News08 Aug 2005


Helsinki 2005 – Highlights, Day 3

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Dorcus Inzikuru of Uganda wins inaugural women's 3000m steeplechase at the 2005 IAAF World Championships (© Getty Images)

Helsinki, FinlandExcellence is contagious. Kenenisa Bekele and Sileshi Sihine proved it again last night, winning gold and silver for Ethiopia in the men’s 10,000 metres.  But so did Ivan Tikhon and Vadim Devyatovsky, doing the same thing for Belarus in the men’s Hammer. Kajsa Bergqvist of Sweden came back from what could have been retirement after injury last year, to take High Jump gold, and even attempt a World record. But Emma Green, her unlikely named compatriot surprised herself and us by setting a personal best and taking bronze.

Lauryn Williams of the USA reinstated the traditional sprint order, and added the women’s 100m title to the men’s crown that colleague Justin Gatlin had won the night before. But the performance of the evening was a one-off, the first ever gold medal for a Ugandan, when Dorcus Inzikuru ran away with the first ever women’s 3000 metres Steeplechase in the World Championships. Altogether, it was an exhilarating evening in the 1952 Olympic Stadium, which raised the spirits after the torrential rain that had fallen for most of the day.

10,000m – a worthy successor

Bekele had already proved himself a worthy successor to his mentor, Haile Gebrselassie, but with a successful defence of his World Championships 10,000 metres title, Bekele is threatening to put together a run of success that could even put ‘Gebre’ in the shade.  Even when Bekele was running in the centre of the pack for the first two-thirds of last night’s race on a rain-soaked track, he looked in control, and simply using his unusual vantage point to size up the opposition.

As usual, it included several Kenyans, some of whom were running for Qatar. But when Bekele took control with nine laps of the 25 to go, it was simply a matter of who could stay closest. That proved, unsurprisingly to be his colleague, Sileshi Sihine, who also followed him home in the Olympic race last year.  But Kenyan, Moses Mosop, a relative newcomer won the sprint for third. Thus, the Ethiopians failed to measure up to their colleagues, who had taken all three medals in the women’s race last Saturday, but the medals put Ethiopia briefly at the head of the medals table. Bekele ran the second half of the race over 40 seconds faster than the first half, and won in 27:08.33. Sihine clocked 27.08.87, and Mosop 27.08.96.

So Bekele adds another World title to the nine he already owns, including an unprecedented eight in cross country, something that Gebre never achieved once. That is what may ultimately prove to favour Bekele historically. Speaking of which, this is the first time in over a decade that Gebre was missing from a major championship line-up on the track, the rest of his career being dedicated to the marathon.

Start plays against Arron

Christine Arron of France was probably the emotional favourite for the women’s sprint, but after dominating the early rounds, the demons got to her start again, which was easily the worst of the line-up. She did well to win bronze, in 10.98, but was not close enough to challenge Williams, the Olympic silver medallist from graduating to gold, in 10.93, with Veronica Campbell of Jamaica, the Olympic 200 metres champ taking silver with 10.95.

Dominating performance in the Steeplechase

New event, new champion, and Uganda’s first championships gold medallist; but Dorcus Inzikuru looks as if she is going to be around for a long time in the women’s 3000m Steeplechase. The 23-year-old who has dominated the event all year, clocking 9.15.04 in the Athens Olympic Stadium in mid-June did the same thing, albeit not quite so quickly in the 1952 Olympic Stadium.

Inzikuru took control right from the start. Wioletta Janowska of Poland, second on the world lists tried to go with her, but quickly dropped away. That left former flat runner, Yelena Zadorozhnaya as her sole rival. But the Russian’s less-than-perfect water-jump techinique left her struggling as much as Inzikuru’s relentless pace, and the Ugandan had the last couple of laps to herself as she replaced Davis Kamoga, silver in Athens’97 400 metres, as the most successful of her nation’s athletes.

Bergqvist’s recovery is complete

The ankle injury which spoiled most of Bergqvist’s Olympic year also threatened her career, but it wasn’t evident last night. She was always in control, and even a failure at 2.00 metres failed to dent her rise. She won with 2.02 metres, and drew personal bests out of both Chaunte Howard of the USA, 2.00 metres for silver, and Green, 1.98 metres for bronze.  Bergqvist had three attempts at a world record height of 2.10 metres, which could have earned her $100,000.  But she had to settle for gold and $60,000.

Tikhon confirms Belarussia's supremacy

Tikhon has already come a tantalisingly centimetre away from the 29-year-old world record of to the great Yuri Sedykh. But the Belarussian added a second World title to his personal best of 86.73 metres. And he did it with a championship best of 83.89 metres. World No.2, his colleague, Devyatovskiy duly won silver with 82.60 metres, and former Olympic champion, Szymon Ziolkowski of Poland confounded the ranking lists by taking bronze with 79.35 metres. It all added up to the best night of the championships so far.

32,324 spectators despite the rain

Despite the day's heavy rain, today's fifth session of the 10th IAAF World Championships in Athletics enjoyed another excellent attendance, with 32,324 filling Helsinki's historic Olympic Stadium.

Pat Butcher for the IAAF

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Written coverage of the

10th IAAF World Championships in Athletics,
Helsinki, Finland (6 – 14 August)

on the IAAF Website:

‘Event by Event’ PREVIEWS and REPORTS
provided by the
Helsinki 2005 local organizing committee media team

FEATURES - Gold medal winners

As in Paris 2003, the IAAF's own team of writers will be producing a feature story/interview with every individual gold medallist crowned in Helsinki 2005. These stories will be published as soon as possible after each final in the main NEWS section

Daily Highlights - Preview and Wrap

A concise preview at the start and a wrap of the main highlights of the competition will also be a daily aspect of the IAAF website's coverage of the World Championships.

Dunaway's 'Helsinki Herald'

And our regular major championship columnist Jim Dunaway will again give his own unique view of some of the more bizarre or quirky aspects surrounding events at Helsinki 2005.

We hope you will enjoy our coverage.

Chris Turner
IAAF Editorial Manager
 

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