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SPECIAL REPORT
BERLIN 2009 Volume 14, Number 3 Fall/Winter shootingstarmediabiz@gmail.com Group Publisher Larry Eder 608.239.3785 larry.eder@gmail.com Group Editor Christine Johnson Executive Editor James Dunaway Editor Larry Eder 608.239.3785 larry.eder@gmail.com Proofreading Marg Sumner RedInkEditorial.com Design/Layout Alex Larsen
Writers Larry Eder Photographers Victah Sailer (PhotoRun) Lisa Coniglio (PhotoRun) Printer/Prep W. D. Hoard & Sons Fort Atkinson, WI Special Projects Adam Johnson-Eder 608.957.2159 atflistings@gmail.com Proud Member of The Running Network, LLC.
This project is based on Run Blog Run, coverage of Berlin’09, August 15th-23rd, 2009. Written by Larry Eder, edited by James Dunaway, proofed by Marg Sumner.
COVER: The star of Berlin 2009, Usain Bolt, with 3 Gold medals, two world records! Photo by: Photorun.net
Athletes Only is produced, published and owned by Shooting Star Media, Inc., PO Box 67, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538-0067; 920.563.5551 phone; 920.563.7298 fax; Christine Johnson, President; Larry Eder, Vice President. Publisher assumes no liability for matter printed. Publisher assumes no responsibility or liability for content of paid advertising and reserves the right to reject paid advertising. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Publisher. Copyright Š 2009 by Shooting Star Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the Publisher. Athletes Only is not related to or endorsed by any other entity or corporation with a similar name and is solely owned by Shooting Star Media, Inc. Publisher recommends, as with all fitness and health issues, you consult with your physician before instituting any changes in your fitness program. SPECIAL REPORT: BERLIN '09
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Berlin, Germany is a global city of 3.4 million, with inhabitants coming from 180 countries. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, and the breakdown of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a united Berlin became the capital of a united Germany. Berlin does not walk away from its past—there are constant reminders of the past and the present woven on each street. For 9 days, the World Championships of Athletics made its home in Berlin at the 1936 Olympic Stadium, one of the city’s most historic sites. It is also my favorite stadium setting in nine World Championships that I’ve attended. That the stadium is actually standing is a miracle. At the end of the second World War, the Soviet forces fought street by street to take Berlin against what was left of the Nazi Wermacht and SS troops, neither side giving any quarter. Berlin has been rebuilt remarkably over the ensuing five decades, and East Berlin over the last two, but reminders of the past are everywhere. A bell with a hole from Soviet artillery sits outside the stadium, with the swastika nearly sanded off. Pictures abound of the 1936 Berlin Olympic stadium and accompanying grounds, a fascinating walk back into history. The stadium and the welcoming German crowds were perfect hosts for the WC 2009. Over 9 days of the championships the German athletes and athletes from 200 other countries gave track fans worldwide something to celebrate. PHOTO CREDIT: PhotoRun.net
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On day 1, a Herculean struggle between Christian Cantwell, the Olympic Silver medalist, and Tomasz Majewski, the Olympic Gold medallist, came down to the last throw in the shot. Cantwell led through the fourth round, then Majewski took the lead. In the fifth round, Majewski threw 21.91m. Cantwell had one throw left, and on his sixth attempt, put the shot 22.03 meters, a world leading throw, and won the Gold! The responsive German crowds got their first medalist in Rolf Bartels, the grand old champion of the shot, who threw his best in years to take the Bronze medal.
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In the 20K men’s race walk, Russia’s Valeriy Borchin won the Gold over Hao Wang of China and Eder Sanchez of Mexico—all the winners were under the ripe age of 23! For the first time the walks and the marathons would not finish in the stadiums—they were loops around the Brandenburg Gate, giving fans a nice venue to see the distance races.
The other final on day 1 was the women’s 10,000 meters, which came down to the final 100, where favorite Meseret Defar collapsed from first to fifth in the last 30 meters, as Linet Masai charged to the win, with Mesalech Melkamu taking the Silver and Wude Almeyu taking the Bronze.
On day 2, in the 20K women’s race walk, Olga Kaniskina of Russia took the Gold, Ireland’s Olive Loughnane took the Silver and China’s Hong Liu took the Bronze—a trend in the race walks, as both the men’s and women’s 20K winners were from the town of Saransk, Mordoyiva, in western Russia. The women’s shot put gave the Germans something to cheer about as their Nadine Kleinart threw a PB of 20.20 to lead until Valerie Vili of New Zealand uncorked 20.44m to take the Gold. Liliao Gong of China threw her PB in third to take the Bronze. Michelle Carter of the U.S. (her dad was the former 49er and U.S. shot prep recordholder Mike Carter) took sixth, the best performance by a U.S. woman since 1997 and Connie Price-Smith’s fifth place. For two days, the fans had been watching Jessica Ennis of Great Britain duel with Germany’s Jennifer Oeser over the heptathlon. Ennis led the 100m hurdles (12.93 vs. 13.62), the high jump (1.92 vs. 1.83m), while Oeser took the shot put (14.29m to 14.14m). Ennis came charging back in the 200 meters (23.25 to 24.30) to have the day 1 lead. On day 2, Oeser led in the long jump (6.42m to 6.29m) and javelin (46.70m to 43.54m). In the end, however, Ennis came back in the 800 meters, 2:12.22 to 2:14.34, with the winning score, 6731, a world leader for Ennis. Oeser scored a personal best of 6493. Poland’s Kamila Chudzik scored 6471, taking the Bronze, shadowing Oeser most of the way. Americans Sharon Day took 10th in 6126 and Diana Pickler scored 6086 in 11th place. Bettie Wade of the U.S. was 25th with 5124. The heptathlon finishers had to halt their victory lap for the final of the men’s 100 meters. Day 2 was all about the sprints, as Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay and Usain Bolt got through the rounds. In the final, Bolt got out fast, with Gay and Powell to his right. At 30 meters, Bolt stood up and took the lead for good. Gay was about two strides behind, as Bolt destroyed his world record, running 9.58, with Tyson Gay breaking the AR in 9.71 for the Silver. Powell was third. The crowd went crazy, as did Bolt, who ran hard all the way, looking to the right to see Tyson and Asafa safely behind him. Bolt has taken over the sport in the 100 meter straightaway. Six of the eight finalists had their own Usain-influenced moves. 9.58? Even though I predicted the exact time the week before, I still didn’t believe my eyes.
PHOTO CREDIT: PhotoRun.net
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Day 3 was the women’s 100 meters final. Jamaica’s Shelly Ann Fraser took the Gold in 10.74, a new stadium record and fastest legal time of the year. Kerron Stewart of Jamaica took the Silver in 10.77, Carmelita Jeter of the U.S. took the Bronze in 10.84. The men’s hammer had Slovenia’s Primoz Kozmus throwing 80.15m in round 5, then 80.84m in round 6 to put his name on that rectangular Gold medal. Poland’s Szymon Zlokowski had his seasonal best for the Silver in 79.30m and Russia’s Aleksey Zagornyi threw 78.09m to take the Bronze. The Germans, Sergei Litvinov and Markus Esser, finished fifth and sixth, and were cheered like rock stars each time they came up for a throw! Cuba showed its prowess at the triple jump as Yargeris Savigne and Mabel Gay went 1–2, with Annay Pyatykh in third. Tatyana Lebedeva, who has five WC and Olympic medals in the long and triple jumps, finished sixth. The women’s steeplechase saw redemption and a promise of tomorrow. Marta Dominquez, who had fallen with 300 meters to go in Beijing, took the lead in Berlin and won, in a world-leading 9:07.32. Russia’s Yuliya Zarudneva got the Silver and Kenya’s Milcah Chemps Cheywa took the Bronze. But note fifth place: Jenny Barringer of the U.S. went from 13th to fifth in 3 laps, taking 10 seconds off the AR with her 9:12.50. Three seconds were the difference between Barringer and a medal. In a pole vault ripe with emotion, Polish vaulters went 1–2, with Anna Rogowska clearing 