 |
| Veronica Campbell Brown |
Starting in lane five, VCB got the best start of the field, literally flying around the curve. Then on the backstretch Jeter began pumping for it. 70 metres to the line, she was up on Campbell brown's shoulder and looked like pass her for the win. But, VCB said not today and produced a last surge of energy to power away, winning in a season's best of 22.22sec. Jeter finished 0.15 secs later for silver in 22.37 while three-time defending champion Allyson Felix copped the bronze in 22.42
This is the exact reverse of the first two spot's in 100m final. With this race, VCB ended Felix's unbeaten streak in world championship 200 metres and shut down Jeter's bid for the sprint double. After the race Veronica said she didn't want to go home with two silvers and found just enough to run away with the gold. Interestingly, both Jeter and Allyson Felix were featured on the sixth cover of the IAAF daily programs. I consider this a risky bet, as VCB's prowess in this event is well recorded. I myself had her to finish in the top two.
After the semis it was clear Felix's legs were suffering from the punishing 400m rounds. She however gets high commendations for attempting a feat no other female athlete has done at the world championships. Getting a silver and a bronze IS an achievement. Kudo's to Jeter for getting silver in a race that is relatively new to her. She's since said she'll double in London, so we may very well see a re-match next year.
Kenya gets it right in Women's 5000m.
 |
| Vivian Cheruiyot |
Kenya is really having a ball in the long distance races in Daegu. The women's 5000m is their latest conquest with another 1st and 2nd for the African nation. Defending champion and pre-race favourite Vivian Cheruiyot finished in 14:55:36 while teammate Sylvia Kibet came through for a suprising silver in 14:56.21
Cheruiyot took the lead at the third-to-last lap, and followed up with a brilliant final lap of 58.68sec. The grueling pace proved too much for Ethiopia's former world champion Meseret Defar who ended with bronze after being overtaken in the last few metres. Cheruiyot becomes the second woman to achieve this 10,000/ 5000 double at the IAAF worls championships.
Surprise Win for Germany in Men's Shot Put
In a gripping men's shot put final Germany's 21 year old David Storl surprised the world for the gold. With a previous personal best of 21.50 Storl was never really considered a medal contender. Up until the 6th and round Canadian Dylan Armstrong's 21.64 stood as the lead. However in his last throw the German heaved a huge 21.78m to Bumping Armstrong to silver. Armstrong had the last throw of the night and under immense pressure could not answer the challenge by the younger athlete. Armstrong however provided the first medal of the championships for Canada and made history by being their first to ever medal in the shot put event. A host of impressive competitors such as reigning world champion Andrew Cantwell and 2007 champion Reese Hoffa was left off the podium.
In the final event for the night, Merrit who took silver in 400m hurdles on Tuesday, ran a superb anchor leg to give the USA another victory in the men's 4x400m relay. After a moderate start with Greg Nixon, the USA team was in 3rd position for much of the race. It all came down to the final lap where Merrit ran a calculated race last leg. He first overtook the Jamaican runner Leford Green, then bid his time until the final 100 metres. After the bend, Merrit stormed ahead of South Africa's LJ van Zyl to take the gold in a time of 2:59.31
0 comments:
Post a Comment