News23 Feb 2003


Hurtis beats Block in Lievin, as El Guerrouj falls short of Gebrselassie’s Two Miles mark

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Muriel Hurtis wins the 200m gold in Munich (© Getty Images)

Lievin, FranceHicham El Guerrouj’s 8:06.61 performance in the men’s Two Miles at the Gaz de France Meeting today, was a stellar one, but unfortunately it came two days too late to be regarded as a World best. That honour - nonetheless a fresh one - still belongs to Haile Gebrselassie after the Ethiopian’s 8:04.69 run in Birmingham Friday night. 

Until then, the best time recorded in the rarely-contested distance had been 8:09.66 by the then -19-year-old Hailu Mekonnen, also of Ethiopia, three years ago. 

This was to be the Moroccan’s only indoor appearance of the season, a fact he revealed to the media - and simultaneously to his manager - at an informal meeting with members of the French  press on Saturday. So, today’s race was certain to be one of extreme importance. The fact that less than forty-eight hours before the race the playing field had suddenly shifted by almost five seconds must have made for an unsettling preparation for El Guerrouj.

Graham Hood, who had also assisted Gebrselassie in Birmingham one Friday, was asked to produce a mile’s worth of 30-second laps on the 200-metres track to open the race.  The Canadian was rather well on his target, as the first mile (1609 metres) for El Guerrouj was 4:02.8, just marginally over the time needed in an evenly-paced two mile.

Robert Rono then relieved Hood, but the Moroccan felt he needed a faster pace than the Kenyan was delivering. At the end of the ninth lap, El Guerrouj shoved his pacemaker aside as he passed on the inside, and from that point onward he was on his own with little more than half the required distance covered.

The next quarter mile took exactly sixty seconds, but then El Guerrouj began to tire, taking 62.4 seconds for the penultimate 440 yards. 

El Guerrouj’s coach, Abdelkader Kada, was not discouraged by the failed attempt on the World best. “We really didn’t expect Gebrselassie to destroy the old record by the amount he did on Friday,” Kada said. “Hicham is right where we want him to be in training, however.  If we had anticipated he would need 8:04 instead of 8:09, we would have stopped the weight training three weeks ago instead of only one week ago.” 

After this momentary diversion under the roof, the three-time World 1500 Metre champion can now focus squarely on his stated goal of a 1500-5000 double at this summer’s World Championships in Paris. He will return to Morocco on Monday to begin a 45-day long-distance training regimen. 

Long before the Stade Couvert Regional started looking for middle-distance world records, it was regarded as the holy-of-holies for the 200 Metres. Going back to the memorable run by France’s Bruno Marie-Rose in the 1987 European Championships, the facility has always held at least one of the World Records in the “deuce”.

And so, in a bit of unabashed “noblesse oblige” mixed with nostalgia, the indoor World Record holder, Frankie Fredericks, was again assigned the legendary Lane Six for his final appearance in Lievin, the site of his record and history’s only sub-20-second clocking. The 35-year-old Namibian did not disappoint, as he held a noticeable lead into the second turn of the race.

Reigning World 200 metres champion Shawn Crawford, like Fredericks running his first 200 of the season, powered ahead and took the lead coming into the final straight. But the emotion of the moment gave Fredericks what he needed to overhaul the American for a 20.45 win, as Crawford was timed in 20.55.

The women’s 200 metres saw Muriel Hurtis complete a double sprint win, which had started earlier in the day with a 7.09 upset of Zhanna Block, as the Ukrainian was close behind in 7.12. For Hurtis, it was a French indoor record as well as a hard-earned victory, as she had to make up for a bad start in order to defeat her more decorated rival.

The current European indoor and outdoors 200 metres champion then moved to her presumed speciality, although after her 60-metres performance, one now has to use that designation advisedly. She dashed off a 22.64, just one hundredth over the world’s fastest this season, to defeat Cydonie Mothersill (22.82) of the Cayman Islands. 

Hurtis can’t afford to rest on her achievement too much, though, even in her own country, as Sylviane Félix’s win in the other 200-Metre section was in a splendid 22.76.  

