Previews15 Sep 2007


Berlin prepares to celebrate the athletics legend of ISTAF – IAAF Golden League PREVIEW

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World 1500m and 5000m champion - Bernard lagat of USA at today's ISTAF press conference (© Chris Turner)

Berlin, GermanyThere is a US$ 1 Million payout to fight for at the finale of the six meeting IAAF Golden League 2007 series which takes place at the DKB-ISTAF Berlin meeting in Berlin, Germany on Sunday (16).

Sanya Richards’ and Yelena Isinbayeva’s dash or, for the latter, vault for the cash is the hottest topic of the weekend but not wishing to repeat information, all the Jackpot possibilities and the thoughts of the current contenders can be found via the following links –

>>Isinbayeva and Richards have one more hurdle to clear

>>Golden League Jackpot Girls ready to share the Million Dollars

In Berlin, Richards is challenged by the entire Osaka World Championships medal podium trio, the Brits Christine Ohuruogu and Nicola Sanders and Jamaican Novlene Williams. World 400m Hurdles champion Jana Rawlinson is also in the starting line-up, another of the twelve Osaka individual champions competing at the meeting.

In contrast to Richards' task, one senses that Isinbayeva’s greatest opponent is perhaps herself, having admitted at today’s press conference that she was tired, and that in her near failure in Zürich had ‘lost concentration’. Any such lapse in Berlin would be keenly seized upon by her opponents especially compatriot and former World champion Svetlana Feofanova who lost on count-back to her at 4.80m yesterday.

70th anniversary celebrations

The Jackpot is the largest annual payout in our sport, but the mood of anticipation and excitement surrounding tomorrow’s meeting has many other contributing elements too.

The meeting which takes place in the historic and atmospheric 1936 Olympic stadium on Sunday should be one to savour. The state of the art venue which will host the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, is now one of the most impressive sporting structures in the world thanks to its multi-million dollar refurbishment. To the architecturally heavy, granite pillared colossus of its creation has been added a new lightness thanks to its bright blue track and seemingly weightless floating roof. The old has been fused with the modern in its reconstruction, and so it will be on the track tomorrow as many of the past stars of the meeting will attend the celebration of its 70th anniversary. Edwin Moses and Sergey Bubka for example will get to meet their current global successors such as Felix Sanchez and Brad Walker.

To mark 70 years, the organisers have attracted a 70,000 capacity crowd. In the arena where the legend of Jesse Owens was forged, such a huge gathering of mankind is sure to cement what meeting press chief Jürgen Scheunemann described today as the ‘wow factor’.

Vlasic pursues historic target

On the infield, aside from Isinbayeva herself such a ‘wow’ should be produced by Blanka Vlasic of Croatia, who herself has an outside possibility in sharing some Jackpot loot tomorrow - click here.

But for just one glitch to her season, her loss at the opening Golden League meeting of the season, Vlasic would now be making up a Jackpot triumvirate with Richards and Isinbayeva. That said an unbeaten string of 12 competitions (finals) since, including her 2.07 national record in Stockholm and her World title in Osaka, can leave the 23-year-old with few regrets. Will Vlasic be able to convert one of her latest World record tries tomorrow? If she could, it will be worth a million dollars just to see her sail over 2.10m and so break the 20-year-old global mark (2.09).

Lagat, Jepkosgei, Wariner

If the potential wow in the infield is Vlasic’s appearance on the High Jump fan tomorrow, then on the track, again aside from our other Jackpot contender Richards, it must be the prospect of seeing USA’s Bernard Lagat in the 1500m and Jeremy Wariner in the one lap, and Kenyan Janeth Jepkosgei in the women’s 800m.

Lagat came into last month’s Osaka World Championships as a world class name, with a heavy career bag containing several minor global medals and one World Indoor crown at 3000m, a career haul which would have contented most. The Lagat that departed Japan however was of a different stature. To be mentioned in the same breath as Paavo Nurmi and Hicham El Guerrouj marks the former Kenyan’s transfer into the realm of the middle distance immortals. Lagat is the only male runner to have doubled at 1500m and 5000m at the World Championships in Athletics, and in the longer history of the Olympics only the two aforementioned legends have successfully carried that mantle.

In the stadium in which Nurmi during his brief spell as national coach witnessed three of his Finnish pupils strike middle and long distance gold at the 1936 Olympics, Lagat at 1500m faces Osaka bronze medallist Shadrack Korir and last night’s winner in Brussels, Daniel Kipchirchir Komen.

