as well.
A toss up in the men’s High Jump
No less than 10 men scaled 2.31m in Tuesday's qualifying round in the men's High Jump, but the focus will fall on just a small handful of those, primarily and in no particular order: Jesse Williams, the World leader at 2.37m, who is aiming to become the first champion from the U.S. in 20 years; Russians Aleksey Dmitrik and Aleksandr Shustov, both 2.36m men this year; their compatriot Ivan Ukhov; and Ukraine's Dymtro Dem'yanyuk, who scaled 2.35m to take the European Team Championships title in mid-June. Keep an eye on Qatari Mutaz Essa Barshim (2.35m), the World junior champion who'll have certainly been inspired by the youth brigade bringing home gold on Tuesday night.
The women’s Triple Jump will also be decided where Cuba’s Yargeris Savigne is the overwhelming favourite to collect a third straight title. She'll have to keep an eye on Kazakh Olga Rypakova and Ukrainian Olha Saladuha who are very capable of producing the occasional big jump.
Can Jamal three-peat?
And in the women’s 1500m, Maryam Jamal will also be gunning for a third straight title. If the Bahraini succeeds, she’ll be the first to do so in the World Championships, a statistic that give you an idea of just how difficult the task can be in what will likely be a tactical affair. On current form, she’s hardly a shoe-in, with six women under 4:02 this season. Surprisingly, the four-minute barrier hasn’t been breached yet in 2011. Will we see it fall tonight?
Qualifying rounds -
Action of the track begins with the heats of the men’s 5000m in which one thing is absolutely certain: a new champion will be crowned in Daegu. After a sub-par outing in the 10,000m on Sunday when he dropped out some 17 minutes into the race, 2009 winner Kenenisa Bekele has decided against contesting the shorter event, and has already returned home to Ethiopia. Now the focus will be firmly set on the year’s fastest man and 10,000m silver medallist Mo Farah of Great Britain and 2007 winner Bernard Lagat of the U.S.
Sprint action resumes on the women’s side, with the heats (morning) and semi-finals (evening) in the 200m. The event promises to work its way into a sizzler, too, bringing together three of the hottest sprinters at the moment: Carmelita Jeter, three-time defending champion Allyson Felix whose Championships began with silver in the 400m, and Jamaica’s two-time Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown, who took bronze in the 100m.
The morning also includes the heats of the women’s 800m and men’s 4x400m Relay while the men’s 1500m semis are set for the evening.
On the infield, qualifying gets underway in the men’s Long Jump, Shot Put and Javelin Throw, and the women’s High Jump and Javelin.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
