Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain and Yelena Soboleva of Russia in action in the 1500m Final (© Getty Images)
MonteCarloIn the penultimate episode of their review of the 2007 Athletics year, statisticians A. Lennart Julin and Mirko Jalava reach the topic of the MIDDLE DISTANCE running events.
MEN - Middle Distances
800m
A very unmemorable year in 2007 - no outstanding runners and no outstanding marks! A typical illustration from the 800m: In 2007 there were 18 performances sub-1:44.50 – in 2006 there were 18 performers below that barrier altogether 45 times! Another illustration: 1:43.74 is the slowest world leading mark in a quarter of century.
It seemed that the 800m very much lacked a runner with the ability and the confidence to take charge of the event and forcing the others to raise their game. A commanding runner like André Bucher around 2000 not to mention the great Wilson Kipketer before him. Now no one seemed to dare anything and the places in the major races were as erratic as if been decided by a lottery draw.
The Osaka final where the half-lap between 200m and 400m was covered in a pedestrian 29.48 was very much symptomatic for this year. No one had the confidence and preparedness to do anything but wait for the final sprint in the home straight resulting in all eight runners finishing within just 49 hundredths.
But 2007 might still retroactively become a memorable 800m year as the year of emergence of two would-be superstars in teenagers David Rudisha (Kenya) and Abubaker Kaki (Sudan).
Rudisha, the 2006 World Junior Champion, did not compete in the Kenyan Trials for Osaka but was very impressive from July onwards in Europe winning all his races (Malmö, Lausanne, Zurich and Brussels) in the process defeating among others No 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 from Osaka and No 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12 and 13 on the world list. And he did this in a very impressive fashion somewhat reminiscent of the majestic 1980's great Billy Konchellah (twice World Champion).
Except for the Doha meet in early May (where he actually finished a step ahead of Rudisha) Kaki never competed on the Grand Prix circuit and he was eliminated in the first round in Osaka. But solorunning to 1:43.90 in late November missing the World Junior record by a mere 0.26 seconds indicates exciting potential.
800m - 2007 World List
1500m
The 2007 pattern in the 1500m is almost identical to that in the 800m. The yearly best mark (3:30.54) was the slowest in a very long time (here since 1991), the number of sub-3:32 times just about half of just two years ago, etc.
And the reason for this statistically very-much-below-average year seems to be the same: No outstanding runner with sufficient confidence to really push matters in the major encounters. This is aptly illustrated by the fact that the Golden League races all saw very different top-3's:
Oslo (1 mile): Kaouch, Choge, Baddeley
Saint-Denis: Webb, Baala, Boukensa
Rome: Boukensa, Korir, Kipchirchir
Zurich: Baala, Boukensa, Komen
Brussels: Komen, Moustaoui, Higuero
Berlin: Komen, Lagat, Korir
Thus: Five different winners in six races, and no less than twelve different runners shared the eighteen podium positions! No wonder no runner dared anything in the World Championships heats and semis (only one of the five races produced a sub-3:40 winning mark) and although the final was a few seconds faster it was still a very close affair all the way with the top-8 finishing within just 92 hundredths.
Identifying an undisputed World No 1 in the event is more or less impossible looking at the three major contenders.
* US Alan Webb is the leader statistically at both 1500m and 1 mile but lost that form for the second half of the season and never was a factor in Osaka, Zurich or the World Athletic Final.
* Countryman Bernard Lagat very convincingly took the World title in the finishing sprint but lost all but one of his other seven competitions and statistically he is No 18 with his 3:33.85.
* Kenyan Daniel K Komen dominated post-Osaka and won half of his ten meets but at the World Championships he once more got into trouble in a slow early round race and ended up missing the final completely.
Thus men's 1500m running in 2007 very much remained looking for a runner capable of breaking the paralysis caused by Hicham El Guerrouj leaving the scene after a decade of complete domination, almost monopolization. No apparent successor was to be spotted this year although Kenyan 18-years old Asbel Kiprop at least acted with supreme confidence in Osaka before ending up 4th in the final.
1500m - 2007 World List
WOMEN - Middle Distances
The middle distance events had easily spotted number one athletes. In the 800m 24-year-old Kenyan Janeth Jepkosgei, who got to a slow start before marking her first win at the World Championships Trials in late July, bounced from a successful 2006 season to set another pair of national records and win the World Championships in style. Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BRN), who had established herself as the number one 1500m last season, lived up to the expectations and finished her season having won six straight races including the World Championships after two early season losses in July.
800m
Janeth Jepkosgei start of the 2007 season was not brilliant, but she timed her form to perfection. Having set a high class 1:56.66 national record in 2006 and having big wins from the Commonwealth Games and African Championships (in both she defeated Maria Mutola), the Kenyan’s start in 2007 was slow. But she did win the Kenyan Trials comfortably starting a very impressive second half of the season.
Jepkosgei set a national record 1:56.17 with her semifinal victory and then took the World title in her first major championships clocking another NR 1:56.04. She then went on to win five more competitions including Weltklasse in Zürich and the World Athletics Final. Jepkosgei is another former World Junior Champion (2002) to also score a major win as a senior.
Spain-based Moroccan, Hasna Benhassi, mainly competed in smaller international meets in Spain, but the 29-year-old was still very impressive in Osaka. The 2005 World Championships silver medalist was able to repeat her Helsinki 2nd place finish in Osaka. Benhassi only had run 1:59.31 before Osaka and a bit like Jepkosgei, she found her rhythm at the right time first clocking 1:56.84 season’s best in the same semifinal with the Kenyan and then 1:56.99 in the final. Thus continues her second place finishing habit, as she also took the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics.
35-year-old Maria Mutola still fought hard for another medal, but fell to the ground during the final stages of the Osaka final. Mutola, the 2000 Olympic champion who has won three outdoor World Championships, was the third fastest in the world during the season finishing third in 1:56.98 in the fast semifinal in Osaka with Jepkosgei and Benhassi. Mutola was the only runner to beat Jepskosgei head to head competition with her 2-1 record against the World champion.
Russia is the strongest country overall in this event with 24 athletes on the world top 100 list. USA has 13 and Great Britain 11 in third place.
800m - 2007 World List
1500m
In the 1500m Maryam Yusuf Jamal had another high standard season only losing two times. The former Ethiopian has been representing Bahrain as an elite middle distance runner since 2005 when she lowered her personal best from 4:07.78 (2004) down to 3:56.79. She was not ready for a big win in Helsinki at the first major champs: she was handed her only loss of the season in the World Championships final where she could only finish in fifth place.
2006 was different, she struggled big time in the early part of the season, but was able to find a good late season form setting national record 3:56.18 and winning the World Athletics Final, World Cup and Asian Games as well. Because of these earlier accomplishments there were high hopes for the 2007 season were high and this time she stood up for those expectations. Her season was much more balanced than the 2006 one and she won eight out of 10 finals over 1500m/Mile and did not lose a race since July 6th. In the Osaka final she impressively held Yelena Soboleva (RUS) behind and took the gold with a season’s best time of 3:58.75 and then went on to win the World Athletics Final as well.
Soboleva was the fastest 1500m runner of the year with a 3:57.30 intermediate time over the Mile in Moscow in June and the only one could really challenge Jamal, and went 2-3 during the season against the Bahrain athlete.
21-year-old Ethiopian Gelete Burka might be one to challenge the top two next season. She only raced in three 1500m finals in 2007 and opted for 5000m in Osaka. But her 4:00.48 in Eugene and 4:00.68 in Paris are fast enough to suggest she has a lot more potential in reserve.
Surprisingly USA has the most depth in this event with 18 on the world top 100 list despite the fact that their best athlete is only in 25th place. Russia has 14 and Great Britain 9.
1500m - 2007 World List
IAAF