Nils
Schumann returns home with his first win since Sydney
Ed Gordon for the IAAF
26
August 2001 - Leverkusen, Germany - Until today, Nils Schumann had not gone to
the starting line in his native Germany for almost 13 months. After capturing
the 2000 German Championships in late July of last year, a win which gained him
an Olympic team spot, his only victory during that period of more than a year
was the Big One.
For various reasons, mostly ascribed to nagging injuries, Schumann quickly became one of the most invisible Olympic champions to come out of the Sydney Games.
Even last Friday’s race in Brussels was a struggle for 500 metres before Schumann decided to abort the effort, citing overall weakness and “a lack of fire in the oven”. Even two days later, he couldn’t recall many of the details of last Friday night, describing it as a “mental blackout”.
Finally today, after a whirlwind schedule reportedly taking him from Brussels to Berlin on Saturday for the opening of the annual electronics exhibition, he flew back to Leverkusen for his “German homecoming”.
It wasn’t the most knockout win of Schumann’s career, but his 1:44.63--the fourth-fastest of his career—gave the 5000 sun-drenched spectators in the packed Manforter Stadion exactly what they had wanted. And it put a smile back on Schumann’s face after a long, frustrating ordeal.
With Edmonton bronze medallist Pawel Czapiewski in the race, Schumann thought better of lagging too far behind. Instead, he employed more conservative tactics by staying squarely near the front of the pack. At the 200, he was third, the same position he held when the bell sounded at 51.5.
Coming down the backstretch for the final time, the German followed Kenyan Benjamin Kipkurui before applying a final sprint with 70 metres remaining to capture the win. Kipkurui finished second in 1:44.80, as Joseph Mutua held off Czapiewski, 1:45.05 to 1:45.06.
“It’s nice to finally have a victory,” said a relieved Schumann. “It was a perfect race for me. The pacemaker [Mark Eplinius 50.96] did a great job of setting everything up.”
Schumann admitted that the past year of his life had been quite unsettling, with his change of club and trainer. Now that he is back with Dieter Hermann, the one responsible for nurturing him to the Olympic gold, much of his insecurity seemingly has vanished.
The ISTAF meeting in Berlin on Friday, plus the Rieti competition on Sunday, will close out his season.
Even though Schumann was the main attraction here, there were other noteworthy performances.
Newly crowned high jump world champion Martin Buss rebounded from his nightmarish performance a week ago in Eberstadt to win his speciality with 2.30. He, too, will be in Berlin on Friday, but only in his backup event, the long jump, as there is no men’s high jump on the programme there.
Ana Guevara ran a strong final straight in the women’s 400 to win in 50.35, easily defeating Mireille Nguimgo with 51.43.
Long jumper Schahriar Bigdeli posted the best performance by a German this season with a personal-best 8.15 to defeat, among others, Poland’s Grzegorz Marciniszyn (8.01), Frank Busemann (7.95 into a 2.9 headwind!), and Sydney fifth-placer Kofi Amoah Prah (7.93).
The Bayer Leverkusen club has a virtual monopoly on the top German pole vaulters, so it was not surprising to see that event beginning (and ending) the day. Danny Ecker won the hot, sweaty survival contest with a 5.72 jump, before ending the day with two unsuccessful jumps at 5.82 and a single at 5.92. Tim Lobinger also jumped 5.72 but lost out on the countback.
Edmonton bronze medallist Letitia Vriesde was the 800m winner in 1:59.74 over Zulia Calatayud’s 2:00.79.
Mercy Nku held off Grit Breuer’s late surge in the women’s 200 to win, 22.71 to 22.79.
And Olga Komyagina found a way to put aside the hot (34C) windless conditions early in the afternoon to win the women’s 1500 in 4:03.98.
Results
(All Ger Unless Noted)
Men
100 Metres: Race 1 (Called “B”)(-1.1): 1. Gilpin (Jam) 10.46 . . . 4.
Niemi (Can) 10.67 . . .
Race 2 (Called “A”)(-0.9): 1. Douglas (Ned) 10.30; 2. Patton (Usa) 10.36; 3. Aliu (Ngr) 10.44; 4. Kochan 10.50; 5. Kosenkow 10.57; 6. Loum (Sen) 11.34.