4.75m and Monika Pyrek clearing 4.65, tying for the Silver with Chelsea Johnson of the U.S. Beaming in the stands, across from his daughter, was Jan Johnson, who 25 years before took an Olympic Bronze in Munich in the pole vault. All of this took place because a certain 24-time world recordholder, Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia, missed at 4.75m one time, and missed her final two jumps at 4.80m. A tactic that had worked for 7 years did not work in this rarefied level of competition. The queen of the vault had fallen. And that was not all for day 3. Running the first half the race in 13:40, Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele, the world recordholder at 5000 meters, 10,000 meters, and Gold medalist at 10,000 meters in 2003, 2005 and 2007, added 2009 with a 53-second last lap to lead Zersenay Tadesse to the finish. Bekele and Tadesse ran the second 5000 meters in 13:06, with the winning time being 26:46.1, a new course record. In third, Moses Masai would take the Bronze. Note sixth place: one Dathan Ritzenhein. After a month of some “fast stuff, like 56-second quarters, and 20-milers at 5:30 pace, and tempo runs,” Ritz took sixth, the best ever for an American at the World Champs, and 14 seconds off his personal best with a fine 27:22.28. Galen Rupp took a strong eighth and Tim Nelson was 18th. PHOTO CREDIT: PhotoRun.net
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Day 4 was one of the most amazing days of track & field. By day 4, most fans and media noticed that every event was a true horse race—no one had a bye, no world recordholders or former champions. Field events, not just the running events, enthralled the crowds, with huge leaps and huge throws, born from athletes calling on their competitive natures, one event after another. Great Britian’s Phillips Idowu had three legal jumps: 17.51m, 17.44m and 17.73m. His third put him, permanently, in the Gold medal seat. Portugal’s Nelson Evora had the lead in his first jump of 17.54m, and in his sixth round, made a game run for the Gold, improving to 17.55m, but was relegated to the Silver medal. Cuba’s Alexis Copello took six jumps to go from seventh to third, with his final 17.36m. In the women’s javelin, Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic was supposed to win. One problem: Steffi Nerius, the German javelin goddess, didn’t get the playcard, and hurled a huge 67.30m throw in round 1, which we call the “Miklos Nemeth effect” (throw a huge throw, breaking a record in round 1, tends to intimidate the field, as Nemeth did in 1976 in Montreal). Well, the German crowd went nuts, as Linda Stahl and Christina Obergfoil were performing well (sixth and fifth, respectively). Being a competitor, Spotakova threw 64.94m, 64.26m, 66.42m, 61.29m, 62.25m and 59.74m, but had to settle for the Silver. Maria Abakumova of Russia got her best throw in round 6, and that 66.06m earned her the Bronze. But the night belonged to Nerius, as all of Germany sang her praise! Talk about pressure—Sanya Richards knows it. In 2007, she didn’t make the World Champs in the event in which she was ranked #1 in the world: the 400 meters. In Beijing, she fell back to the Bronze, having gone out too hard. In both cases, one Christine Ohuruogu of Great Britain took the Gold. Well, not in 2009. This year, Richards came in more confident, better
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rested and better prepared. Running the final like a Clyde Hart textbook (her coach, the dean of 400 meter coaches in the world): good first 200 meters (23.2), moving through the third hundred meters, and then coming off the straightaway running full out. Richards ran 49.00, a world leader and a Gold medal performance. Shericka Williams ran 49.32 for the Silver, and Russia’s Antonia Krivoshapka took the bronze in 49.71. But for Richards, it was life changing: “I felt a huge amount of pressure leave me, and now I can run.” The men’s steeplechase came down to three Kenyans and a French North African. As the field hit the bell lap at 7:00.15, Ezekeil Kemboi, Richard Mateelong, Paul Koech and the gargantuan Bouabdellah Tahri were in attendance. The four had 11 seconds on fifth place by the finish. They battled barrier to barrier. After the last barrier, Tahri opened his huge stride and put Koech in fourth and Mateelong running, hoping like mad that the French giant didn’t catch him before the finish. Kemboi had sprinted hard from the last barrier and took the Gold, once again, for Kenya. The final event of the day was the men’s 400 meter hurdles. In the race were the 2001 and 2003 champion, Felix Sanchez, and the 2007 champion, Kerron Clement. Also a newcomer, Javier Culson of Puerto Rico. The night before the final, I took the train back to the center city with his coach, who was bursting with pride that his athlete had made a final—a first for Puerto Rico. Clement is a talented young man, who first came on the scene breaking one Michael Johnson’s 400 meter indoor world record. In 2005 he took fourth in the 400 meter hurdles, but as his manager Caroline Feith knew, Clement was the real thing. In 2007, he won the Osaka global title and in 2008, he took the Silver in Beijing. That was the
year that Bobby Kersee got ahold of Clement. Kersee loves the intermediate hurdles. After a year, Clement’s habit of hobbling over the last two hurdles stopped and the world beater Clement showed up. In the final, Clement ran down the stagger and just did not stop, taking the Gold in 47.91, the best time in the world. In second, Puerto Rican Culson took the Silver in 48.09, his best and an NR. Bershawn Jackson of the U.S. took the Bronze in 48.23. Clement joined only two men— Edwin Moses, 1983 and 1987, and Felix Sanchez, 2001 and 2003—in winning two 400m hurdle titles. PHOTO CREDIT: PhotoRun.net
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Day 5, the first day of the decathlon. This is hallowed ground in Berlin. Glenn Morris (he played Tarzan in movies) of the U.S. won the decathlon here in 1936. Would an American win this time? By the end of day 1, Russia’s Oleksiy Kasnyanov was in first in 4555, Cuba’s Yunior Diaz was second in 4512, and American Trey Hardee was third in 4511, with day 2 being his day. Ashton Eaton, the NCAA champ, was fifth in 4355. In the men’s discus, Robert Harting of Germany gave the crowd something to rock the stadium about. Until round 6, Harting was in second place, as Piotr Malachowski of Poland threw 69.15m, a national record cemented, and so some thought the Gold was his with the round 5 throw. But Harting eeked out a 69.43m monster to take the Gold from Malachowski’s hands. Estonia’s Gerd Kanter took the Bronze in 66.88m and he was supposed to be the winner! Harting did his best bodybuilding pose and then lifted Berlino, the WC mascot up in the air, to the delight of the crowds! Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania (all 6'9" of him) was fourth in 66.36m with American Casey Malone in fifth in 66.06m. Jared Rome of the U.S. was 11th in 62.47m. The men’s 1500 meters was, well, what a race. Augustine Choge took the field through 59.54, and the 800 meters in 2:00.18. Deresse Mekonnen of Ethiopia, the 2008 World Indoor champ, took the lead through 1200 meters, upping the ante. On Mekonnen’s back were Bernard Lagat, Asbel Kiprono, Choge, Mohammed Moustaoui, Lopez Lomong, Leonel Manzano and Yusuf Kamel on his shoulder. Yes, three Americans, a first ever in World Champs history that three Americans made a WC final! But as Mekonnen took off, Manzano went off the back, and Lagat and Lomong were horribly boxed in the entire back stretch. As Mekonnen came off the final turn, Yusuf Kamel of Bahrain pushed to the front, Mekonnen was sprinting for dear life and Lagat did this sideways run out of lane one to find a clear lane three to sprint.
