Season's bests but no records in Lievin
Ed Gordon in Lievin for the IAAF
21 February 1999 Coming as late as it always does in the schedule, the yearly meeting at
the Stade Couvert always amazes with so many season-leading marks. The 12th edition of the
meeting saw a total of eight performances in seven events (there were two in the women's
triple jump) which now top the event lists with only Athens and Stockholm remaining on the
schedule before Maebashi.
Three attacks on world records were planned, but in the
end, no changes to the record books materialized.
Gabriela Szabo had hoped to add the 3000 metres standard to her recent record in the 5000,
but the environment wasn't the same as in Dortmund eight days ago. There, she had Tegla
Loroupe pushing her at close range during the final stages of the race. But here, the
asked-for Zahra Ouaziz was not available, and Szabo was forced to do the final laps alone.
The result was a performance of 8:34.09, frustratingly close to Elly van Hulst's
ten-year-old record of 8:33.82, but still the second-fastest ever. The projected pace of
34-second laps held up through the first kilometer. Then, things began to sag slightly.
After 1600, Szabo was about two seconds down on her desired tempo, and she wisely took the
lead from countrywoman Luminita Gogirlea.
As Szabo hit the 2K mark in 5:43.20, the record was still in reach. A third Romanian,
Violeta Szekely, then moved up to attempt to give Szabo some back-side pacing which had
been so useful before. However, Szabo was speeding away so quickly even Szekely was left
behind. The diminutive blonde's final lap of 31.4 was instrumental in making her
performance so tantalizingly close to the record as it was.
Maria Mutola returned to try the women's 800 world record once again. Last year, she appeared to have eclipsed Christine Wachtel's 1988 time of 1:56.40 with a 1:56.36 clocking. But video tapes later showed that she had run inside a turn, and the record was not approved. This year, the arena was festooned with bright orange cones--lots of them--on both curves. But, as in the case of Szabo, Mutola fell short with 1:57.06, also the number-two performance in indoor history.
Just before the midpoint of the race, Mutola set out on her own and hit the 400 in 56.9, after an opening lap of 27.6. At 600, she was still marginally ahead of Wachtel's pace with 1:27.1. But the final tour of the stadium in 30.0 spelled doom so far as the record was concerned.
Positioned at the end of the afternoon program, the men's
3000 was to be the third record attempt, put squarely in the hands of Haile Gebrselassie.
Daniel Komen's superb time from Budapest last year (7:24.90) dictated that Haile would
have to surpass even his outdoor PB in the event. It would not be an easy task. The pacing
fell off even before four laps had been completed. During the second kilometer, with
Charles Nkazampyanpi at the controls of the tempo, Geb actually started to crawl back
within sight of the lap times he sought. But
by 1500, the record chase was dead. The Ethiopian--always a favourite with his charismatic
persona and indelible smile--still held the sold-out crowd transfixed on his way to a
7:31.25, a time that he himself has surpassed on three other occasions indoors.
Even before many of the spectators had found their seats, the women's triple jump had heated up into a splendid duel. Sarka Kasparkova, arriving overnight from the Czech championships in Prague, opened with a world-leading 14.77. Then, in the penultimate round, Ashia Hansen bounded 14.81 to snare the competition, as the Czech fouled on her final jump.
The women's 60 meters also had the character of a duel, with Gail Devers and Merlene Ottey meeting for the first time this season. In the heats, Ottey's 7.04 was followed by the American's world-leading 7.00. The final promised to be blazing.
Obviously embarrassed by the bad start she had on Friday in Ghent, Devers led everyone away from the gun. Ottey seemed to hesitate after getting a good start, and this meant she had to play catch-up over the remaining 55-or-so meters. The 38-year-old Jamaican showed the resolve of a champion, clawing her way past several runners to move close to Devers.
Unfortunately, the race was not long enough for Ottey, as
Devers stopped the clock in a world-leading 6.98, with Ottey second in 7.01.
Just behind the two veterans, Sevatheda Fynes and Philomena Mensah confirmed their
newly-achieved stature among women sprinters as they equalled their PB's from the Ghent
meet with 7.04 and 7.06, respectively.
