Anna Jesien beats Jana Rawlinson in Bydgoszcz (© PIOTR SUMARA)
With World record holder Yulia Pechonkina and reigning World champion Jana Pittman having recently announced they will not take part in the Beijing Olympic Games and defending Olympic champion Fani Halkia way down on the world season’s lists, the women’s 400m Hurdles is one of the most unpredictable events in the Beijing athletics programme.
Another major absentee will be the 2005 World silver medallist Lashinda Demus who was leading the world lists until last week but failed to survive the drastic US Trials where she finished an agonising fourth.
Despite Demus’ absence, the United States will be represented by the strong trio of Tiffany Ross-Williams, Sheena Tosta and Queen Harrison with all three athletes featuring in the top ten on the Beijing entries. Will Beijing see the first ever American gold medallist at 400m Hurdles? Indeed it will be only the seventh time that the event is contested at the Olympic Games and never has a representative of the US taken gold.
Americans will have all but an easy task in China as Jamaica and Russia will also field strong squads. The Caribbean island will be led by World leader Melaine Walker who out-sprinted Ross-Williams at the Super Grand Prix meeting in Monaco 53.48 to 53.54, a season’s best for Ross-Williams too.
Walker will definitely benefit from the psychological edge from her showing in the Principality especially since she was trailing behind the American champion at the last hurdle but had a much stronger finish. Tosta who was third in Monaco in the year’s third fastest time 53.58 will aim at improving on her fourth place finish at the Athens Olympic Games where she was competing under her maiden name Johnson.
Nickieshia Wilson and Shevon Stoddart complete the Jamaican team and both will contribute to the country’s desire to emulate country-woman Deon Hemmings, the 1996 Olympic champion.
The Russians too have a good record at the event courtesy of Irina Privalova, the 2000 Olympic champion and an iconic figure in Russian sprinting history. In Beijing, the country’s hopes will lie on Athens finalist Yekaterina Bikert and the relatively new names of Irina Obedina and 19-year-old Anastasia Ott.
With so much uncertainty at the event it could well be the right time for Anna Jesien, Osaka’s bronze medallist and the World Athletics Final winner last year, to finally strike gold. The Polish champion currently lies in fourth on the entry lists for Beijing at 54.30 and her major championships experience could well prevail over her American, Caribbean and Russian opponents.
With a season’s best 57.24 it is very unlikely that defending champion Halkia achieve the historical feat of defending her title especially as this year she will not be lifted by the home crowd’s roar like it was the case four years ago when she set an Olympic and national record 52.77.
Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF
