Mohammed Aman out-sprints Marcin Lewandowski and Abubaker Kaki in the 800m semi final (© Getty Images)
28 August 2011Daegu, Korea - Twenty-four runners. Eight advancing. Only two spots guaranteed from each of three races.
The 800 metres semi-finals are a recipe for cut-throat racing, shocks and surprises. Sometimes the best eight even get through to the final, but the last two will be biting their fingernails until advancement is confirmed.
On Sunday night, the man giving the fingernails close examination was none other than Abubaker Kaki, who finished third in the first semi-final after again leading at extravagant pace and had to wait until the round was completed to find he had advanced as one of the two fastest non-automatic qualifiers.
Gold medal favourite David Rudisha ran the fastest time of the three semis, with an up-and-down performance in the last semi-final.
The World record holder ran a so-relaxed 24.35 first 200, then dropped back to successive 27-second stints, at which stage it looked briefly as if Poland’s Adam Kszczot and Kleberson Davide of Brazil might threaten him.
But a 25.92 final 200 took Rudisha home in 1:44.20, with Kszczot hanging on best of the chasers to take the other automatic qualifying spot in 1:44.81. Davide was third in 1:45.06.
Kaki took the first semi out at a breakneck pace, or rather he would have had anyone else followed him. He reached 200 in 23.86, already some five metres up on a chasing pack in which Khadevis Robinson of USA and 2007 World champion Alfred Kirwa Yego of Kenya were prominent.
All remained good until the final straight, which Kaki entered still clear but visibly struggling to hold his speed. Ethiopia’s Mohammed Aman, with a personal best 1:44.57, and Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski, 1:44.60, grabbed him right on the line.
Aman is Ethiopia’s first World championships 800 finalist.
Kaki was third in 1:44.62, Yego fourth in 1:44.82. Now their fate rested in the hands, and feet, of others.
Their plight did not worsen with the second semi, won by Nick Symmonds of USA from Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia, both men running 1:45.73. Jackson Kivuva of Kenya was definitely out, finishing third with Kaki and Yego already faster.
So now it was all down to the final race with Rudisha, assuming he knew or cared, in a position to make life difficult for his toughest rival. His own time did not matter, but when Davide crossed the line in third place in 1:45.06, Kaki and Yego could finally relax.
It’s not exactly the way you would choose to make a final, but perhaps the pair can take inspiration from Berlin 2009 where Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and Yego finished third and fourth in their semi, advanced as fastest non-automatics, and then finished first and second in the final.
When you spend 30 minutes biting your nails, it’s good to know there’s a favourable precedent.
But the question still remains: can anyone beat David Rudisha?
Len Johnson for the IAAF
