Graf
aiming for Vienna gold
Pat Butcher for the IAAF
26 February 2002 - No one who has seen Steffi Graf’s successive
demolition jobs on nemesis Maria Mutola during the indoor season so far could be in any
doubt that the Austrian will successfully defend her European indoor 800 metres title in
Vienna next weekend, and further enhance her glowing reputation in front of her home fans.
Graf is from Austrian town of Klagenfurt, but her club LCC Wien is based in the capital city. And sports fans more used to ringing home their successful skiers with the clamour of cowbells will further take the woman they used to call `Silver Stephanie’ to their hearts. The `silver’ tag is a reference to the succession of second places that Graf has notched up in the last couple of years behind Mutola - at the Olympic Games, and at both World Championships, indoors and out last year. Which makes Graf’s recent performances against the Mozambican, and particularly the victory in Birmingham on 17 February so gratifying, and demonstrative of the Austrian’s new-found confidence.
Graf had been given permission by the Austrian federation to miss her national indoor championships (the same weekend as Birmingham) in order to make an attempt on the long-standing world indoor record of 1min 56.40sec, set by the then East German Christine Wachtel. That Graf did not come close to the record in Birmingham was immaterial, it was the manner of her victory over Mutola which was important.
When a pair of opponents like Graf and Mutola are so evenly matched, their fear of each other is such that the tendency is to ignore pacemakers and concentrate on the matter of winning. But so confident was Graf in Birmingham, after coming within 0.4sec of Wachtel’s record in Gent the previous weekend that the Austrian was happy to announce the record attempt, and follow the pacemaker from the gun, leaving herself open to Mutola’s attacks from behind. But it seemed that the Austrian never gave her rival a thought as Graf charged home with plenty of space between her and Mutola in second.
As Graf cheerily signed autographs for the avid young Birmingham fans, not only did she dismiss the notion that Mutola might not be on premium form, but she also explained the new thinking that has transformed her talent from the silver to the gold standard. “I think she (Mutola) is in great form at the moment too. She gave me so many lessons in the past, especially in the World Championships.
“Now I feel stronger, and cool in races, where before I was too fixed on tactics, and too nervous. This year, I’ve learned to trust in my physical condition. That’s made me more relaxed mentally. And with every victory my self-confidence gets bigger. It was very dangerous to run like this today, I was acting as a rabbit for her, so to beat her like this is great”.
Graf was so relaxed, she was not even concerned at mention of the `Silver Stephanie’ tag. “It was good to be second in some ways, it taught me to be patient. And look at Mutola herself, she waited seven years before she won the Olympic title. I think my big chance is still to come”.
And the next step to what Graf hopes will be her Olympic title in Athens 2004 begins on Friday with the 800 metres heats in the Ferry Dusika Stadium in Vienna.
She sees her colleague in the same management team, Yolanda Ceplak of Slovenia as her main rival: the Slovenian has done 1.57.18 behind Graf in Gent. “And maybe even (Ludmilla) Formanova, who is coming back. But I won’t even think about tactics, I can run anything now. It will be great running in Vienna, we’re such a small country for athletics, but I’m sure Austria’s public interest in the sport will reach a level we’ve never had before”.
And by the time of the women’s 800 metres final on Sunday, Graf will be the sole focus of that interest. And not just the Austrians, but just about everyone else expects `Silver Stephanie’ to turn into `Golden Graf’.
