Jamaicans, Americans battle for sprint crowns; Kenyans, Ethiopians for long distance titles
The 13th IAAF World Athletics Championships which gets under way on Saturday in Daegu, Korea, promises to provide stirring battles for world supremacy in all the events but most attention will be centred on the extreme rivalry between Jamaica’s ‘Golden Girls’ and the Americans in the shorter distances while the intrigue and intensity will unfold between the Kenyans and Ethiopians for the long distance titles. The sprints have always been the major showpiece events and the great rivalry between the Jamaicans and Americans has always been a major feature of these Championships but the riveting competition has intensified during the first decade of the 21st century.
The ‘Golden Girls’ held sway at the last two championships with Veronica Campbell-Brown barely edging out the Americans Lauryn Williams and Carmelita Jeter in one the closest finishes ever in the women’s premier race, a mere 0.01 secs separating the medallists at the 2007 Osaka Worlds.
Prior to that blanket finish, Campbell-Brown was beaten into second place by Williams at the 2005 Helsinki Championships but gained sweet revenge on her American rival in Japan.
And at the 2009 Worlds in Berlin, Shelly-Ann Francis reigned supreme after she had won the Beijing Olympics 100-metre crown in 2008. Francis sped home ahead of compatriots Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson as the Jamaicans made a clean sweep of the medals.
However, the two most consistent performers for this year have been Jeter and Campbell-Brown and the real battle will be between these two great adversaries on the track.
The 31-year-old Jeter, who is being coached by John Smith, clocked six sub-11secs for the year and holds the edge because of her astonishing times.
She leads with a season’s best of 10.70 secs when she raced away with the American title at Eugene, Oregon, when five of the fastest eight times were recorded and this shows that the track must be one of the fastest in the world or that Jeter, American Mashavet Myers (10.86secs), Stewart (10.87), Myers in Heat 1 Round One (10.87) and Jeter in Heat 3 (10.88) or that the athletes peaked too early in the season. Conditions were just right for fast times as the Americans were fighting for the top three spots to secure their places on the USA team for the showdown in Korea.
Only Campbell-Brown with victories in Ostrava (10.76secs) on May 31 and at the Jamaica National Championships in Kingston (10.84secs) on June 24 and Jeter’s victory in Kingston (10.86secs) on May 7 had seen faster times recorded for the season.
Campbell-Brown had beaten Jeter for the coveted title at the 2010 World Indoor Championships 60-metre dash last year. And repeated in the 2011 100-metre in Shanghai on May 15 when they clocked 10.92 and 10.95 respectively.
The gold medal race at Daegu is between these two speed queens and it will be a mighty close finish. Campbell-Brown will seek to capitalise on a quick start and smooth acceleration while Jeter possesses that extra power in the final stages.
Jeter holds the edge with six sub-11s, one more than Campbell-Brown five sub-11s but the Jamaican holds the upper-hand in the big races.
The big question is whether the Jamaican ‘Golden Girl’ can hold off the power surge of the American in what is expected to be a titanic race for the title as the world’s fastest woman.
And while their times and consistency put them ahead of their rivals, the race is not a two-woman battle for supremacy. Defending champion Shelly-Ann Francis-Price, despite injury in the early part of the year and lack of fast times with 10.95 secs – her season’s best – when she placed fourth to Jeter, Myers and Stewart at Eugene, Oregon, she cannot be overlooked as she had shown at Beijing and Berlin with her remarkable turn of speed out of the blocks. The ‘Pocket Rocket’ will want to answer her critics.
There is also Trinidad and Tobago’s Kelly-Ann Baptiste, whose improvement, encouraging times and sterling performances merit much consideration. She will be a big threat and is capable of creating a huge upset.
Against the two top leading contenders for the coveted gold, the 24-year-old Tobagonian out-sprinted Campbell-Brown at Paris Saint-Denis when she posted 10.91 secs to the Jamaican’s 10.95 in their most recent clash on July 8.