Janeth Kepkosgei has had two competitions since her committed front running in Osaka brought an unopposed gold in the women’s 800m in 1:56.04, a world season’s lead. In Zürich on 7 September she demolished her opponents’ hopes in much the same way despite the fatigue and jetlag which everyone was experiencing just days after returning from Japan (1st 1:59.03), and in Rieti last Sunday (9) she came close to the national record she had established at the World championships with a 1:56.29 win. No one is predicting a different outcome in Berlin but of note Yelena Soboleva of Russia, who took another drubbing at the feet of Maryam Yusuf Jamal at 1500m last night, is entered for the 800m. The Russian World 1500m silver medallist is no slouch at the two laps with a PB of 1:57.28.

Wariner hasn’t raced at all since Osaka, and with rested legs we can only imagine what magic he might have in store for us given he clocked a 43.45 PB in Japan, which is the fifth fastest performance of all-time. Much of the start list from that Osaka final lines-up with him in Berlin but its unlikely they will provide anymore of a challenge than Kepkosgei will encounter in her race. Such a statement is not meant to demean his opponents merely just to recognise Wariner’s present pre-eminence. 

Click here for previous story - Wariner set for Return in Berlin

So what other entertainment can we expect on Sunday afternoon?

We have another round of the fascinating Michelle Perry vs Susanna Kallur sprint hurdles contest. It seems the Swede who missed out on a medal behind Perry’s successful World championship title defence in Japan now has the measure of her American opponent. The beauty of this series of races is that nothing is certain.

In the men’s 110m Hurdles, former four-time World champion Allen Johnson is on a surge again similar to his improvement at this time last year which gave him an upset victory at the World Cup over China’s Olympic champion Liu Xiang. Of the two men who were ahead of the American last night, Cuban Dayron Robles is not entered, and so it is Oslo and Rome Golden League winner Anwar Moore who is the slight favourite. Don’t discount Osaka third placer David Payne either.

The second, third and fourth place finishers from Osaka are running in the men’s 400m Hurdles. The Dominican Republic’s Olympic champion Felix Sanchez, the silver medallist, in Rieti a week ago lost out to Marek Plawgo of Poland, the third place finisher at the Worlds. James Carter who was just short of the podium in Japan will have a lot to prove given he was runner-up in Helsinki 2005.

Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya the second fastest woman of all-time at 5000m is the prodigious favourite for that distance in the absence of Meserat Defar, who was the World champion ahead of her in Osaka, and who last night demolished the world best for Two Miles. Watch out though for Defar’s Ethiopian compatriot Meselech Melkamu whose sixth place in the Worlds was a relative disappointment. The prodigiously talented 22-year-old is the second fastest runner of all-time (behind Defar) at the indoor 3000m.

Friendly battle will be rejoined in the men’s Javelin Throw, as World champion Tero Pitkämäki of Finland takes on Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen, the Olympic and European gold medallist who lost out to the Finn in the last round in Brussels last night. In the Triple Jump, Portugal’s Nelson Evora, the Osaka winner, will attempt to put a halt to his post champs decline. Second in Zürich and third last night, the 23-year-old who leapt a huge 17.74m to take the World title perhaps just needs more time to recover from the elation of victory and fatigue after so much travel. His predecessor as World champion Walter Davis has been his nemesis on both occasions and lines up once more here.

The 100m and 200 flat sprints are lacking many of their main players - Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell, Veronica Campbell and Allyson Felix - but 2005 World 100m champion Lauryn Williams, who lost seemingly by little more than a hair to Campbell in the Osaka 100m, goes in the 200m. Zürich winner Christine Arron, World bronze medallist Carmelita Jeter, and anther former World sprint champion line up in the women’s 100m. There are few standouts in the men’s sprints too, Olympic silver medallist and double European champion Francis Obikwelu is in the dash, as 200m ace Wallace Spearmon, the World bronze medallist, steps down an event tomorrow. Rodney Martin, one place behind Spearmon in Osaka, lines-up for the 200 itself.

Spotakova and Walker against local favourites

In the pre-meeting programme we have two events designed for the local audience. In the women’s Javelin Throw and the men’s Pole Vault, Germany can show-off three of her seven Osaka medallists, respectively Christina Obergföll (Silver JT), Steffi Nerius (Bronze JT) and Danny Ecker (bronze PV). These are no demonstration events though, as with 2007 World champions Barbora Spotakova (CZE) and Brad Walker (USA) in each field no home triumph will come easy.

Chris Turner for the IAAF

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