Jackson
says ‘goodbye’ but Makarov and Toth headline in Helsinki
IAAF
13 August 2002
– Helsinki, Finland – An 89m javelin throw and three men over 21m in the
shot were the premier marks of the Asics Grand Prix (IAAF GPII), in which Colin
Jackson said ‘goodbye’ to Helsinki's 1952 Olympic stadium for the last time.
The men’s shot put lived up to the pre-meet billing. In one of the strongest line-ups ever assembled outside a major championship three men put over 21 metres, with USA’s Kevin Toth’s 21.15 and Adam Nelson 21.03, being joined by Denmark’s European silver medallist Joachim Olsen over - well in fact exactly on - 21 metres in third.
Unfortunately, the competition was greatly disrupted because a results computer failure meant that midway through there was a long delay, and we can only guess what fireworks might have occurred had the throwers not been distracted.
Nelson’s first three attempts were pure magic as he peppered the 21 metres line, with 21.00, 21.03 and 21.02. His final three attempts were fouls, with Toth producing his winning 21.15 in the third round. Toth backed up his victory with two 20m marks. Only Olsen seemed immune from the long delay, with his 21.00 for third place being registered on his final throw.
European champion Yuriy Belonog of the Ukraine was fourth with 20.59 but Finland’s Olympic champion Arsi Harju was disappointing in 11th with 19.41.
Due to injury the men’s javelin was robbed of the leading local throwers but even without world silver medallist Aki Parviainen and fellow European finallists Harri Haatainen and Aki Pakarinen to cheer, the Finnish crowd still rose to Russia’s Sergey Makarov who threw a massive first round 89.98 metres for victory. His only other valid throw was 85.53 in the fourth round. Germany took second and third, Boris Henry, 84.11 and Bjorn Lange, 84.03.
The men’s 110m hurdles was one of the highlights of the track, with Britain’s newly crowned four time European champion Colin Jackson lining up against USA’s world champion Allen Johnson and Latvia’s Stanislavs Olijars, who had taken the silver behind the British world record holder in Munich.
With little to separate the three over the first eight flights of hurdles, Jackson then managed to establish a slight lead over Olijars and Johnson but only a customary low lunge to the line cemented the Briton’s win. Jackson 13.23, Olijars 13.29 and Johnson 13.33.
With the victory Jackson said his last farewell to a stadium in which he has competed regularly for the last 15 years and in which he won the second of his four continental titles in 1994. Jackson will retire after the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham next winter.
There was also a good quality men’s 400m hurdles which was led home by South Africa’s Olympic bronze medallist Llewellyn Herbert (48.83) in a close fight to the finish with USA’s Eric Thomas (49.19) and Russia’s Ruslan Mashtshenko (49.25).
Jamaica’s Sandie Richards looked to have the women’s 400m sown up as she entered the finishing straight but with world and Olympic 800m champion Maria Mutola in the race, even competing under her specialist distance, nothing could be counted until the finish line was crossed.
In the last 50 metres Mozambique’s finest started eating up the ground between her and Richards, and with 5 metres to go Richards' period as the leader expired. Mutola’s winning time was 51.55 seconds to the Jamaican's 51.74.
The two 100m sprints went to the USA. In the women’s race Chryste Gaines took the win in 11.23 with a dominant run into a minus 1.1 metre per second wind, from the Jamaicans Juliet Campbell (11.36) and Beverly McDonald (11.39).
The men’s dash was a more open race with South Africa’s indoor 60m specialist Morne Nagel blasting out of the blocks to head the field until about the midway point. Then USA’s Darvis Patton powered through into a lead he was not to relinquish. The winning time was 10.20 (-1.3m/s wind). Nigeria’s Deji Aliu (10.26) was second and world indoor 200m champion Shawn Crawford, third with 10.31. Nagel finished 7th in 10.45.
On Sunday it was Janne Holmen’s turn to triumph for Finland at the European Championship marathon in Munich and today it was another second generation “Flying Finn” Samuli Vasala who also surprised, this time at 3000m.
The nephew of 1972 Olympic 1500m champion Pekka Vasala, who incidentally had Munich qualification times at both 1500m and 10,000m but was not sent to the European championships, triumphed in the men’s 3000m in a time of 7:46.96, a new personal best (previous pb 7:48.45).
Vasala’s sprint finish was determined and it overhauled Kenya’s Willy Kirui (3rd 7:47.15) just before the line, with the Kenyan also being passed by a fast finishing Craig Mottram of Australia who was second in 7:47.01.
At the same moment as the regenerated “Flying Finn” crossed the finish to ecstatic applause from the 16,000 spectators, Finland’s European bronze medallist in the women’s javelin, Mikaela Ingberg released her spear to 61.16m in the last round of the competition.
However, it was not enough to affect the overall result (she finished 4th) with the win taken by Russia’s Tatyana Shikolenko’s 64.17m. Germany’s Munich silver medallist Steffi Nerius was second (62.54m) and Finland’s Taina Kolkkala (61.67m), third.
Finland’s Heli Koivula who took an unexpected silver in the women’s triple jump in Munich, could not get close to her 14.83 (windy) best which took her to the medal podium in Germany. Koivula, third here, was nearly a metre down on that performance with 13.84. The event tonight was won by Munich 6th placer Magdalin Martinez of Italy with a series of six jumps over 14 metres, highlighted by a fourth round 14.37m. Jelena Olienkova (bronze in Munich) was second, 14.06m.
In the men’s long jump, USA’s Dwight Phillips leapt to a personal best of 8.27m in the second round and produced an 8.00m back up with his next. Nobody else passed even Phillips’ second best performance.
Russia’s newly crowned European champion Jaroslav Rybakov won the high jump with 2.29m from Finland Oskari Frosen’s 2.26m.
Agnes Samaria of Namibia produced a strong sustained finishing sprint to defeat the more fancied world championship bronze medallist Letitia Vriesde of Suriname, the Namibian ducking under 2 minutes with 1:55.69, to Vriesde’s season’s best of 2:00.42.
The women’s 3000m was won by Ethiopia’s Sentayehu Ejigu in a 8:52.88 (personal best), while the men’s 800m was taken in 1:45.29 by South Africa’s Mbuireni Mulaudzi.