200 Metres (1.0): 1. Loum (Sen) 20.67; 2. Niemi (Can) 20.78; 3. Pinnock 20.86; 4. Otto 20.96 . . .
800 Metres: Race 1 (Called “B”): 1. I. Abdo (Qat) 1:47.33; 2. A. Abdo (Qat) 1:47.81 . . .
Race 2 (Called “A”): 1. Schumann 1:44.63; 2. B Kipkurui (Ken) 1:44.80; 3. Mutua (Ken) 1:45.05; 4. Czapiewski (Pol) 1:45.06; 5. Mueller 1:45.14; 6. H Rotich (Ken) 1:45.25; 7. Mcmullen (Usa) 1:46.03; 8. Haschke 1:46.63; 9. Herms 1:46.81. Pace: Eplinius 50.96
1500 Metres: 1. Songok (Ken) 3:35.55; 2. Mwangi (Ken) 3:35.95; 3. Abdallah (Mar) 3:37.66; 4. Berryhill (Usa) 3:37.98; 5. Philipp (Sui) 3:38.35; 6. P Koech (Ken) 3:38.87; 7. I Aden (Som) 3:39.20; 8. Noor (Qat) 3:42.74; 9. Assmus 3:46.02 . . . Did Not Finish: Bosch (Fra), Chouki (Fra), Whiteman (Gbr).
110 Hurdles: Heat 1 (0.0): 1. Crews 13.85; 2. Videnov (Bul) 13.92; 3. Knight (Usa) 14.19. Heat 2 (0.2): 1. Wallace (Usa) 13.47; 2. Fenner 13.83; 3. Edorh 13.88 . . . Heat 3 (-1.1): 1. Lichtenhagen 13.47; 2. Schwarthoff 13.81; 3. Schindzielorz 13.83; 4. Korving (Ned) 13.88 . . .
Final (-0.2): 1. Wallace (Usa) 13.39; 2. Videnov (Bul) 13.64; 3. Schwarthoff 13.75; 4. Knight (Usa) 13.76; 5. Edorh 13.89; 6. Crews 13.90.
High Jump: 1. Buss 2.30; 2. Kreissig 2.21; 3. Fricke 2.18; 4. Talotti (Ita) 2.15; 5. Challenger (Gbr) And Ciotti (Ita) 2.15 . . .
Pole Vault: 1. Ecker 5.72; 2. Lobinger 5.72; 3. Blom (Ned) 5.62; 4. Boergeling 5.62; 5. Mack (Usa) 5.52; 6. Tivonchik And Huebner 5.42; 8. Gross 5.42; 9. R Spiegelburg 5.32. No Height: Stolle (At 5.52), Kolasa (Pol) 5.42, And Kuehnert (At 5.22).
Long Jump: 1. Bigdeli 8.15 (0.5); 2. Marciniszyn (Pol) 8.01 (-0.3); 3. F Busemann 7.95 (-2.9); 4. Prah 7.93 (-0.5); 5. Patton (Usa) 7.87 (-2.3); 6. Krause 7.84 (-0.3); 7. Awere (Gha) 7.67 (0.1) . . .
Women
100 Metres: Race 1 (Called
“B”)(-0.3): 1. Moeller 12.06 . . .
Race 2 (Called “A”)(0.9): 1. Nku (Ngr) 11.16; 2. Paschke 11.23; 3. Wagner
11.43; 4. Habel 11.51; 5. Hurtis (Fra) 11.51; 6. Feller 11.73.
200 Metres (0.5): 1. Nku (Ngr) 22.71; 2. Breuer 22.79; 3. G Rockmeier 23.15; 4. B Rockmeier 23.54; 5. Feller 23.59.
400 Metres: 1. Guevara (Mex) 50.35; 2. Nguimgo (Cmr) 51.43; 3. Pernia (Cub) 51.61; 4. Afolabi (Ngr) 51.98; 5. Marx 52.57; 6. Prokopek (Pol) 52.75.
800 Metres: 1. Vriesde (Sur) 1:59.74; 2. Calatayud (Cub) 2:00.79; 3. Hyman (Jam) 2:01.11; 4. Fiut (Pol) 2:03.40; 5. Baala (Fra) 2:04.86; 6. Ionescu (Rom) 2:05.87; 7. De Haan 2:05.93; 8. Struckmeyer 2:06.33.
1500 Metres: 1. Komyagina (Rus) 4:03.98; 2. Vasilyeva (Rus) 4:06.24; 3. Malot (Ken) 4:12.23; 4. Schulz 4:12.42; 5. Jamroz (Pol) 4:14.12; 6. Di Santo (Ita) 4:16.59; 7. Weyermann (Sui) 4:18.05 . . .
Javelin: 1. Friedrich 59.94 . . .
4x200 Relay: 1. Lg Olympia Dortmund [B Rockmeier - Habel – G Rockmeier - Moeller] 1:33.83; 2. Nation
