Sean WallaceJones for IAAF
4 August 1999 - Romania’s Gabriela Szabo became the first of the IAAF Golden League
contenders to go through to the fifth round of the competition, winning the women’s
3000m in magnificent style. Unusually, Szabo moved into the lead around the halfway mark
and didn’t relinquish that position for the rest of the race. The leading pack of
Szabo, Maria Pantyukhova ((RUS), Julia Vaquero (ESP), Fernanda Ribeiro (POR), Tegla
Loroupe (KEN) and Carla Sacramento (POR) were tightly bunched for the majority of the
race, with the followers trading places regularly behind Szabo. Pantyukhova, Loroupe and
Ribeiro all took their turns behind the Romanian, while Carla Sacramento trailed the
leaders by some ten or fifteen metres. It was only into the final bend that Szabo turned
on the gas and steamed away from the field, rapidly building up a lead of fifteen metres.
This was the moment Sacramento had been waiting for too. As Szabo pulled away in front, it
was Sacramento who roared through from behind, overtook the leaders and chased Szabo
towards the finish line. To no avail: Szabo was first across the line in a new meeting
record time of 8:28.36, two seconds ahead of the Portuguese who timed 8:30.22.
Despite her apparent domination of her event, Szabo expressed reservations when asked whether she felt confident about victory in the IAAF Golden League "Three more competitions of this event is difficult for me. I think it is more difficult for me than someone in the 100 metres. But then again, all events are difficult.
"In Paris, Zahra Ouaziz led all the way and then I kicked and I beat her in the last 200m. Maybe I was not right, but I wanted to win here and I have showed that I can also lead and the result is the same."
Wilson Kipketer (DEN) confirmed his place in the IAAF Golden League jackpot stakes by smashing the stadium record and setting a new season’s best of 1:42.57. "I am happy every time I go under 1:44. The crowd have been great and it’s good to be able to give something back by performing well. I knew I was in shape, but I wasn’t looking for a world best performance, I just came on the track to do my best.
"I take one race at a time, so I’m not thinking about the million yet. I just want to do my best each time that I race." With the pace increasing every time the Dane appears on the track, we can look forward to some fabulous performances and a great competition in the two lap race in the forthcoming World Championships, as Japhet Kimutai of Kenya also steadily improves his performance – though he is staying on Kipketer’s heels for the time being, timing 1:43.09 in the near-perfect conditions of the Stade Louis II. South Africa’s Hezekiel Sepeng followed Kimutai across the line in 1:43.16 to take third place.
The golden girl of sprint, Marion Jones, left no doubt as to whether she was planning to head to the bank at the end of the IAAF Golden League series with a big cheque in her hands. In a scenario that has become almost too familiar, Jones led the field from over a hundred metres out, with only Inger Miller able to put anything like pressure on the woman who has her sights set on four gold medals in Seville. Jones’ power is awesome as she dominates the women’s sprint scene. She seems certain to repeat her IAAF Golden League success of last year and the only doubt in Seville would seem to lie in the long jump, where she will have to contend with the seasoned German star in that discipline, Heike Drechsler.
The fourth of the Golden League contenders to appear in the Stade Louis II, Kenyan Bernard Barmasai, was no less convincing than any of his peers as he too set a world best performance for the year and the third fastest time ever in the 3000m steeplechase, as he crossed the line in 7:58.99. The world record holder for the event, Barmasai left the rest of the field trailing behind him as the pacemakers dropped out of the race, leaving the 25 year-old to make all the running and build on the ever-widening gap between himself and the rest of the field. Second-placed Christopher Kosgei came in nearly twelve seconds behind Barmasai, in 8:10.69. Jonathan Kandie, also of Kenya placed third in 8:11.14.
Tumultuous applause greeted the new African record set by Hestrie Storbeck-Cloete in the women’s high jump. After a first record clearance of 2.02, the South African went on to clear 2.04 metres, the sixth best performance of all-time, the season’s best and another new meeting record also.
Another national record fell in the men's 3000m, as Salah Hissou of Morocco crossed the line in second place wiht a time of 7:28.93, behind Kenya's Benjamin Limo who won the race in 7:28.67. Third place went to Hissou's countryman Brahim Lahlafi, who was timed at just one hundredth slower than Hissou, with 7:28.94.
Despite a last-ditch spurt by Nigeria’s Falilat Ogunkoya and an attempt by Jearl Miles Clark (USA) to catch the leaders on the outside, Australia’s Cathy Freeman was a convincing winner of the women’s 400m in the second fastest time so far this season. Her finishing time of 49.76 was just 14 hundredths slower than the season’s leading time set by Ogunkoya during the recent Nigerian trials. Pulling strongly from the start, Freeman took the lead into the last bend and headed for the finish, crossing the line a couple of strides ahead of Ogunkoya. Senegal’s Thiam Am Mbacke set a new national record with her fifth place clocking of 50.95.