PHOTO CREDIT: PhotoRun.net
Lagat caught Choge, Kiprop, and took third and held it. Kamel won in 3:35.93, with Mekonnen in 3:36.01 and Lagat in the Bronze position in 3:36.21. Note that Kamel is the son of one Billy Konchallah of Kenya, two-time world champion at 800 meters. The curse of the 100 meter hurdles continues. Dawn Harper has run a 12.51 in the semi-finals. In the final, she hit hurdle 2, and this threw her steps off. No matter how hard she pushed, the second hurdle did her in, relegating Harper, the Olympic champion to a heart-breaking seventh place. Brigitte Foster Hylton of Jamaica continued that country’s claim to sprint and hurdle dominance with her 12.51 for Gold. Priscilla Lopes Schliep of Canada took the Silver in 12.54 and Jamaica’s Delloreen EnnisLondon took the Bronze in 12.55. In the only event to give this observer an aftertaste, the women’s 800 meters was the only example of unsportsmanlike conduct by the fans and madness by the IAAF. Caster Semenya of South Africa had huge improvements at both 800 meters and 1500 meters this year. IAAF spokesman Nick Davies noted that the South African federation had been requested to do a gender test for Ms. Semenya. Suffice it to say that the young person, who was raised as a young woman, was the focus of questions of gender. I found this heartlessly cruel, as both the federation and the global federation knew of the issue. It should have been handled with some tact and consideration. Instead, a young person is the focus of the most cruel jokes and ridicule, and it’s not her fault. At this writing, we haven’t heard anything more on the results of the testing, but again, a hurtful way to handle such a sensitive issue. In the end, Semenya won from start to finish, running a 1:55.45, with Janeth Jepkosgie Busieni of Kenya taking the Silver, barely, in 1:57.90 from Jennifer Meadows hard-charging 1:57.93. The event that more than any enthralled the crowd was the women’s high jump. It proved to be a battle between Crotia’s Blanka Vlasic, Russia’s Anna Chicherova and Germany’s Ariane Friedrich. Friedrich had set a new German record of 2.06m and the German press was all over her. Gunter Eisinger, Friedrich’s coach, had felt that Chicherova was dangerous and could steal the event, and she nearly did. However, this was to be Vlasic’s night and her clearance of 2.04m got her the Gold. Chicherova couldn’t clear 2.04 on three tries, but did clear 2.02m on her second attempt. It had taken Friedrich, who has this Gwen Stefanie meets X thing going, has the dramatis personae of an actress in a Wagnerian opera. When she cleared a height, her stance on the pit was like a rock star. The crowd loved the difference between Vlasic and Friederich. The women’s high jump had the crowd on its feet for much of the evening!
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Day 6 opened with the decathlon. The spirit of Glenn Morris was with Trey Hardee, as he pulled into the lead. In the 110m hurdles in 13.86, giving him 993 points, and then the discus, a throw of 48.08 gave him 830 points. His pole vault of 5.20m gave him 972 points, his javelin gave him 859 for the 68.00 throw, and his final 625 points for a 4:48.91 1500 meters gave Hardee his first Gold medal in the decathlon, a 256-point personal best and a win by 150 points. Leonel Suarez, the Cuban vet, had a superb second day with a huge javelin throw of 75.19 for 969 points! Suarez scored 8650. In the Bronze position, Aleksandr Pogorelov scored 8528, with Ashton Eaton in 18th and Jake Arnold in 24th. After two years away from the sport, American Lashinda Demus challenged OlympicGold medalist Melanie Walker in the 400 meter hurdles. Demus hit two hurdles, and ran 52.96 for the Silver. Walker ran 52.42 for the Gold and a world leader. Josanne Lucas of Trinidad ran 53.20 for the Bronze. Note that the next three either ran seasonal best or personal bests. Something tells me that Demus will be back, shooting for a move up on the medal stage. The