Triple World record possibilities – TDK Golden League, Brussels, PREVIEW
Posted Friday, 26 August, 2005
Brussels, Belgium – A capacity crowd of 47,000 in the Stade Roi Baudouin rejoiced last year to a women’s World record in the Pole Vault, which topped out of night of two historic World marks. The perpetrator, the most frequent supplier of such acts of athletics brilliance around the circuit in the last two years, Yelena Isinbayeva, returns to the stadium with record ambitions once more. But weather permitting, the Memorial Van Damme – TDK Golden League – meeting can look forward to two other genuine World record assaults on Friday night (26 Aug) too.
It is Lebedeva’s prize for the taking!
The Memorial Van Damme, the fifth meeting in the TDK Golden League 2005, also has another focus. The Jackpot of One Million Dollars remains a motivation now for just one athlete this season. Russia’s Tatyana Lebedeva needs ‘only’ a victory in the women’s Triple Jump at this meeting, and then in Berlin on 4 September, to secure a full house of six wins. Then by simply competing at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Monaco (9 / 10 September), the 29-year-old will be eligible to receive a cheque for US $1,000,000, athletics largest single payday.
“My injury (Achilles) is getting better day by day and it is really only a very minor discomfort….I can’t think about the money yet,” confirmed Lebedeva today.
So can the World indoor record holder and former two-time World champion succeed, and become only the second athlete ever to claim the Jackpot without sharing the loot? Defeat in either Brussels or Berlin for the Russian would itself make the headlines, the Jackpot has never gone unclaimed.
Two World records last year
Returning to the World record theme, the two athletes with realistic World record ambitions besides Isinbayeva are Kenenisa Bekele in the men’s 10,000m and Saif Saaeed Shaheen in the men’s 3000m Steeplechase. Why realistic? Well, just like the high vaulting Russian, both men already hold the world’s best mark at their respective disciplines. Also they have recently shown a blaze of good form retaining their World titles in Helsinki a fortnight or more ago.
Barriers only obstacle to World record ambition
We have already dealt in depth with the record ambitions of Bekele in an earlier story – With the only new news add confirming that Kenenisa’s brother Tariku has been asked to take the 10,000m race through the midway point in 13:07 / 08.
Shaheen is also hungry to improve his own best time. Like Isinbayeva, the Qatari, set his current World record (7:53.63) in the Stade Roi Baudouin at last year’s meeting. Unable to compete at the Olympic Games due to his change of nationality from Kenya to Qatar, Shaheen let all his frustrations burst on to the track, as he demolished the previous mark of Brahim Boulami (7:55.28) which itself had been established in Brussels in 2001.
The World champion comes to the Belgian capital off an impressive 8:02.69 victory last Friday in the rain in Zürich. It was particularly notable as Shaheen inexplicably fell coming off the last water jump, and yet still managed to come so close to 8 minutes. Tomorrow, a pace of 2:36 for 1km and 5:16/17 for 2km has been asked for, and the rabbit will be Shaheen’s training partner Jamal Bilal Salem.
As well as the barriers, Shaheen will have to contend with the close attentions of Kenya’s Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi, and Brimin Kipruto, who are respectively the World silver and bronze medallists, and the joint European record-holders Bob Tahri (FRA) and Simon Vroemen (NED).
5.02m?
It has been a fast and furious year for women’s Pole Vault. More accurately that should read ‘it has been a fast and furious year for Isinbayeva’. When the 23-year-old Russian left Brussels on 3 September 2004, she was singing and dancing in celebration after setting a World record of 4.92m. 12 months on, and she is still the World record holder but her best mark is now 5.01m!
That performance was set in Helsinki, on a runway which is not best suited for quality pole vaulting due to swirling winds which whatever the weather are ever present in the stadium, as her mentor Sergey Bubka, the holder of the men’s record and inaugural World champion in Helsinki 1983, is the first to acknowledge. So if Isinbayeva is in the form to handle Helsinki’s conditions enough to jump 5.01, we can only presume another centimetre is not beyond her limit here either.
Nine new individual World champions
But before the ‘Village People’ sing and the fireworks ignite in the sky to signify the end of the 29th edition of the Memorial Van Damme meeting tomorrow, many other top names will have kept the capacity stadium crowd entertained.
As it drizzles with rain as I write this preview, it should be noted that the forecast for tomorrow’s meeting is much more promising. This surely is only due justice for the nine newly crowned World champions - Isinbayeva, Bekele, and Shaheen included - who are competing here, many of whom have had to battle through wind and rain in both Helsinki and Zurich, and must surely have earned a respite from the continent’s extremely unseasonal weather.
Gatlin - dominant
Of the six Helsinki champions whose names we have yet to mention, that of Justin Gatlin (USA) could be said to be the most prominent at the moment. The Olympic 100m and double World sprint champion is in the ascendant. With World record holder Asafa Powell (JAM) all but certain not to run again this summer, the 23-year-old Gatlin who is IAAF World Ranked number two at both sprints, is an absolutely dominant force. He will not be troubled by the field here, even though it includes a resurgent 2003 World champion Kim Collins (SKN), the Olympic silver medallist Francis Obikwelu (POR) and former World record holder Maurice Greene (USA).