James Davis of the US made his first career European indoor appearance a good one, moving smartly to the lead after the first lap in the men’s 400 Metres and finishing with a season-best 45.99. Behind the American, Britain’s Jamie Baulch won a tight battle with European Indoor 400 metres champion Marek Plawgo of Poland, 46.21 to 46.24. 

Both of the 1000 metres races produced world-leading times.  Maria Mutola clocked 2:34.61 as she cruised to an unchallenged win. The race had no designated pacemaker, but Mutola’s training partner, Kelly Holmes, led the Olympic 800 metres champion through the first four laps of the race. 

Holmes didn’t quit after Mutola took over, however, and she ended up in fourth with 2:38.46, just one hundredth shy of the current British record which was established only two days ago in the Birmingham meeting. 

In all, four of the top six finishers set national records, with Poland’s Lidia Chojecka (2:36.97) and Diane Cummins of Canada (2:38.24) sandwiched between Mutola and Holmes for second and third, respectively.

In the men’s race, Mehdi Baala of France capitalized on his current excellent condition - as evidenced by his national record in the 800 Metres last Tuesday in Stockholm - to chip away at a French record he already held as he won the men’s 1000 in 2:17.18. 

The European 1500 metres champion played a patient waiting game as a pair of Kenyans, Joseph Mutua and Cornelius Chirchir, were doing the front-running chores. Chirchir then moved past Mutua with 300 left, taking Baala with him. With 150 left, the Frenchman sprinted away to victory to the noisy cheers of the packed arena. 

The 19-year-old Chirchir’s second-place 2:18.24 PB best just held off the furious finishes of Nicolas Aissat (2:18.33) and Hezekiel Sepeng (2:18.52), both of which were also personal bests. 

A pair of Swedish gold medallists from last summer’s European Championships were featured on the Liévin start lists, but only one came away a winner this afternoon.

Kajsa Bergqvist won the women’s High Jump at 2.00, the fifth time during this indoor season that she has cracked the two-metre mark. She found herself jumping alone rather early on, as second place was only 1.92 by Viktoriya Seryogina of Russia. 

But for Christian Olsson, who saw a 26-meet streak of 17-metre-plus triple jumps performances snapped on Friday in Birmingham, it was a mixed bag. The jumper from Göteborg quickly got back into his normal jumping range with a lead-off 17.01, and it appeared it would stand up as the winner.

In the final round, and after a lackluster afternoon up to that point, Walter Davis of the US leaped 17.16 to put pressure on Olsson.  The Swede made a suspenseful comeback try on his last attempt, but his 17.14 was not quite enough to overtake Davis. 

Sweden did add another win during the afternoon, as Susanna Kallur solidified her status among the hurdling elite with a 7.93 win over her hyphenated rivals, Lacena Golding-Clarke of Jamaica (7.97) and France’s Linda Ferga-Khodadin (8.01). 

Coby Miller won a tight 60 metres race against double European Indoor Champion Jason Gardener, 6.53 to 6.54, as Cuba’s Anier Garcia likewise escaped with a narrow Hurdles win over Stanislav Olijar of Latvia, 7.50 to 7.52. 

The Liévin meeting capped the four-competition Energizer series, which staged a mini-Grand Prix in four events. The winners were James Davis (400 metres), Coby Miller (Men’s 60 metres),  Christian Olsson (Triple Jump), and  Muriel Hurtis (Women’s 60 Metres).

Ed Gordon for the IAAF

RESULTS

MEN :

60 METRES  (50 Metres enroute):  1. Miller (USA) 6.53 (2nd 5.67) ;  2. Gardener (GBR) 6.54 (1st 5.67) ;  3. Clay (USA) 6.56 (5.69) ;  4. Aliu (NGR) 6.62 (5.71) ;  5. Pöyhönen (FIN) 6.69 (5.78) ;  6. Lewis (USA) 6.71 (5.80). 

Heat 1 :  1. Miller 6.57 (5.71) ;  2.  Clay 6.67 (5.78);  3. Saddler (USA) 6.70 (5.79);  4. Eyana (FRA) 6.70 (5.82);  5. Chernovol (KAZ) 6.75 (5.84);  6. Malcolm (GBR) 6.82 (5.90).  Heat 2:  1. Aliu 6.53 (5.65 world leader);  2. Gardener 6.58 (5.68);  3. Lewis 6.65 (5.75);  4. Pöyhönen 6.67 (5.77);  5. Crawford (USA) 6.79 (5.88);  6. Batangdon (CMR) 6.89 (5.96). 

200 METRES :  Race 1:  1. Djhone (FRA) 20.74;  2. Jedrusinski (POL) 20.83;  3. Batangdon (CMR) 20.90.  Race 2:  1. Fredericks (NAM) 20.45;  2. Crawford (USA) 20.55;  3. DaCastello (ITA) 21.16. 

400 METRES :  Race 1:  1. Clarke (JAM) 46.24;  2. McKee (IRL) 46.69;  3. Laursen (SWE) 46.81;  4. Byrd (USA) 47.83.   Race 2 (Energizer):  1. Ja Davis (USA) 45.99;  2. Baulch (GBR) 46.21;  3. Plawgo (POL) 46.24. 

1000 METRES :  1. Baala (FRA) 2:17.18 NR (world leader);  2. C Chirchir (KEN) 2:18.24;  3. Aissat (FRA) 2:18.33;  4. Sepeng (RSA) 2:18.52;  5. Mutua (KEN) 2:19.01;  6. Som (NED) 2:20.50;  7. Lomba (FRA) 2:20.52;  8. Bungei (KEN) 2:22.49.  Pace:  Tahri (FRA) 26.76, 53.62, 1:21.71;  Chirchir 1:50.01. 

TWO MILES (3000 Metres enroute):  1. El Guerrouj (MAR) 8:06.61 (7:33.73);  2. L Rotich (KEN) 8:28.25 (7:58.46);  3. Maazouzi (FRA) 8:28.26 (7:58.45);  4. Amyn (MAR) 8:28.28 (7:58.47);  5. Aggoune (ALG) 8:29.75 (7:58.86);  6. Sullivan (CAN) 8:30.08 (7:58.82);  7. Chébili (FRA) 8:31.57 (7:59.12);  8. Lakhal (FRA) 8:44.90 (8:06.77).  Pace:  Hood (CAN) 2:29.83 and R Rono (KEN); El Guerrouj 5:01.31. 

60 HURDLES (50 Hurdles enroute) :  1. García (CUB) 7.50 (6.43 world leader);   2. Olijar (LAT) 7.52 (6.46);  3. Yo Hernández (CUB) 7.59 (3rd 6.51);  4. Bownes (RSA) 7.62 (6.53);  5. Lichtenegger (AUT) 7.62 (4th 6.51);  6. Kronberg (SWE) 7.69 (6.83). 

Heat 1:  1. Garcia 7.59 (6.51 world leader);  2. Olijar 7.63 (6.55);  3. Bownes 7.67 (6.58);  4. Denis (FRA) 7.74 (6.61);  5. Nsenga (BEL) 7.76 (6.63).  Did not finish:  Wignall (JAM) [hit first hurdle and fell before second].  Heat 2:  1. Yo Hernández 7.65 (2h2 6.57);  2. Kronberg 7.67 (3h2 6.58);  3. Lichtenegger 7.67 (1h2 6.57);  4. Ross (USA) 7.69 (4h2 6.58);  5. Lavanne (FRA) 7.77 (6.66);  6. Lamine (FRA) 6.67). 

POLE VAULT :  1. Miles (USA) 5.73;  2. Hartwig (USA) 5.73;  3. Gorshkov (RUS) and Blom (NED) 5.63;  5. Ptáèek (CZE) 5.63;  6. Duval (BEL) and Chistyakov (AUS) 5.50;  8. Mesnil (FRA) 5.50;  9. Janáèek (CZE) 5.50.  No height:  Kristiansson (SWE) (5.63) and Börgeling (GER) (5.50).

TRIPLE JUMP :  1. Davis (USA) 17.16 [15.97 – 16.67 – 14.20 – x – p – 17.16];  2. Olsson (SWE) 17.14 [17.01 – p – p – 16.96 – 16.65 – 17.14];  3. Glavatskiy (BLR) 16.94;  4. Gregorio (BRA) 16.71;  5. Filet-Alcan (FRA) 16.60;  6. Taillepierre (FRA) 16.55;  7. Pincemail (FRA) 16.39;  8. Rusan (USA) 16.23 ;  9. Quesada (CUB) 16.18;  10. Cankar (SLO) 15.85. 


WOMEN :

60 METRES  (50 Metres enroute):  1. Hurtis (FRA) 7.09 NR (6.14 world leader);  2. Block (UKR) 7.12 (6.16);  3. Fynes (BAH) 7.22 (6.21);  4. Félix (FRA) 7.23 (6.26);  5. Mensah (CAN) 7.37 (6.35);  6. Arron (FRA) 7.56 (6.32). 

Heat 1:  1. Block 7.14 (6.17 world leader);  2. Arron 7.17 (6.19);  3. Félix 7.23 (6.26);  4. Mensah 7.31 (6.30);  5. Manninen (FIN) 7.33 (6.32).  Heat 2:  1. Hurtis 7.13 (6.17 = world leader);  2. Fynes 7.21 (6.20);  3. Mayr (AUT) 7.36 (6.36);  4. Ivanova (TUR) 7.39 (6.37);  5. Mballa Eloundou 7.45 (6.40). 

200 METRES :  Race 1:  Félix (FRA) 22.76;  2. Ivanova (TUR) 23.10;  3. Manninen (FIN) 23.28;  4. Levorato (ITA) 23.38.  Race 2 :  1. Hurtis (FRA) 22.64;  2. Mothersill (CAY) 22.82;  3. J Campbell (JAM) 23.06;  4. Jenkins (USA) 23.67. 

1000 METRES :  1. Mutola (MOZ) 2:34.61 (world leader);  2. Chojecka (POL) 2:36.97 NR;  3. Cummins (CAN) 2:38.24 NR;  4. Holmes (GBR) 2:38.47;  5. Samaria (NAM) 2:38.59 NR;  6. Varga (HUN) 2:41.11 NR;  7. Benida (ALG) 2:42.24;  8. Fouquet (FRA) 2:44.82;  9. Stals (BEL) 2:52.85.  Pace:  Holmes 29.58, 59.43;  Mutola 1:29.18, 2:01.63. 

60 HURDLES (50 Hurdles enroute):  1. S Kallur (SWE) 7.93 (6.83);  2. Golding-Clarke (JAM) 7.97 (6.85);  3. Ferga-Khodadin (FRA) 8.01 (3rd 6.88);  4. Girard (FRA) 8.04 (4th 6.88);  5. Rose (JAM) 8.07 (6.93);  6. Bujak (FRA) 8.23 (7.05). 

Heat 1:  1. Girard 7.99 (6.87 world leader);  2. Golding-Clarke 8.05 (6.92);  3. Rose 8.19 (7.05);  4. Aron (FRA) 8.37 (7.19);  5. Michot (FRA) 8.45 (7.28).  Heat 2:  1. S Kallur 8.00 (6.90);  2. Ferga-Khodadin 8.04 (6.92);  3. Bujak 8.19 (6.99);  4. Gerance (FRA) 8.43 (7.23). 

HIGH JUMP :  1. Bergqvist (SWE) 2.00 [1.89 – 1.92 – 1.95 – 2.00/3 – 2.03/xxx];  2. Seryogina (RUS) 1.92;  3. Acuff (USA) 1.92;  4. Ksok (POL) and Gyõrffy (HUN) 1.92;  6. Kaliturina (RUS) 1.89;  7. Imai (JPN) 1.85;  8. Efimenko (KGZ) 1.85;  9. Hellebaut (BEL) 1.85;  10. Niare (ITA) 1.80. 

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