next event was the men’s 200 meters. Common sense noted that Usain Bolt would run as fast as he needed to win. Well, that was not what happened. Getting his best start in a world championship, Bolt used all 6'4" of his height to take that turn and come blazing down the straight, inching closer and closer to the finish line, with the crowd screaming. Winning by 0.62 over Alonso Edward of the Panama, Bolt ran a new world record of 19.19! Wallace Spearmon took third in 19.85. The superlatives for Bolt have drained me. Suffice it to say that he is the giant of his generation. I have no idea who could beat him over 100 or 200 meters. The evening ended with the 110 meter hurdles (actually, it was the 1500 meters for the decathlon after that, but give me some literary license). Ryan Brathwaite had run 13.18 in the semi-finals. David Payne and Terrance Trammell of the U.S. ran well. Dayron Robles of Cuba hurt himself and didn’t finish the semi-final, so the Olympic champion was out of the picture. In the final, Trammell got out well, but was behind Payne. Brathwaite didn’t get out as well as Trammell, but ate up the hurdles, just running clean and taking the lead by midway, with Trammell right next to him and Payne right on Trammell. By the smallest of margins, Brathwaite of Barbados won the 110m hurdles in 13.14 over Trammell, who outleaned Payne for the Silver, both in 13.15. For Trammell, this was his third WC Silver, and for Payne, this is his second Bronze WC medal. PHOTO CREDIT: PhotoRun.net
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Day 7 was the only day with rain. It came in the evening, and there was a short delay. In the finals, Allyson Felix won the 200 meters, defending titles won in 2005, 2007. Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell Brown took second, with Debbie Ferguson of the Bahamas in third. In the 400 meters, Jeremy Wariner had the lead at 300 meters, as LaShawn Merritt charged down the final straightaway to take the Gold, Wariner the Silver. A battle of two Olympic champions, with Rene Quoy in third. Stephanie Brown Trafton, the Olympic Gold medalist at the discus, had a bad day and finished 12th. The bad thing of the day for the U.S. was the men’s 4x100 meter relay. Great Britain filed a protest, claiming that the U.S. was out of the exchange zone on the last exchange—we couldn’t see it on the tape—but in the end, the U.S. was disqualified, even with an official appeal.
third) gave him the Silver.
The men’s high jump was fascinating, as Yaroslav Rybakov of Russia cleared 2.18m, 2.23 on first attempt. Rybakov took two to clear 2.28m, and one to clear 2.32, but no clearances at 2.35m on three attempts. His two attempts at 2.28m would give him the Gold. Greece’s Kyriakos Ioannou cleared 2.18m, 2.23m on first attempts, then three to clear 2.28m, and cleared 2.32m on his first attempt with three attempts at 2.35m. His three attempts at 2.28 (cleared on
Nicoletta Grasu of Romania threw 65.20m in round 2 to take the lead, her seasonal best. In round 5, Australia’s Dani Samuels let her discus fly and fly it did, all the way out to 65.44m and a personal best. As Samuels stopped jumping up and down and her coaches stopped the manly hugs, she was noted as the best discus thrower in the world for 2009, with her Gold here. In round 6, Cuba’s Yarelis Barrios hit 65.31m to move Grasu back to third.
Now it got fun. German’s Raul Spank and Poland’s Sylwester Bednarek tied for the Bronze. Spank cleared 2.18m, 2.22m on his first attempt, then 2.28m on third, 2.32m on two and three attempts at 2.35m. Bednarek took two attempts on 2.18m, one on 2.22m, two on 2.28m, two on 2.32m and three attempts on 2.35. As Spank and Bednarek tied, they both took home Bronze medals. Karma is karma. Stephanie Brown Trafton just destroyed the field in Beijing, first throw, party over, have a sack lunch, do one’s nails, etc. Not so in Berlin. Brown Trafton just couldn’t get the discus flying like earlier in the season. She ended 12th.