The men's sprint went to Deji Aliu in 6.48, ahead of Eric Nkansah's 6.51. Aliu's time equalled the African record established earlier this year by Leonard Myles-Mills.
The always-fast Lievin surface also produced outstanding times in the hurdles. Duane Ross had no problem winning the men's race in 7.44, while Olga Shishigina was pushed to an Asian record of 7.82 by Brigita Bukovec (7.84).
In many ways, the A-race of the men's 200 metres looked like a photocopy of the Ghent race on Friday night. Kevin Little had been assigned the "golden lane" (lane six) with Francis Obikwelu again on his inside. The American sprinted hard down the back straight and had a metre lead on the young Nigerian. But on the turn, Obikwelu pulled almost even. The two then staged a scrappy battle over the last 50 meters as the world indoor champion held on for a world-leading 20.44. Obikwelu's second-place reward was a personal-best 20.46.
The women's one-lap race also saw a world-leading time of
22.73 fromSvetlana Goncharenko. The Russian was pushed all the way into the finish tape by
Ionela Tirlea (22.76) and Murielle Hurtis (22.84), the latter a French record.
Zsuzsa Szabo solidified her pre-eminence among the world's female pole vaulters, not only
with her 4.45 win but also with an extremely close third attempt at a would-be world
record of 4.56.
Results
MEN
60 METERS: 1. Aliu (NGR) 6.48; 2. Nkansah (GHA) 6.51; 3. Powell (JAM)
6.52; 4. Surin (CAN) 6.52; 5. Gardener (GBR) 6.53; 6. Stewart (JAM) 6.54.
50-meter intermediate times: 1. Aliu 5.61; 2. Nkansah 5.62; 3. Surin
5.64. 4. Powell 5.64; 5. Stewart 5.65; 6. Gardener 5.66.
Heat 1: 1. Nkansah (GHA) 6.56; 2. Gardener (GBR) 6.56; 3. Powell
(JAM) 6.56; 4. Cali (FRA) 6.68; 5. Mocci (GAB) 6.82; 6. Ayassou (TOG)
6.82. Heat 2: 1. Aliu (NGR) 6.52; 2. Stewart (JAM) 6.57; 3. Surin (CAN)
6.59; 4. Caure (FRA) 6.66; 5. Patros (FRA) 6.76.
50-meter intermediate times: Heat 1: 1. Nkansah 5.65; 2. Gardener
5.65; 3. Powell 5.66; 4. Cali 5.76; 5. Mocci 5.86; 6. Ayassou 5.87. Heat 2:
1. Aliu 5.63; 2. Stewart 5.67; 3. Surin 5.71; 4. Caure 5.75; 5. Patros 5.84.
200 METERS: Race 1 (B-race): 1. Cheval (FRA) 20.86; 2. Regis (GBR)
20.89; 3. Osovich (UKR) 21.23. Race 2 (A-race): 1. Little (USA) 20.44
(world leader); 2. Obikwelu (NGR) 20.46; 3. Foucan (FRA) 21.02.
400 METERS: 1. Martin (JAM) 46.09; 2. Wariso (GBR) 46.27; 3. Bada
(NGR) 46.60; 4. Mango (FRA) 46.73; 5. Kan (JPN) 47.91. Did not finish:
Mashchenko (RUS) [cramped at 300m].
3000 METERS: 1. Gebrselassie (ETH) 7:31.25; 2. P. Bitok (KEN) 7:42.37;
3. Lahssini (MAR) 7:45.74; 4. Dubus (FRA) 7:55.13; 5. Chebili (FRA)
7:56.25; 6. Pencreach (FRA) 7:57.03; 7. S Rono (KEN) 8:01.33; 8.
Chekhemani (FRA) 8:11.76; 9. Urgessa (ETH) 8:25.97. Pace: Kreykamp
(NED), Nkazamyanpi (BUR), Lelei (KEN). Did not finish: Bosch (FRA).
Disqualified: Damian (FRA) rule 141.2.
