News20 Feb 2003


Gebrselassie, Ceplak and British speedsters, set to star in Birmingham

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Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) after winning Sydney Olympic 10,000m (© Getty Images)

An attack on the World Two Miles indoor best by Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, and a similar campaign by Slovenia’s Jolanda Ceplak over 1000m would seem set to be the highlights of the Norwich Union British Grand Prix on Friday 21 February. Yet with the 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics taking place on this track within weeks (14-16 March), head-to-head battles for British team places especially between Britain’s best sprinting talents, could prove an even greater attraction.

USA’s Coby Miller has won both – Gent and Stockholm - the opening 60m rounds of the four meeting Energizer Euroseries of which the Birmingham meeting is the penultimate leg. Miller’s 6.49 win in Gent established the then World season’s lead, a time which has since been superseded by Terrence Trammell’s 6.46 run last weekend in Fayetteville.

Neither of these Americans will be racing 60 metres in Birmingham - though at the time of writing Miller will contest the 200m - and whilst other star American names such as Brian Lewis, Greg Saddler and Ramon Clay, along with veteran Namibian sprint star Frank Fredericks will race the dash, the Birmingham crowd will no doubt be concentrating on the participation of the cream of British sprinting.

Double European 60m champion Jason Gardener leads the way, but European 100m champion Dwain Chambers will be intent on making his talent felt indoors at the shorter sprint. As well as these two, there is also 2001 World 60m bronze medallist Mark Lewis Francis, and Olympic 200m silver medalllist Darren Campbell all battling for meet honours, and of course the two 60m berths for the British World Indoor championships team.

Coby Miller who was seventh at 200m at the Sydney Olympics, has selected to run in the 200m, and will face Britain’s Darren Campbell, who possibly has his eyes set more confidently on a team berth at 200m, but will contest both sprints on Friday. Battling for the two British 200m squad spots will be Marlon Devonish and Christian Malcolm (20.96 in 2003), the 2001 World Indoor silver medallist.

The 400m brings to the track Daniel Caines the reigning World Indoor champion, who is this season’s world leader with 45.81. Belgium’s Cedric van Branteghem (46.32 NR), Poland’s Marek Plawgo (46.30) and Jamie Baulch (46.31) the 1999 World champion will also run.

With World champion Andre Bucher a doubtful starter - he made a late withdrawal from Tuesday’s Stockholm meeting because of illness – Kenya’s Wilfried Bungei 1:44.97, should be one of the main players in the men’s 800m, along with Joseph Mutua (1:45.47).

Ethiopia’s Hailu Mekkonen set the World best for Two Miles on the Birmingham track in 2000, and he will start in the race on Friday night but the favourite for both the win and record will be his more illustrious compatriot Haile Gebrselassie, who is making his first appearance indoors this winter. The mark he will be aiming at is Mekkonen’s 8:09.66, and after his superb World 10km road best in Doha last December - if he is totally fit; he pulled out of the Stuttgart meet 1 Feb – the time should fall well within the range of the four-times World 10,000m champion. Succeed or fail, win or lose, the support of a large posse of the Ethiopian’s fan club, should certainly ensure that Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena is an atmospheric venue on Friday.

We have the appearance of two of the greatest ever British athletes on Friday, Jonathan Edwards in the Triple Jump and Colin Jackson in the 60m Hurdles. The former, Olympic and World champion has a best jump in 2003 of 16.97, and has to face Sweden’s Christian Olsson who seems unstoppable at the moment (17.40 world lead), while the latter, the World Indoor record holder at the 60m Hurdles on his farewell season’s tour, will face an impressive field led by Austria Elmar Lichtenegger (7.57); Jackson’s best this season is 7.55.

Women’s World 100m champion Zhanna Block of Ukraine will be ensure that the men’s sprinters do not grab all the limelight in Birmingham, she possesses the joint fastest 60m time in the world this year – 7.09.  Reigning World Indoor 200m champion Juliet Campbell of Jamaica runs in the 200m.

The 1000m and 800m should hold the crowds attention on the track. Jolanda Ceplak the World 800m record holder goes for Maria Mutola’s World 1000m record of 2:30.94, before helping pace her British colleague Kelly Holmes (they are from the same management group of Robert Wagner) attack the national 1500m record later in the evening’s programme. The British record is currently held by Hayley Tullett with a time of 4:06.75.

The field events will also feature at least one Birtish heroine, in the shape of World Indoor record holder Ashia Hansen, the outdoor European and Commonwealth champion. Hansen who has had injury problems recently will be making a much awaited return to competition. The test couldn’t be stiffer as she faces World season’s leader Yamile Aldama of Cuba (14.65), World outdoor record holder Inessa Kravets (UKR) and Francoise Mbango, the Commonwealth silver medallist.

In the women’s High Jump, three women who have cleared 2 metres or more this winter face each other in what should be a superb contest. Sweden’s reigning World Indoor champion Kajsa Bergqvist (2.03) takes on European Indoor champion Marina Kuptsova (2.02) and fellow Russian Viktoriya Seryogina (2.00).

Finally, in the women’s Pole Vault another great spectacle can be expected, as an even more famous Russian jumper, Svetlana Feofanova, the World Indoor record holder (4.76m) takes on the world’s newest 4.70m performer, Tatyana Polnova, who is also from Russia.

IAAF

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