PHOTO CREDIT: PhotoRun.net
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Day 8 was the first marathon day. The men’s marathon was fast, as Kenyan Asbel Kirui blasted his way through the 4-lap, 10K you’re talking about a 10K course, and then 25K and 30K course, starting and finishing at the historic Brandenburg Gate. At the halfway, Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia, Asbel Kirui of Kenya and Deriba Merga of Ethiopia led a pack of 10 in 1:03.03. Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya, BAA Boston and BofA Chicago winner, was also in the pack. Cheruiyot made his move at 25K, taking the lead there, but Kirui took the lead back at 30K, and started to move away, making the last lap of the circuit a
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clear demonstration of his strength on this day, winning in 2:06.54. Emmanuel Kipchirir Mutai of Kenya was second in 2:07:48, and Kebede was the Bronze medalist in 2:08:35. For the U.S. team, Daniel Browne was the first finisher, running 2:16:49 in 24th place, Matt Gabrielson in 2:18:41 and Nate Jenkins in 2:32.16, giving the U.S. team 13th. Justin Young, Eduardo Torres didn’t finish. Following in the steps of Jesse Owens,
PHOTO CREDIT: PhotoRun.net
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Dwight Phillips won the Gold in Berlin in 8.54m, on his second jump. Godfrey Mokeono of South Africa was the Silver medalist in 8.44m, and Mitchell Watt of Australia took the Bronze with an 8.37m jump. Irving Saldino, the Osaka and Beijing champion, fouled three times. For Dwight Phillips, the journey back to his winning levels of 2003, 2004 and 2005 is over. Just how far can Phillips jump now? Two jumps. Two jumps with such meaning. A sore groin made jumping an agony for Steve Hooker, the Australian Gold medalist in the pole vault from Beijing. Hooker missed at 5.85 once and moved up to 5.90m. It was either Gold or nothing. Taking his long run up, Steve Hooker went airborne and cleared 5.90m! Now it was up to the French star, who missed once at 5.90m, and then twice at 5.95m and Mesnil took the Silver with his countryman, Renaud Levillanie taking the Bronze. Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland broke the world record in the women’s hammer in the second round, 77.96, and that held for the Silver. Betty Heidler of Germany broke the German national record in round 6, with her 77.12m for the Silver. Martina Hrasnova of the Slovak Republic threw 74.79m for the Bronze. U.S. throwers Jessica Crosby and Amber Campbell were seventh and 11th, respectively. The women’s 5000 meters was another one of those “who would have thought?” races. Yurkia Nakamura of Japan led the first kilometer in 3:06.2, with Sentayehu Ejigu of Ethiopia leading the second kilometer in 6:11.04. At this time, Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot took over the pacing needs, hitting 9:15.05 for 3000 meters and 4000 meters in 12:15.79. Running the last kilometer in 2:42, Cheruiyot, Meseret Defar and Sylvia Kibet, were, well, close. As the final stretch hit, Defar was in full run, with Cheruiyot and Kibet in pursuit. Shocking Defar once again, Cheruiyot went by just before the finish line, to win in 14:57.97, with Kibet in second in 14:58.33 and Defar in 14:58.41. Jennifer Rhines was ninth in 15:11.12. In the women’s 4x100m relay, the Jamaicans won in 42.06 without Veronica Campbell Brown. The Bahamas was second and Germany was third. The U.S. had a mishap in the rounds, as Muna Lee collapsed with an injured hamstring after taking the baton, and did not advance.