Removing some of the mystery
If Gatlin is the most interesting of these six, then Rashid Ramzi, the 800m and 1500m gold medallist is certainly the most intriguing of the Helsinki champions. The Moroccan turned Bahraini, who seldom has run on the main one day meet circuit but yet a fortnight ago ran away with the first global 800m and 1500m double since Peter Snell’s Olympic wins in 1964, is ready to prove that he is more than just a championship animal.
Already qualified, as far as can be certain at this stage for the 1500m at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Monaco (9 / 10 September), Ramzi, the quickest 1500m runner of the summer (3:30.00), after tackling that distance here, will race 800m in Rieti (this Sunday 28 Aug) and in Berlin (4 Sept) in order to get sufficient Ranking points to also qualify for the two lap event for the Final.
Here in Brussels, the 25-year-old, who we tend to forget took the silver medal over 800m at the 2004 World Indoor Championships, will fight with four of the next five fastest 1500m runners of the season - Daniel Kipchircir Komen KEN (3:30.01), Mehdi Baala FRA (3:30.80), Alex Kipchirchir KEN (3:30.82), and Daham Najim Bashir QAT (3:31.04).
More to worry about than a name
Benjamin Limo of Kenya, who famously named his newly born son “Helsinki” after his victory in the Finnish capital, is another of the new World champions on show. His task just on a national basis will be hard given that the 2003 World gold medallist Eliud Kipchoge is one of his 16 challengers over 5000m.
Right conditions to spring another surprise
The final male gold medallist from Helsinki who we haven’t yet mentioned is Ukraine’s surprise High Jump package Yuriy Krymarenko. The 22-year-old who was the only man to clear 2.30m, let alone 2.32 the height at which he won gold, should be at home here in the cold. Today, Brussels has a temperature of just 15C degrees, and he won the World title in 17C. Forgetting the weather, with Olympic champion Stefan Holm flopping in both Helsinki and last week in Zürich, much of the competitive heat of the event has also been dispelled in recent weeks. This discipline which enthralled us last winter at height of 2.40m is now becoming more used to 2.30 as its top mark.
Pechonkina looks to have the fix on rivals
Trecia Smith (JAM) and Yuliya Pechonkina-Nosova (RUS) are the only female Helsinki World champions here other than Isinbayeva. Smith is up against Lebedeva in the women’s Triple Jump, and as the only other woman over 15m this summer seems to be the main threat, other than injury, to the Russian’s Jackpot hopes. Pechonkina on the other hand looks every inch secure at the top of her event, the 400m Hurdles. Lashinda Demus (USA), until her loss in Oslo a Jackpot contender herself, and Sandra Glover (USA), finished in silver and bronze respectively behind the World record holder in Helsinki and in Zurich, and on present form do not look capable to alter those positions.
800m - Five fastest women of the year
In the absence of Helsinki winner Zulia Calatyud of Cuba, the five fastest women ahead of her on the season’s world list should ensure the women’s 800m remains hot.
Olympic champion Meseret Defar heads the 5000m line-up, which though missing double World gold medallist Tirunesh Dibaba who beat her in Helsinki, does also include Tirunesh’s sister, Ejagayehu, the Olympic 10,000m silver medallist, who will offer a stern challenge. The older Dibaba finished in third behind her sister and Defar in Helsinki.
Local hope
Belgium’s Kim Gevaert’s presence in the women’s 200m will ensure that the home crowd has much to cheer for tomorrow evening. The World Championship 7th placer has Cydonie Mothersill of the Caymon Islands, who ended up in 8th in that final, as her main opponent. In the 100m dash, Olympic champion Yuliya Nesterenko (BLR) looks to have seriously mistimed her season’s peak and is running into excellent shape. However, the balance of opinion would still favour season’s fastest, Chandra Sturrup (BAH), and double World bronze medallist Christine Arron (FRA).
Always the bridesmaid
In the Long Jump, Russia’s three-time World Championship silver medallist, Tatyana Kotova, should on this occasion be the bride rather than bridesmaid, though another four of the Helsinki finalists will also be competing.
The men’s 400m is bereft of Wariner and Rock, the World Championship gold and silver medallists, leaving the next four best placed Helsinki finishers, headed by bronze medallist Tyler Christopher of Canada to battle it out.
With Ramzi contesting the 1500m, the two-laps should be dominated by Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy (RUS) and African titlist William Yiampoy (KEN), who finished in that order behind the Bahraini in Helsinki. The search for the season’s first sub 1:44 time continues!
Dourcouré injured
World champion Ladji Doucouré of France has had to pull out of the 110m Hurdles injured (no detailed info so far), which seems to leave the race open between Zurich winner Dominique Arnold and Linz victor Terrence Trammell. But don’t tell former four-time World champion Allen Johnson I just wrote that! This trio should make it fast – sorry we have to say it again – weather permitting!
That neatly leaves us with the men’s Javelin Throw, where the weather especially the wind can play a significant role. Finland’s Tero Pitkämäki who has won three of the four TDK Golden League meets this summer and is the 2005 world leader is the favourite ahead of Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen (NOR) and 2003 World gold medallist Sergey Makarov (RUS). The Finn is IAAF World Ranked number one, with the Russian and Norwegian following close behind.
Chris Turner for the IAAF
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