Blanka Vlasic survives one more round of the Golden League (© Getty Images)
No victory can ever make up for coming up short in the Olympic Games. But for a trio of pre-Beijing favourites who bounced back with vengeance in Zürich, defeating those who snatched gold from their grasp in the Chinese capital, their follow-up performances were certainly cathartic. Or, as Lolo Jones said, even therapeutic.
“This race was good because I can refocus, focus on the rest of the year and the years to come,” said Jones, the world leader and heavy favourite in the 100m Hurdles in Beijing. Her gold medal ambitions came to an abrupt end when she clipped the ninth hurdle, knocking her out of contention. In Zürich, she returned to her winning ways with a 12.56 performance while Olympic champion Dawn Harper was well back in sixth, clocking 12.73.
“It was good therapy,” Jones said. “The key is learning from your mistakes and to keep trying. It is extremely hard to get rid of all those doubts and fears. And wonder if you can ever make it. But you have to push those aside and literally concentrate on the day. On today.”
Blanka Vlasic, whose 34-meeting win streak came to an end with her runner-up finish in Beijing one week ago, returned to her winning ways as well to remain in the $1 Million ÅF Golden League Jackpot chase.
“It was nice to see that I could win again,” the Croatian World champion said after her 2.01m victory. Emotionally drained and fighting a cold, Olympic champion Tia Hellebaut was never a factor, finishing seventh with a leap of just 1.90m.
“The result wasn’t important tonight,” Vlasic added. “Only the victory was. I’m glad I’m still in the running for the jackpot.”
In the 400m final in Beijing, two-time World champion Jeremy Wariner was a shadow of his former self. His bid to become only the second man to successfully defend an Olympic crown was quashed when he was handily defeated by LaShawn Merritt, crossing the line a distant second on the losing end of the greatest victory margin in Olympic history.
In Zürich he came back with an impressive 43.82 victory, his fastest of the year, and most importantly, well ahead of Merritt who finished second in 44.43.
“I ran a season’s best,” Wariner said, “and I’m hoping to improve on this race and end on a good note. I want to have the world lead by the end of the season and try to have the No. 1 world ranking. I have two races left to try and do that.”
All told, the trio couldn’t have produced a finer way to cure their Beijing blues. Yet in the back of their minds rang the words Merritt shared with reporters on Thursday: “Whatever happens tomorrow, I’m still going to be Olympic champion.”
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF