Marion Jones dominates Osaka GP
Marion Jones left no doubt in anyone's mind today that she is in world-beating
form as she won the 100m in Osaka in 10.79 against a 0.6m/s headwind. Jones finished ahead
of the Bahama's Chandra Sturrup (11.15) and Australian Melinda Gainsford-Taylor (11.30).
The mark was just three hundredths of a second short of her personal best of 10.76, last
year's best mark in the 100m. Marion has stated her three ambitions of 1998 to be going
under 10.60 in the 100m; running under 21.60 in the 200m and long jumping over 7.00m. She
achieved the last of these in Mito(JPN) on 5 May, when she jumped 7.05m to win the women's
long jump in an international permit meeting, and now seems well on track to meet her
objectives in the 100m - and, maybe, to go a step further and challenge the 10.49 world
record mark which has been owned by Florence Griffith Joyner since 16 July 1988. Her 21.98
mark in the Sydney meet on 28 February would also look to give her a fair chance of
approaching the indomitable Flo-Jo's other ten-year-old mark of 21.34 in the 200m.
Today's performance puts Jones at the head of the IAAF 1998 world lists in the 100m, 200m
and long jump and she can add to those the world's best performance, not at altitude (4th
best in absolute terms so far this season), in the 400m from her "training run"
in Walnut on 19 April, where she marked a very credible 50.36.
Excellent performance in the men's event too, with Frank Fredericks of Namibia finishing first with 10.11 despite a relatively strong 1.7m/s headwind. Fredricks finished ahead of Obadele Thompson (BAR) with 10.17 and the USA's Tim Harden in 10.21. There will be some explosive action in the men's 100m this year and Fredricks will certainly be a part of it. Trinidad's Ato Boldon was not competing in Osaka today but ran a flat 10 seconds in the Hampton International Games in his native Port of Spain. 24 year-old Boldon had said that he hoped to break the world record of Canada's Donovan Bailey if conditions were good, but was thwarted after heavy afternoon showers inundated the newly laid Mondo track in the stadium. Bailey himself looks to be returning to form, though he is still suffering from the after effects of a car accident. All three will be put to the test by reigning world 100m champion Maurice Greene.
Algeria's Noureddine Morceli suffered his second defeat in the 1500m in a week when he lost by nearly 1.5 seconds to Uganda's Julius Achon. Already in Doha on Thursday, Morceli seemed to have nothing left when John Kibowen (KEN) surged from behind in the final 50 metres to take the tape, and the weakness which was apparent in the closing stages of that race was confirmed today.
John Godina followed up his superb performance in Walnut on 19 April with another convincing win, throwing 21.61m and leaving second-placed Oliver-Sven Buder far behind at 20.34. Americans dominated the event, taking four out of the first five places. C.J. Hunter took third place with 20.04.
The next rendezvous on the IAAF Grand Prix Circuit: Saturday, May 30, Seville Grand Prix II - Sunday, May 31, The Prefontaine Classic Grand Prix I, Eugene (USA). On line results will be available on the IAAF web site.
