Slowest 100m race at the Daegu World Championships: Sogelau Tuvalu

And the Award for the slowest male sprinter in Daegu goes to Sogelau Tuvalu. He's a 17 year old track and field athlete from American Samoa.

Now Tuvalu had hoped to participate in the shot put event but after failing to qualify he tried for the next best thing...the 100 metres. He made the Samoan team and next thing you know, he's in Daegu running in the heats.

Tuvalu clocked a whopping 15.66 seconds, the second slowest 100m race in World Championship History. He also had rather slow reaction time of .269 seconds which really meant he was never really in the runnings, but I gotta hand it to the guy for trying. Despite being at the back of the field he did not give up and ran all the way to the line. However I just cannot get over the HUGE margin between himself and the other sprinters.



Savannah Sanitoa

 What's really shocking to me is that Samoa has produced a female sprinter who's actually ran faster than Tuvali.

At the 2009 Berlin Championships Savannah Sanitoa clocked 14.23 secs in the first round of the women's 100m. Coincidentally Sanitoa was also a shotputter before she turned her attention to sprinting.

I won't knock Samoa for trying, you never know what could happen in a decade or so.

Daegu Wrap - Day 4: Kirani James, Yuliya Zaripova and David Rudisha

It was a day of surprises in Daegu. Tuesday evening's session delivered stunning upsets and shock performances.

The men's 400m final provided the biggest surprise of the day with defending champion Lashawn Merrit losing out to young Grenadian talent Kirani James. Merritt who entered the final with the fastest qualifying time, lead majority of the race and looked set for victory. However, in a brilliant display of determination James ran down Merrit and edged him at the line.

Daegu Wrap-Day 3: Dayron Robles, Amantle Montsho and Carmelita Jeter

Today was yet another eventful day at the World Championships. This time the drama came from the men's 110 hurdles. After a mouthwatering race that saw Olympic Champion Dayron Robles get the better of his competitors, the Cuban was eventually denied the gold

Robles finished in 13.14, just ahead of US hurdler Jason Richardson in 13.16 , followed by Liu Xiang 13.27 . However, in a controversial decision, meet officials disqualified Robles for interfering with Xiang. Several reports say Robles grabbed/pushed Xiang in the latter part of the race, causing the Chinese star to slow down. Watching the replay it's obvious that there was some form of contact, whether it was intentional though, is another matter entirely...You be the judge.

Daegu Wrap-Day Two: Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Ibrahim Jeilan and Brittney Reese

The biggest shock of the day was the obvious disqualification of the great man Usain Bolt. The world watched in sheer disbelief as the defending champion and record holder jumped the gun, pulled off his vest and walked from the track in clear frustration. The only explanation I can come up with is, Bolt knowing his penchant for bad starts, tried too hard to ensure he wasn't left in the  blocks. The result, a devastating false start. In hindsight he will tell himself that sitting in the blocks would still have put him in gold medal contention and it wasn't really worth the risk. This was very hard to watch but Bolt still has his pet event coming up, where I'm sure he will rebound.

Women's 100m Match-Up: Carmelita Jeter and Veronica Campbell Brown

USA's Carmelita Jeter will start as the overwhelming favourite in the women's 100m and for good reasons. Her 10.70 clocking done in Eugene stands as the fastest time this year, with only Veronica Campbell-Brown's 10.76 getting close to it.

The sprint sensation has only lost one race this season, ironically handed to her by Campbell-Brown, who remains her biggest obstacle to the gold in Daegu.

While Jeter's start is not her strong point, her top-end speed is clearly her redeeming quality, though sometimes it's just not enough. To win Jeter will have to start with the field.

Men's 100m Match-Up: Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake

Usain Bolt

Yohan Blake

With the unfortunate withdrawal of Asafa Powell many track pundits say Usain Bolt is all but guaranteed the gold. However I wholeheartedly disagree. Here's why:

Yohan Blake stands as the  No. 1 reason Bolt should NOT take this race lightly. His 22 year old team mate and training partner has had an impressive season with several notable performances. Among them is his wind assisted 9.80 clocking at the Jamaica invitational meet in May. Blake's personal best remains the 9.89sec set in London last year making him the 5th fastest Jamaican ever in the event.

World's Fastest Women: A look at 100m World Champions

Gail Devers

Without a question, today's female sprint events are dominated by US and Jamaican athletes, however this wasn't always the case. A look at the first three stagings of the IAAF World Championships tells an entirely different story. Believe it or not, those early years saw East German athletes taking complete control of the event as they collected victory after victory starting with Marlies Oelsner-Gohr in 1983, Silke Gladisch in 1987 and Katrin Krabbe in 1991.

The World's Fastest Men: A look at 100m World Champions



Carl Lewis

Tamika Forrester

Since the inception of the IAAF's world championships back in 1983 the USA has been the most dominant in men's 100 metres. Of the 13 world championship finals to date, the USA has won this event an astonishing 8 times.

Let's take a step back in history. In 1983, 1987 and 1991, American Carl Lewis won three consecutive back to back 100m titles at the world's, a feat that rendered him almost "god-like" in the sport. The 1991 final is particularly memorable as Lewis ran the race of his life to set a new world record of 9.86sec, which was also his personal best . Lewis's reign in the sprints was so potent, many felt he only had to line-up to be declared the winner.

Aviva London Wrap: Kirani James, David Rudisha , Sanya Richards Ross-Highlights from Crystal Palace

If you can put away the disappointment of not seeing Asafa Powell who pulled out due an injury scare, we can safely say Aviva London grand prix was a success. The two day meet, which served as a final testing ground before the world championships, delivered several meet records, personal and season bests. However for me the biggest revelation came from the relatively unknown Grenadian Kirani James.

In his first senior meet and Diamond League race, the 18 year old (hailed as the Usain Bolt of the 400m) outclassed an impressive line up to win in a world lead of 44.61. James looked at ease particularly in the crucial backstretch, where he motored past a tiring Jermain Gonzales. Gonzales managed to hold on for second in 44.85 while Bahamian Chris Brown 45.04 grabbed third.

David Oliver, Asafa Powell, Carmelita Jeter: Top Events to watch at Diamond League London

Crystal Palace will be oozing with track and field excitement this week-end as the Aviva London Grand Prix gets underway this Friday. It's the 12th stop in the Samsung Diamond League series and the meet boasts an impressive line up of international stars. Britain's top athletes will also be on display: European 10,000m champion Mo Farrah, triple jumper Phillips Idowu and 400m Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu are all down to compete in their respective events. Here are my top picks:

Men's 110 Hurdles: This contest is being billed as a "David Oliver-Dayron Robles Showdown". The last time the two met in Paris, Robles got the better of Oliver in a spell-binding finish that saw both men clock 13.09 seconds. Oliver also has to be concerned about young American Jason Richardson, who dealt him an unexpected loss in Stockholm. Jamaica's Dwight Thomas, still mourning the loss of his father, is also in the line up.