And she was second (10.94secs) to Jeter (10.86) at Kingston on May 7. It is also significant to note that she has not finished lower than second in any race for the season and that would be a powerful boost to her confidence as she seeks her first major global senior medal, after having won the bronze at the World Junior Championships in 2003.
Campbell-Brown, like her major rival for the 200 title, American Allison Felix; is also on the mission for a unique double at these biennial Championships.
Felix is also hoping to do the double with her first outing in the 400 metres after winning the 200-metre gold in 2005 (Helsinki), 2007 (Osaka) and 2009 (Berlin). She will start as the strong favourite to continue her dominance and superiority but Campbell-Brown has beaten Felix for the Olympics 200-metre gold at Athens and Beijing.
The Jamaican greatest female sprint star would be in a better position to prevail at Daegu with Felix having to do the rounds in the 400 before she defends her 200 crown.
In addition, America’s new 200 champion is Shalonda Solomon who clocked the fastest time for the metric furlong for the year when she whipped her rivals at Eugene on June 26. The 25-year-old clocked 22.15secs as she raced home ahead of Jeter (22.23secs) and newcomer Jeneba Tarmoh (22.28).
Jeter, like Campbell-Brown, is also vying for the sprint double. Campbell-Brown’s best time for the year is 22.26 when she won in Budapest on July 30 and she must fancy her chances against her American rivals. This should be another thrilling spectacle.
American Sandra Richards-Ross, defending 400-metre champion, registered her best time (49.66secs) of the year at the London Grand Prix meet on August 6, the last major outing before the Worlds. That was the second fastest time for the season after Russia’s Anastasiya Kapachinskaya’s 49.35 in Cheboksary on July 22.
That is indeed a very positive indication that Jamaican-born Richards-Ross is peaking at the right time. She edged out Rosemarie Whyte whose vast improvement and first sub-50 provide great optimism that the young Jamaican rising star would pose a serious challenge for the gold.
Botswana’s Amanthe Montsho, USA’s Felix, Russia’s Antonina Krivoshappa and Jamaica’s Novelene Williams-Mills and Shericka Williams, 2009 silver medallist, are all capable of producing something special and should be closely monitored in the one-lap race.
There will be a Russian train, led by Mariya Savinova, Yuliya Rusanova, Ekaterina Kostetskaya, going for the medals in the 800 metres race that will feature South Africa’s controversial defending champion Caster Semenya whose gender issue will once again become the talking point should she retain her crown.
Her form does not suggest optimism but everything could be a gameplan used by her handlers who would strategise and let her prove herself at the Worlds.
Bahrain’s Maryan Yussuf Jamal has everything, including a strong finishing kick and experience, in her favour to prevail in the 1500 and collect her third world title.
Missing from the 5 000 and 10 000 races would be Ethiopia’s ‘Golden Girl’ Tirunesh Dibaba who became the first athlete to win the Worlds female long distance double and Beijing Olympics double.
She sustained injury during the early part of the season and was forced to miss the competition. This leaves her compatriots Meseret Defar and Sentayehu Ejigu to fly Ethiopia’s flag. But the duo will have to contend with Kenya’s Vivian Cheruyot who vows to break Dibaba’s record.
Defar is a seasoned campaigner and she will not allow the much-improved 27-year-old Kenyan, despite her relentless front-running style, to have her way. It will be a great tactical race that will also involve Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba, younger sister of Tirunesh and the world junior cross country champion; and Kenya’s Linet Masai who plans to seek the long distance double, just like Defar and Cheruiyot.
Cheruiyot set the season’s best time with 14 min. 20.87 secs at Stockholm July 28 and now owns the fourth and fifth fastest 5000 times of all-time.
But Defar, who holds the second fastest time of 14:12.88 showed that she is rounding into form with victory in 14: 29.52 at the Paris Diamond League outing.
Defar and Cheruiyot will battle it out for gold while Masai, who is hot favourite to retain the 10 000 crown; is the outside shot to surprise her senior rivals for the coveted 5 000 title.
US-based Kenyan Sally Kipyego should also be a strong contender for a medal in the 10 000.
