News27 Apr 2008


10.07 for Atkins in season 100m opener

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Derrick Atkins (c) en route to his 9.95 Bahamian record in Athens (© Tsiklitiria organisers)

After introducing himself to the international athletics world in April of last year with a brilliant 9.98 run at Berkeley’s Edwards Stadium - at the time a world leading mark - Osaka 100m silver medallist Derrick Atkins of Bahamas made a return visit to the venerable site on Saturday (26) and posted a 10.07 to again win his specialty event at the Brutus Hamilton Memorial meeting. 

So unheralded was Atkins in his first Berkeley appearance that many in the crowd understandably confused him with Derrick Adkins, the 400m Hurdles gold medallist from the Atlanta Olympics.  But as the 2007 season unfolded, Atkins clearly carved out his own unique identity which culminated in his medal performance at the World Championships. 

His return to the 100m came eight months to the day after his Osaka race, and the 24-year-old showed limited satisfaction with his performance on this warm (27C) afternoon. 

“I didn’t run as fast as I wanted to,” he admitted at the end of the afternoon, which also included a 200m race.  “I mainly wanted to knock the rust off,” he said, referring to his long layoff.

Over the winter, Atkins also had to contend with a period of involuntary inactivity as the result of an appendectomy in December.  But the timing of the surgery still left him with plenty of recovery time before the start of the outdoor season. 

“I feel pretty strong right now,” he reported.  “And my technique is also strong for this time of the year.”

Atkins’ first sub-10 performance last year was not totally unexpected from a sprinter who, only one year earlier, had registered a PB 10.08.  However, it was the location of the performance which left longtime athletics’ observers amazed.  After all, Edwards Stadium was at the time celebrating its 75th anniversary, and all it had to show for a stadium record in the 100 was the 10.26 run by Ron Brown in a pre-Olympic competition in 1984.  Most fans had given up ever seeing a truly fast time on the historic oval . . . until Atkins came to town, that is.

Now, the Bahamian has the two fastest performances ever seen in a stadium which has witnessed almost eight decades of competitions.

“Last year, I expected to run a sub-10, but not until late in the season,” Atkins reflected.  “But when it happened in April, I was more happy than I was surprised.” 

At the end of the summer, Atkins found himself sandwiched between Tyson Gay and distant cousin Asafa Powell on the Osaka podium.  But the accolades those two have since received seem to outpace the notoriety Atkins has enjoyed.  “It doesn’t bother me.  I have my silver medal.  I feel like I have earned the respect of other sprinters,” he declares. 

Atkins ended his day in Berkeley with a second-place 20.44–a personal best–in the 200 metres, an event “I do not like”.  After watching Chris Berrian run a powerful curve and take a big lead, Atkins chewed up some of the American’s advantage but could not overhaul him at the end, as Berrian clocked a season-best 20.37.  (NOTE: Berrian's time was a new Edwards Stadium record, breaking Eric Brown's 20.44 from 1982, a record even older than the one Atkins had lowered last year!)

“I tolerate the 200 because to be a good 100 runner, I also have to be good in the 200,” he said, almost as if justifying the need to take bitter medicine. 

Atkins now will return to his base in Gainesville, Florida, where he trains under Mike Holloway.  His next competition will come in late May at the adidas Track Classic on May 18, followed by Golden League meetings in Berlin (June 1) and Oslo (June 6), plus the Golden Spike in Ostrava (June 12). 

The two-day Brutus Hamilton meeting mainly involved US universities, but there were isolated open competitors who saw action.

Two PBs for Fountain

One of them was Hyleas Fountain, who dipped under 13 seconds for the first time in the 100m Hurdles with a 12.98, bettering her PB 13.09 from three seasons ago.  The 27-year-old US heptathlon champion spent so much time celebrating her feat that she overlooked the fact she had also qualified for the finals in the women’s Shot Put. 

Reporting back to the throwing ring after the event had concluded, Fountain could only continue with her enthusiastic description of her hurdle race, as the officials were packing their kits and preparing to leave.  What she may not have noticed at the time was the fact that her leadoff 12.77 in the Shot Put was also a PB.  Two personal bests within the span of a half hour is certainly an appropriate way for a multievent athlete to honour the Olympic year.  (On Friday, she also had a creditable 6.44 in the Long Jump.)

For the second consecutive year, David Torrence won the mile race with a sub-four performance at 3:59.10.  A finalist at the 2004 World Junior Championships, the 22-year-old University of California runner had last year toppled a 50-year-old school record when his 3:58.62 surpassed the 3:58.7 of Don Bowden.  Bowden’s ancient mark was a notable one, as it represented America’s first sub-four performance. 

Torrence’s performance on Saturday was one most would not have predicted.  During the winter, he suffered a freak knee accident while at a disco and had to undergo knee surgery.  After only nine weeks of full training, the (Okinawa-born) Los Angeles native found himself back in top form this weekend. 

Ed Gordon for the IAAF

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