2000-meter intermediate times (from photo): 1. Gebrselassie 5:00.06;
2. Bitok 5:03.16; 3. Lahssini 5:04.68; 4. Rono 5:09.43; 5. Bosch 5:18.80; 6.
Chebili 5:18.92; 7. Chekhemani 5:19.29; 8. Dubus 5:19.50; 9. Pencreach
5:19.82; 10. Urgessa (ETH) 5:28.18.
60 HURDLES: 1. Ross (USA) 7.44; 2. Hawkins (USA) 7.52; 3. Garcia
(CUB) 7.54; 4. Scigaczewski (POL) 7.60; 5. Philibert (FRA) 7.67; 6. Grava
(FRA) 7.71.
50-meter intermediate times: 1. Ross 6.36; 2. Hawkins 6.46; 3. Garcia
6.46; 4. Scigaczewski 6.51; 5. Philibert 6.56; 6. Grava 6.60.
Heat 1: 1. Scigaczewski (POL) 7.65; 2. Grava (FRA) 7.71; 3.
Hawkins (USA) 7.72; 4. Pieters (BEL) 7.89. Heat 2: 1. Ross (USA) 7.50; 2.
Garcia (CUB) 7.61; 3. Philibert (FRA) 7.70; 4. Lamine (FRA) 7.73.
50-meter intermediate times: Heat 1: 1. Scigaczewski 6.54; 2. Grava
6.60; 3. Hawkins 6.64; 4. Pieters 6.76. Heat 2: 1. Ross 6.42; 2. Garcia
6.51; 3. Philibert 6.58; 4. Lamine 6.60.
LONG JUMP: 1. Pedroso (CUB) 8.37 (world leader) [x - 8.37 - p - p - x - x];
2. Walder (USA) 8.35 [8.00 - 8.18 - 8.26 - 8.27 - x - 8.35]; 3. Beckford
(JAM) 8.19; 4. McGhee (USA) 8.04; 5. Martinez (CUB) 8.01; 6. Toure
(FRA) 7.84; 7. Morinaga (JPN) 7.82; 8. Ducros (FRA) 7.63; 9. Kouchi
(FRA) 7.51; 10. Datchev (BUL) 7.49. No legal mark: Nijs (BEL), Cankar
(SLO).
WOMEN
60 METERS: 1. Devers (USA) 6.98 (world leader); 2. Ottey (JAM) 7.01; 3.
Fynes (BAH) 7.04; 4. Mensah (CAN) 7.06; 5. Pendareva (BUL) 7.13; 6.
Citte (FRA) 7.20.
50-meter intermediate times: 1. Devers 6.02; 2. Ottey 6.06; 3. Fynes
6.07; 4. Mensah 6.07; 5. Pendareva 6.14; 6. Citte 6.19.
Heat 1: 1. Ottey (JAM) 7.04; 2. Fynes (BAH) 7.12; 3. Citte (FRA)
7.19; 4. Pendareva (BUL) 7.20. Heat 2: 1. Devers (USA) 7.00 (world
leader); 2. Menash (CAN) 7.13; 3. Sidibe (FRA) 7.27; 4. McDonald (JAM)
7.28; 5. Bangue (FRA) 7.35.
50-meter intermediate times: Heat 1: 1. Ottey 6.08; 2. Fynes 6.12; 3.
Citte 6.18; 4. Pendareva 6.19. Heat 2: 1. Devers 6.03; 2. Mensah 6.14; 3.
McDoanld 6.26; 4. Bangue 6.27; 5. Sidibe 6.32.
200 METERS: Race 1 (B-race): 1. Privalova (RUS) 23.09; 2. Dia (FRA)
23.18; 3. Ficher (FRA) 23.28; 4. Ogunkoya (NGR) 23.38. Race 2 (A-race):
1. Goncharenko (RUS) 22.73 (world leader); 2. Tirlea (ROM) 22.76; 3. Hurtis
(FRA) 22.84.
800 METERS: 1. Mutola (MOZ) 1:57.06 (world leader)(2nd-fastest time ever);
2. Graf (AUT) 1:59.27; 3. Dukhnova (BLR) 2:00.37; 4. Djate (FRA) 2:02.68;
5. Valdonado (FRA) 2:02.76; 6. Vriesde (SUR) 2:04.59; 7. Stals (BEL)
2:09.47. Pace: Buzhenko (UKR)
Mutola: 27.6 (hand) - 56.9 - 1:27.1 (both photocell)
3000 METERS: 1. Szabo (ROM) 8:34.09 (2nd fastest of all-time)(world
leader); 2. Szekely (ROM) 8:48.64; 3. Kaznovskaya (UKR) 8:50.78; 4.