Kenya’s Milcah Chemos Cheywa has dominated the 3 000 steeplechase since June 2010 during which time she won 12 out 13 races. The reigning Delhi Commonwealth and African Games champion’s best time of 9 min.08.57secs for third place was registered at Berlin Worlds when she was led home by Spain’s gold medallist Marta Rodriquez (and Russia’s Yuliya Zarudneva.
And while she won every race at this year’s Diamond League at Doha, Rome, New York, Lausanne and London, the 25-year-old will start as favourite to win but will have to produce her best to stop Zarudneva, compatriot Mercy Njoroge, Ethiopia’s Sofia Assefa and Tunisia’s Habiba Ghribi who are her major challengers for the world crown in absence of Rodriquez.
The gruelling marathon battle will once again be between the two African long distance powerhouse Kenya and Ethiopia. Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat holds the edge over her compatriots Sharon Cherop and Priscah while Ethiopia’s challenge will be from Aselefech Mergia, Atsede Baysa and Bezunesh Bekele.
For the 100 metre high hurdles, Jamaica’s defending world champion Brigitte Foster-Hylton has not rediscovered the form that catapulted to her first global title in Berlin and will be hard-pressed to retain the title. Australia’s Sally Pearson and Americans Danielle Carruthers and Kellie Wells are the ones raring to dethrone the veteran Jamaican star.
However, Jamaica’s pair of defending champion Melanie Walker and rising star Kaliese Spencer will be fighting it for the gold in the 400 hurdles while American Leshinda Demus and Russian Natalya Antyukh will also be in the mix for medals.
Russian glamour girl and world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva will be striving to redeem her reputation as the world’s greatest pole vaulter. After passing the lower heights; she suffered the indignity of not clearing any height at the 2009 Worlds. Her woes were compounded last year.
She returns to action with a vault of 4.76 but has the class and determination to beat American world leader Jennifer Suhr (nee Stuczynski) who chalked the best of the season with 4.91m.
For the long jump, America’s Britney Reese will be engaged in fierce battle with Russia’s Darya Klinshina and Olga Zaytseva while Brazil’s Beijing Olympics champion Maureen Higa Maggi should not be counted out of the medals.
Cuba’s defending triple jump world champion Yargelis Savigneis is capable of retaining her title but will be fully tested by Colombia’s Catherine Ibarguen and Kazakstan’s Olga Rypakova.
Australia’s discus defending world champion Dani Samuels could possibly lose her crown to China’s Li Yanfeng, Germany’s Nadine Muller and Cuba’s Yarelis Barrios.
In the hammer event, I expect defending world champion Anita Wlodarczyk to lose her title to Germany’s Betty Heider. Cuba’s Yepsi Moreno, Germany’s Kathrin Klaas, China’s Wenxiu Zhang and Russia’s Tatyana Lysenko will also be in the reckoning for the silver and bronze.
Croatia’s defending world high jump champion Blanka Vlasic could be toppled by Russians Anna Chicherova, Svetlana Shkolina and Elena Slesarenko as well as Italian Antonietta Di Martino who all possess the ability to win the gold.
Belarus Nadzeya Ostapchuk and New Zealand world champion Valerie Adams (nee Vili) will vie for the shot put gold while Americans Jillian Camarena-Williams and Michelle Carter and China’s Liljiao Gong will be fighting for the bronze.
For the javelin title, Czechoslovakia’s Barbora Spotakova should win the gold while Germany’s Christina Obergfoll and Russia’s Maria Abakumova should make up the podium celebration.
And in the most gruelling and testing two-day grind for women’s supremacy in the heptathlon event, Great Britain’s Jessica Ennis and Russia’s Natallia Dobrynska and Tayana Chernova would be pressing one another for all they are worth. It would be a close call but I expect Ennis to celebrate with the gold and ‘God Save the Queen’ anthem.
Competition to become the world’s champion and leading performers will bring out the best from over four thousand competitors from the 202 countries that have entered the 13th World Championships and seeking global fame, fortune and an honoured place in the annals of Athletics history. Hope you enjoy the test of the human powers and the riveting spectacle and also that some of your favourites perform to your expectations.