PHOTO CREDIT: PhotoRun.net
In the men’s 4x100m relay, Jamaica won, with Usain Bolt in the third leg, and Asafa Powell taking it home in 37.31. Trinidad and Tobago set a NR
in 37.62 and Great Britain Bronze in 38.02. The U.S. did not make the final, as they failed to make the final pass in the exchange zone in the rounds. This infraction was noted by Great Britain. Did we really upset them that badly when we renounced that Colony thing? Did someone say something nasty about Cricket? In our final day, day 9, we had some fascinating reminders that this is, in the end, a sport. On the four-lap course starting at the Brandenburg Gate, over 400,000 watched Xue Bai of China win over Yoshima Ozaki, 2:25:25 to 2:25:15. Aselefech Mergia of Ethiopia took the Bronze in 2:25:32. The favorite, Chunxiu Zhou of China finished fourth and Xialolin Zhu of China was fifth. Spending much of the last 13 miles in stomach distress, Kara Goucher finished 10th in 2:27:48, with Desiree Davila in 2:27:53 in 11th. In the men’s 5000 meters, Kenenisa Bekele held the lead the entire race, “I wanted the pace slow,” commented Bekele. With 100 meters to go, defending champ Bernard Lagat came up on Bekele’s shoulder with 30 meters to go, but that was as far as Lagat went. Bekele became the first man to win both the 5000m and 10,000m. Bekele controlled the race, leading the first kilometer in 2:54.35, then 2K in 5:34.17 and 3K in 8:14.63 and 4K in 10:52.22. The final kilometer was run in 2:25! James C’Kurui was the bronze medalist behind Lagat. Matt Tegenkamp was eighth and Chris Solinsky was 12th. Men’s javelin is the world of one Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway, who threw 89.59m in round 2. He won by over 3 meters! That is nearly 13 feet for you metrically challenged folks. In second was Cuba’s Guillermo Martinez, who threw 86.41m. Japan’s Yukifumi Murikami took the Bronze in 82.97m. America’s Sean Furey threw 74.51 to take 12th in the field. In the women’s 1500 meters, three American women made the final. Heck, no American had made the WC final since 1997! In a very physical race, Spain’s Natalia Rodriquez tried to get around Ethiopia’s Geleta Burka by running right over her. Burka went down and all hell broke loose. Rodriguez went on to outsprint Mayram Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain, Lisa Dobriskey of Great Britian and a charging Shannon Rowbury. SPECIAL REPORT: BERLIN '09
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In the end Rodriguez was disqualified. Burka finished 11th. Yusuf won the Gold, Dobriskey won the Silver and American Shannon Rowbury was the Bronze medalist, with Christin Wurth Thomas in fifth and Anna Willard of the U.S. in sixth. In the 800 meters, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa hit the 400 meters in 53.44. He stayed on the inside and fought off all pretenders to the 800 meter crown. Alfred Kirwa Yego tried hard, and
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held on for the Silver and Yusuf Saad Kamel, added a Bronze to his Gold from the 1500 meters. Russian Yuriy Borzakovskiy, the Olympic champion, was relegated to fourth. In sixth, Nick Symmonds made the final and was in great position for most of the race, until the last 20 meters, where he started to lose form and finished sixth. Winning time was 1:45.29, and Symmonds ran 1:45.71. He will be back. In the women’s 4x400 meters, Debbie Dunn took the lead and ran 50.02, with Allyson Felix running a high 48 point, Lashinda Demus extending the lead, and Sanya Richards putting the race out of reach, as the U.S. ran 3:17.83, winning over Jamaica by threeplus seconds and Russia in the Bronze position. In the men’s 4x400 meters, Angelo Taylor took the lead, and Jeremy Wariner just blasted the second 200 meters, giving it to Kerron Clement, 400m hurdle Gold medalist. Clement ran hard and handed off to LaShawn Merritt, the 400m Gold medalist, who ran it home hard, as the team ran a fine 2:57.86, the world leader. Great Britain was second and Australia was third. What does the U.S. learn from Berlin? While we did well in the medals count, winning 22 medals to 10 for Jamaica, our dominance in the sprints is no longer there. We’re doing well in middle distances, and some field events, but our recharging of coaching education and a new focus on High Performance are just in time. The failures in the 4x100 meters mean that we need to address what works and what doesn’t. A national program and national relay team must be looked at. And promising young athletes must be supported. But, to do that, we need that proverbial $100 million sponsor, who is not a footwear company, to take us and the sport to the next level. All in all, Berlin was an amazing nine days of track & field!
PHOTO CREDIT: PhotoRun.net
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• SPECIAL REPORT: BERLIN '09
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