Maurice Greene once again showed his superb form as he set the third meeting record of the evening in a closely fought 200m. The world record holder in the 100m dipped across the line just one hundredth of a second ahead of Frank Fredericks of Namibia to win the event in 19.92 seconds. Obadele Thompson of Barbados took third place in 20.11. With Greene aiming at a sprint double in Seville, it will be interesting to see whether the world record holder will be able to withstand the Namibian’s efforts to break out of "silver mode" and the onslaught of his own training partner Ato Boldon, currently nursing a minor injury. "Int's never easy to run against Frankie and the other guys, so it feels good to win," said Greene afterwards. "Besides it's my first time under 20 seconds this year, so I'm glad. Next is London and then I'm going to Seville to win the 100m and the 200m!"
James Beckford was victorious in the long jump with a bound of 8.40m, but a special round of applause went to Morocco’s Younès Moudrik, as the 22 year-old set a new national record with his best jump of 8.20m. Third place went to Kareem Streete Thompson with 8.15.
In a magnificent, tactical race, Violetta Beclea-Szekely was first across the line in the women’s 1500m, setting a season’s best performance of 4:01.49 in the process. With Great Britain’s Kelly Holmes making much of the early running, it was young Swiss talent Anita Weyermann who pulled into the lead as the front runners approached the final straight, but the devastating kick of Beclea-Szekely was too much for the 22 year-old. Weyermann completed the home straight, turning her head every few strides to check on the Romanian’s progress and pulled out every stop as the pair drew closer to the finish, but twenty metres out Beclea-Szekely took the lead and left a tiring Weyermann in her wake. Weyermann clocked 4:01.66, second best performance this year.
Noah Ngeny confirmed his strength in the men’s 1500 as he won the race in the second fastest this year – a time bettered only by Ngeny himself during the Paris leg of the IAAF Golden League two weeks earlier. Ngeny’s fellow Kenyan Bernard Lagat took second place in 3:30.61, as the Kenyan pulled in front of Algeria’s Noureddine Morceli in the final metres.
The USA took all three medals in the men’s 400m hurdles, with Angelo Taylor heading the trio across the line in 48.41. Close on Taylor’s heels came Joey Woody in 48.55 and Calvin Davis 48.83. Reigning World Champion Stéphane Diagana, who is still recovering from nagging injury problems came in fifth, despite a desperate sprint off the final hurdle.
In the women’s event, Jamaica’s Deon Hemmings was a convincing winner, coming in two tenths ahead of Sandra Glover in 53.74 to the American’s 53.96. Hemmings was exultant after the event: "At last I have broken a bad tradition that was pursuing me. I have been coming to Monaco for six years now and this is only my first victory. Also I have been injured so I had to take three weeks off and I am just getting back in shape now. I’ll be in London and Zurich before Seville: it’s going to be an interesting race there!"
Over the high hurdles, it was Mark Crear first across the line in 13.14, winning the dip from Great Britain’s Colin Jackson (13.18) and Crear’s compatriot Larry Wade. Crear currently heads the world performance rankings with a 12.98 clocking in Zagreb on 5 July and the competition will be rude in Seville.
Glory Alozie of Nigeria was victorious in the women’s event, crossing the line in 12.53 after leading from the first hurdle. Olga Shishigina from Kazakhstan was second in 12.58. Third place went to Melissa Morrison in a photo finish with Sweden’s Ludmila Engquist. Both athletes were timed at 12.67.
One throw was enough for Greece’s Konstantinos Gatsioudis to ensure victory in the javelin throw. His first hurl of 87.95m put him two metres ahead of the runner-up, Raymond Hecht (GER), whose second attempt of 85.28 was his best, before no throws on his last three tries.
Mozambican powerhouse Maria Mutola had the advantage today in the women’s 800m in her ongoing battle with Russia’s Svetlana Masterkova. Mutola crossed the line in 1:56.99 after leading the race from the halfway mark. Masterkova kicked out into the final bend, but was overtaken by Ludmilla Formanova, who crossed the line in second place one and a half seconds behind Mutola (1:57.49). Masterkova had to settle for third place in 1:57.58.
The first and last event of the meeting (first to start and last to finish!) was the men’s pole vault, with Maksim Tarasov clearing a winning height of 6.00 metres ahead of Dimitry Markov and Jeff Hartwig, both of whom cleared 5.95m. Australia’s Markov took the advantage on countback and set a new area record.