Belkacem (FRA) 8:51.23; 5. Marusova (RUS) 9:08.74; 6. Dahmani (FRA)
9:12.44; 7. Duquenoy (FRA) 9:25.64. Pace: Nepluyeva (UKR), Gogirlea
(ROM), Belovol (UKR).
Szabo lap times (unofficial): 33.3 - 1:06.8 - 1:41.8 - 2:15.8 - 2:50.0 -
3:24.5 - 3:58.9 - 4:33.9 - 5:08.4 - 5:43.20 (photo) - 6:18.0 - 6:53.2 - 7:28.0 -
8:02.7 - 8:34.10
2000-meter intermediate times (from photo): 1. Szabo 5:43.20; 2.
Szekely 5:43.97; 3. Kaznovskaya 5:52.13; 4. Belkacem 5:51.43; 5. Marusova
6:00.31; 6. Dahmani 6:03.08; 7. Duquenoy 6:10.89.
60 HURDLES: 1. Shishigina (KZK) 7.82 (Asian record); 2. Bukovec (SLO)
7.84; 3. Anderson (CAN) 7.94; 4. Rose (JAM) 7.99; 5. Golding (JAM) 8.01;
6. Ferga (FRA) 8.02.
50-meter intermediate times: 1. Shishigina 6.74 (Asian record); 2.
Bukovec 6.75; 3. Anderson 6.82; 4. Rose 6.86; 5. Golding 6.87; 6. Ferga
6.89.
Heat 1: 1. Anderson (CAN) 7.90; 2. Bukovec (SLO) 7.90; 3. Rose
(JAM) 7.97; 4. Golding (JAM) 8.02; 5. Ramalalanirina (FRA) 8.13. Heat 2:
1. Shishigina (KZK) 7.93; 2. Ferga (FRA) 8.03; 3. Girard (FRA) 8.05; 4.
Dimitrova (BUL) 8.17.
50-meter intermediate times: Heat 1: 1. Anderson 6.78; 2. Bukovec
6.79; 3. Rose 6.84; 4. Golding 6.88; 5. Ramalalanirina 6.98. Heat 2: 1.
Shishigina 6.83; 2. Girard 6.90; 3. Ferga 6.92; 4. Dimitrova 7.03.
HIGH JUMP: 1. Dinescu (ROM) 1.95; 2. Lyakhova (RUS) 1.95; 3. Kalcheva
(BUL) 1.92; 4. Lapina (RUS) 1.92; 5. Acuff (USA) 1.89; 6. Mikhalchenko
(UKR) 1.89; 7. Yelesina (RUS) 1.85; 8. Bolshova (MOL) and Gulyayeva
(RUS) 1.85; 10. Jancewicz (POL) 1.80. No height: Fyodorova (RUS), twice
at 1.80 and once at 1.85.
POLE VAULT: 1. Szabo (HUN) 4.45 [4.20/2 - 4.30 - 4.40/2 - 4.45 -
4.56/xxx]; 2. Flosadottir (ISL) 4.40; 3. Gerryts (RSA) 4.30 (African record);
4. M Poissonnier (FRA) 4.20; 5. Homo (FRA) 4.20; 6. Feofanova (RUS)
4.10; 7. Belyakova (RUS) 4.10; 8. Whitlock (GBR) 3.95; 9. Abramova
(RUS) 3.95; 10. Pignot (FRA) 3.95. No height: Boslak (FRA) at 3.80.
TRIPLE JUMP: 1. Hansen (GBR) 14.81 (world leader) [x - x - x - 13.89 - x -
14.81]; 2. Kaskarkova (CZE) 14.77 [14.77 (world leader) - 14.70 - x - x -
14.54 - x]; 3. Prandzheva (BUL) 14.56; 4. Govorova (UKR) 14.14; 5. Lise
(FRA) 13.19.
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