Johan Rogestedt of Sweden on his way to winning the 800m final (© Getty Images)
The penultimate day of competition at the 6th IAAF World Youth Championships ended with a crazy boys’ 800m final which saw a Kenyan sprint through the first 100m in less than 12 seconds, an Ethiopian fall in the opening 200m only to get back on his feet and lead at the bell in 54.82, a Frenchman kick with 300m to go, another Kenyan take over with 200m left and finally a Swedish champion!
First European
With a devastating finishing kick 16-year-old Johan Rogestedt won his country’s first ever World Youth 800m title in a personal best 1:50.92 to add to the gold medal won by Angelica Bengtsson in the girls’ Pole Vault previously in the afternoon.
Actually it is the first time that a European athlete wins gold in the boys’ 800 in the 10-year history of the competition.
Rogestedt who had the slowest time of all finalists was the only one who improved on his personal record in the final as the Kenyan pair of Peter Langat Kiplangat and Nicholas Kiplangat Kipkkoech had to be content with the minor medals at 1:50.97 and 1:51.01 respectively.
“I knew I had a very good finish,” said Rogestedt. “I needed to keep up with them at 400 and then at 300 (to go) I held a really good position. Then at 150 I did what my coach told me to do ‘give everything you have and see where it takes you.’”
Respect for the Africans
The coach’s advice couldn’t have been more efficient for the Gothenburg native who admitted he was not affected by what was happening at the front of the race. Trailing last at the bell, Rogestedt only came on the radar in the home straight letting his finishing kick speak for itself.
“I did not try to keep up with the leaders. I like to stay at the back of the pack because at the front there is a lot of pushing. I was not bothered by what happened,” he said referring to Fikadu Dejene’s fall.
Of course, Rogestedt had high expectations coming into his first World Championships but on paper he was far from being favourite for a medal let alone gold.
“I have quite a lot of respect for the African runners of course, but I beat an Eritrean in the qualifications so I got a lot of confidence. It made me think I could beat them. So if the race was going to be slow I knew I stood a chance of a medal.”
Rogestedt is keen to admit that his first steps in the sport were not motivated by his desire to become an athletic champion but because he felt he needed to improve his endurance to be a better performer in his first sport.
Looking up to Sebastian Coe
“I started playing soccer aged 4,” he recalls. “I played it for 10 years until I was 14 and when I was 12 or 13 I started doing track because I wanted to get better at soccer. I was a left wing so I needed good endurance, the 800 was perfect for this.
“Then I started getting better and better at track…” he trails with a broad smile.
Although his race tactics today are reminiscent of Russia’s Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakowsky’s the name that Rogestedt picks as his favourite middle distance runner is that of IAAF Vice President Sebastian Coe who incidentally is also here in Bressanone and could well present the young Swede with his medal tomorrow.
“That would be super special…”
Now only an occasional soccer player in his garden, Rogestedt says he was “inspired and motivated in training” by the great generation of Swedish athletes who have made the athletics headlines worldwide in the past decade from Olympic champions Carolina Klüft and Christian Olsson to World champion Kajsa Bergqvist.
But for Rogestedt it is high jumper Stefan Holm who had the most influence.
“I like Christian because I come from Gothenburg like him but the one who really inspired me is Stefan Holm not only for his achievements but also for his great personality. I like him because I think he is a little bit like me.”
The only thing we can wish Rogestedt now is to have just as successful a career as Holm’s.
Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF
