New name, new life, same result. Four years ago a 20-year-old Australian named Jana Pittman eclipsed the much-fancied world record-holder Yelina Pechonkina to become the youngest ever World or Olympic champion at 400m hurdles.
In the Nagai stadium tonight, the British-based wife and mother Jana Rawlinson regained her title, outrunning the same Russian favourite to claim back the gold Pechonkina had taken in her absence in 2005.
Helped by her husband and coach, Chris Rawlinson, the former British international, Rawlison’s form has has been slowly improving throughout the season, and did so again this evening as she ran a superbly controlled race from lane five to lead the defending champion to the line in 53.31, a season’s best.
Pechonkina has been improving too. But, despite also producing her race of the year, she was no match for Rawlinson. Pechonkina, in lane six, had to be satisfied with the silver in 53.50, while Poland’s Anna Jesien made the step up from fourth in Helsinki to third in 53.92, adding the bronze medal to the one she won at last year’s European championships.
For Rawlinson, who gave birth to her first child in December, the victory was extra special being her first as a mother. “Tonight’s victory is snesational,” she said. “It has been only eight months since the birth of my son and my husband-coach and I had a really rocky road to come here. We worked really hard and ultimately we made it.
“There is some truth to them saying that mummies come back strong. As a mummy you can do anything – there were three of us in the final today.”
When Rawlinson won the second of her Commonwealth Games titles in Melbourne last year her victory was watched by some 80,000 people and greeted with an Aussie roar that shook the Melbourne Cricket Ground like an Osaka earthquake.
Things were a little different tonight. As Rawlinson’s name was read out to the thin Nagai crowd she smiled and waved to the camera before adjusting her glasses. Pechonkina, her blond hair tied back in a pony-tail, looked tense by comparison.
They rose together at the first hurdle and were almost perfectly even through the second barrier before Rawlinson began to make her move. She started to make ground down the back straight and edged ahead of the Russian around the top bend as Tiffany Williams, the American who leads the world this year, started to fade.
The US champion, Williams had come the championships as favourite. She had started strongly in lane eight, but her challenge began to slide as the two protagonists entered the home straight.
Rawlinson pulled two strides ahead of Pechonkina at the ninth hurdle and held her lead to the tenth. Briefly, the Russian began to close, but Rawlinson had enough strength in reserve to see her to the line.
Behind them, Jesien, who broke the Polish record in her semi-final, was making a late charge, coming from fifth with 100m to go to overtake Jamaica’s Nickiesha Wilson and Xiaoxiao Huang of China, who finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Rawlinson knew the crown was hers a step from the line, and threw her arms wide in triumph. She is the first woman to win two 400m hurdles golds since Morocco’s Nezha Bidouane in 1997 and 2001 and joins Cathy Freeman as the only Australians ever to win two World titles.
As for Pechonkina, she is already set on revenge. “I hope to compete for many years,” she said. “The revenge could come at the Olympics.”
Osaka 2007 News Team/mkb
