Jamaica's Bolt takes third gold

ATHLETICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Berlin Date: 15-23 August

Usain Bolt made it a hat-trick of golds at the World Championships as Jamaica won the 4x100m relay but the quartet failed to set a new world record.

Bolt, who had already won the 100m and 200m titles in Berlin, ran the third leg of the relay with the Jamaican team crossing the line in 37.31 seconds.

Steve Mullings, Michael Frater and Asafa Powell were the other three members of the team that won gold.

They finished ahead of Trinidad with Great Britain winning bronze.

With Bolt complaining of tiredness following his world records in his 100m and 200m victories during the week, the 23-year-old, along with Powell, was rested in the earlier heats before Saturday's relay final.

With the American team disqualified in the semi-final, the Jamaicans began the race as hot favourites and did not disappoint the packed Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

"I wasn't really thinking about getting three gold medals because I could be in better shape," said Bolt, who has now matched his three-gold haul at the Beijing Olympics.

Despite the Jamaican team clocking the world's second fastest ever time in the 4x100m, Bolt was apologetic for not feeling 100% and said: "It is a little bit my fault." Jamaican Mullings got the quartet off to a fine start and they were rarely troubled as Bolt handed over to Powell to bring the team home.

Trinidad and Tobago's time of 37.62s saw them set a new national record, while Britain, which included Simeon Williamson, Tyrone Edgar, Marlon Devonish and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, ran a season's best of 38.02 to grab an impressive bronze.

It was Jamaica's seventh gold medal of the Championships with their 4x100m women's relay team also earlier winning gold.

It has been another stunning show from Bolt at this year's World Championships in Berlin.

The Jamaican, who only turned 23 on Friday, smashed the world records in the 100m (9.58s) and 200m (19.19s) which followed his phenomenal triple Olympic gold performances in Beijing a year ago.

"Am I getting used to winning? You cannot get used to winning," he added.

"But winning three gold medals in Berlin is wonderful and I am proud of myself."

Cheruiyot, redemption time

Berlin, Germany – It was Meseret Defar who said this year would be all about redemption. Unfortunately for the Ethiopian who lost her Olympic title last summer, it wasn’t her who found it here in Berlin, but Vivian Cheruiyot, the tiny Kenyan woman she has beaten so often on the world’s biggest stage.

Two years ago in Osaka Defar outkicked Cheruiyot on the last lap of the women’s 5000m final to win by five metres, just two months after the Ethiopian set the then World record in Oslo with Cheruiyot chasing her home to clock 14:22.51, a Kenyan record and still her PB.

Cheruiyot said earlier this year that that performance was the highlight of her career. Until tonight that is.

After 11 5000m races against Defar, of which she had won just one – in Brussels last September – Cheruiyot finally got her revenge at the 12th IAAF World Championships with a calculated piece of front running and never-say-die determination in the final straight not to let her chance slip away.

“Normally when I race Defar I finish second,” she said afterwards, failing to hide her joy behind a smile that just got bigger and bigger the more she talked. “But this was my time. I believed in myself because of the training I have done in Kenya and here.

“In Osaka two years ago I was the silver medallist and now I have the gold medal. It is a great achievement for me.”

The 25-year-old added her first major title was inspired by the example of her training partner, Linet Masai, who won the 10,000m on day one. Like Masai, Cheruiyot got her tactics exactly right, as she wound up the pace lap by lap and kilometre by kilometre to take the finishing sting from Defar’s legs and give Kenya its first women’s 5000m World Championships gold.

“They say patience pays and we have had to be patient,” she said. “But now is our time. It has been such a long time that Kenya has not got the medal in the 5,000m. I think we are coming now. I got the silver in Osaka and today I improved to gold so it is great to be champion.

“After Linet won the 10k race she encouraged me to be self confident. She was my biggest inspiration and I believed I can beat Defar.”

Indeed, it was as great day for Kenya, as Cheruiyot’s victory followed a Kenyan triumph over their Ethiopian rivals in the men’s Marathon earlier in the afternoon.

“Now we have beaten Ethiopia in both the 5000m and the 10,000m,” added Cheruiyot, who shares the same manager, Ricky Simms, and training programme as Masai. “It’s great for me and Linet because we train so hard together and our performances here showed we got it right.”

Cheruiyot certainly did. She’s competed against Defar enough to know that a slow race would merely play into her hands – or maybe her feet. So she took initiative shortly before the 3000m mark in a dawdling final and slowly, slowly increased the speed. After 3:06 and 3:05 for the first two kilometres, she clocked 3:04.01, 3:00.74 and 2:42.18. Even when Defar moved past her with 150m to go she knew she wasn’t beaten and clawed her way back to win by more than half a second.

“For me the pace has to be fast,” she said. “If it’s too slow then anyone can win, and I know how fast Defar can be. I said to myself, ‘Maybe I can try my best and this time if I go fast enough I can win.’

“So I decided to go at a fast pace, to push, to push so the others could not do their last lap. On my last 100m I was pushing so hard, pushing, pushing. Finally I won. It’s so great to be a champion.”

Cheruiyot’s victory has indeed been a long time coming. Born in the rural district of Keiyo in the Rift Valley, she began running at school aged 11 and first competed internationally at the tender age of 14, at the 1998 world junior cross country championships. She won that title two years later and the same year, aged just 16, made her Olympic debut in Sydney where she was a finallist. No wonder she earned the nickname ‘Kidago’, Swahili for ‘Young One’.

But after winning her third world junior cross medal in 2002, Cheruiyot seemed to disappear from athletics. She never stopped training but took some time away from racing to finish exams.

A member of the Kenyan police team, she returned to competition in 2006 and a year later truly arrived as a world class athlete with those memorable duels against Defar.

Even in last summer’s Beijing final, a devastating race for Defar, who lost her Olympic title to Tirunesh Dibaba, the Kenyan was still adrift of her rival in fifth. And in last year’s World Athletics Final it was again Defar first, Cheruiyot second, as it was at the Bislett Games in Oslo this June.

No wonder Cheruiyot couldn’t stop smiling after finally getting revenge here in Berlin. “I want to thank everyone,” she said to the laughing media. “My husband, my coach, my manager, my brothers and sisters, the Kenyan police force who give me support and time to train – in fact, everyone in Kenya.

“We are going to have such celebrations. We will sing and dance. Everyone will sing and dance in Kenya.”

Even Defar caught the mood. Although visibly upset to have only taken the bronze, Defar broke into a smile herself and put her arm around the woman who had taken her title. They embraced and leant their heads together for the cameras almost as if their fates as athletes were somehow inseparable.

Kirui following Gebrselassie's Berlin example

Berlin, Germany – As a man who counts Haile Gebrselassie as his best friend, it was kind of fitting that Abel Kirui should win the men’s Marathon title at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin today.

Berlin is the city where the legendary Ethiopian has twice smashed the World record and the 27-year-old Kenyan has played a part both times – in 2007 when he finished second as Geb first stole Paul Tergat’s world mark; and last September when Kirui paced his friend to the historic time of 2:03:59, the world’s first sub-2:04 Marathon.

To return to the Germany capital 11 months later and destroy the hopes of Gebrelassie’s compatriots by becoming World champion himself was a dream for Kirui, but one this gregarious and outgoing young runner was utterly confident of turning into reality from the moment he stepped onto German soil last week.

“When I was reaching the finish line I still couldn’t believe it,” he said. “But I love running in Berlin. I know it so well from my times here with Haile, and that made it so special for me.

“I love this city. When I got off the plane I knew then I could win, I was so confident. This morning I prayed with my coach for help, but I was so sure I would do it.”

Kirui has actually run the Berlin city Marathon three times in the past, the first in 2006 when he finished ninth, and he joked after today’s victory that the thousands of spectators probably couldn’t believe it was him in the lead.

“I have been in three great races here,” he said. “But they won’t have believed it when they saw me today because before I was always pacing or I was finishing with four legs.

“But I always wanted to be a great champion and now I made it.”

Kirui made it with some style. Like Sammy Wanjiru in the Beijing Olympics a year ago, Kirui looked in control throughout today’s midday race, contested over a four-lap loop course that twisted and turned past many of the city’s famous landmarks.

And like Wanjiru he smashed the championships record as he powered home down Unter den Linten to the finish line at the Brandenburg Gate in 2:06:54, almost a minute and a half inside Jaouad Gharib’s six-year-old record.

Berlin marathons are famously flat and fast, of course, although this was not the well-known World Marathon Majors route which has seen so many world records. Indeed, a number of runners, including Ethiopia’s bronze medallist Tsegaye Kebede, said they found the narrow corners difficult to handle.

Not so the Kenyans. After waiting years 20 years for a global championships Marathon gold before Luke Kibet’s win in Osaka two years ago, Kenya has now won three titles in three years. And this is no accident.

According to Kenya’s team coach Peter Mathu, today’s race had been carefully planned for more than five months. Indeed, such is the nation’s strength in depth at this distance that they could leave out such runners as Wanjiru and three-time London champion Martin Lel to deliberately pick athletes who hadn’t run in big city races for three or four months.

It meant their tactics today could be just as brutal as those adopted by Wanjiru and Lel to bring Olympic gold last year. The three leading runners, Kirui, Emmanuel Mutai and Robert K. Cheruiyot dominated the head of the field then pushed the pace through the last 10km to leave their Ethiopian rivals trailing.

“I knew at the start the race would be won between 35 and 38km,” said Kirui. “The race was very tactical but I stayed focused and calm ready for this.”

“All of our guys had trained just for this for five months,” said Mathu. “It was very important for us to train all our runners to be able to run at the front and keep increasing the pace. We knew this was the only way we could beat the rest of the field.”

Mathu picked out Cheruiyot for special praise as the tall four-time Boston marathon winner took on the brunt of the pace-making duties.

Cheruiyot himself, the first World Marathon Majors winner back in 2007, confirmed that a Kenyan victory was his main concern.

“All I wanted was the team title,” he said. It was only when Ethiopia’s Deriba Merga finally showed signs of wilting that he allowed his two teammates to go.

“When I saw two Kenyans were going to be on the podium, only then did I relax,” he said. “Before then I had to keep pushing and pushing. Even my teammates were telling me I was going too fast.”

With three in the top five it was no surprise that Kenya easily won the World Marathon Cup, although for Kirui his win was a personal as well as a team triumph.

Although ranked sixth on the world all-time list, thanks to his 2:05:04 third place finish in an incredible Rotterdam race earlier this year, Kirui has only ever won one race at the distance, the relatively minor Vienna marathon in April 2008.

Not that he’s ever doubted the victories would come. After all, as child of the Rift Valley, Kirui did not have to look far for inspiration to become a great runner. Born into a family of four, he started running at Samitui Primary school, following in the footsteps of his uncle, Mike Rotich who went on to win the Salzburg marathon in 2007.

He claims his family’s running history goes back much further, however. “Our great grandfather was a runner,” he said. “He used to chase an antelope and catch it.”

It wasn’t chasing animals but chasing a job that finally got Kirui serious about running. After leaving high school with no great ambitions, he entered a race as part of an Administration Police recruitment exercise, and won. “I heard that there was recruitment and what you had to do was win a race, so I just entered, won, and was the only one picked of the nine finalists,” Kirui said.

From then on he was training seriously. He eventually moved to Kapsabet and began travelling to Europe – Poland specifically – to get race experience. He raced in the Berlin half marathon in April 2006 and won a place as a pacemaker for the full marathon in the German capital later that year. He did his pacing duties and just kept going, clocking 2:17:47. It wasn’t quick, but he knew with training he could get better.

A year later, he was back in Berlin, pacing Gebreselassie to his first World record and the Ethiopian immediately became his role model. Now, just two years later, with the words “World Champion” next to his name, the ever-confident Kirui has his sights set on his mentor’s record believing he can lower it by half a minute.

“It needs total preparation and total commitment in training, but, for sure, I very much think I can run 2:03:30 in the near future,” he said. “I need to recover and take my time before I can bring my body back to the stage where it can run that fast. But I think I can do it, maybe next year.”

And where does he think this will happen? Berlin of course – where else?

Bolt again, and again! 19.19 World record in Berlin

20 August 2009 - Berlin, Germany - Just when you thought Usain Bolt could not surprise any more, he only goes and runs another World record - this time over 200m.

Bolt's winning time - 19.19* - looks more like a grandparent's year of birth than a time for the 200m, but although it may take a while to digest, those are the new World record figures.

Former 200m World record-holder Michael Johnson had said earlier in the day that he felt Bolt was too tired to improve on the record of 19.30. But then again, Bolt does not know the meaning of fatigue.

Back in 1996 when Johnson set the world record of 19.32, it was widely acknowledged as one of the toughest records on the books. Bolt bettered it in Beijing, of course, but with this latest improvement it must surely be considered one of the greatest performances of all time, along with his 9.58* in the 100m last Sunday.

When Bolt set his sprint World records in Beijing, he was clearly trying harder in the 200m compared to his easing-down exploits in his 9.69 run over 100m. But the -0.9m/s wind reading in the Beijing 200m final gave hope that, in better conditions, Bolt would be capable of improving the record in better conditions.

So with the promise of another momentous performance from Bolt - along with the highly anticipated High Jump duel between Blanka Vlasic and Ariane Freidrich - the Berlin Olympic stadium was near capacity.

And Bolt did not disappoint.

But his crack at breaking the record was almost over before it even began. Frenchman David Alerte false-started and Bolt registered a slow reaction of 0.345. Fortunately, he had another attempt to start and at the second time of asking he absolutely nailed it - 0.133, the fastest reaction of the field.

The lanky Jamaican flew around the bend and was surged into the lead as he shot into the home straight. At half way, Shawn Crawford of the USA was in a clear silver medal position.

But while Bolt maintained - and extended - his lead, Crawford was being caught by Panama's Alonso Edward and US team-mate Wallace Spearmon.

Bolt streaked ahead to stop the clock at 19.20, later rounded down to 19.19, while Edward and Spearmon succeeded in catching Crawford. Edward, who came into this year with a 20.62 PB, registered a South American Area record of 19.81 in second place and at 19 years old became the youngest ever World medallist in the men's 200m. His time is also a world age-19 best, breaking the 19.88 set by Bolt in 2006. And anyone who breaks one of Bolt's records is certainly set for a bright future.

Spearmon won his second successive World 200m bronze with a time of 19.85 - his third best ever clocking - while Crawford tightened up on the line with a time of 19.89.

It was the first time in history that four men had dipped under 19.90 in the same race and also the first time in which five men had broken 20 seconds.

Whoever said Berlin was a slow track?

Certainly not Bolt. While speaking to track-side interviewers after his lap of honour, he said: "It wasn't a good race, but it was a fast one."

Indeed it boiled down to a race between Bolt and the clock, and his winning margin of 0.62 seconds is by far the biggest in World Championships history.

Rounding out the top eight were Jamaican Steve Mullings (19.98) in fifth, Charles Clark of the USA in sixth (20.39), Azerbaijan youngster Ramil Guliyev in seventh (20.61) and Alerte in eighth with 20.68.

Bolt improved his previous 200m World record by 0.11, the same amount of time he chopped off his 100m record on Sunday. But, as was the case in Beijing, he ran tonight's race into a headwind (-0.3m/s), which again begs the question - can he go quicker in better conditions?

For his efforts here tonight, Bolt bagged $160,000 to add to his 100m winnings of $160,000 (both prize packets include the $100,000 World record bonus from TDK). That's roughly $11,123 for each second of his 100m and 200m performances combined.

Of course there will always be the speculation of what defending champion Tyson Gay could have achieved if he had accepted his place in the 200m. No doubt, he would have been Bolt's closest challenger, but even Gay himself would probably admit that 19.19 is just a little beyond what he is currently capable of.

It could prove to be beyond what any other human is capable of for years to come. Any human, that is, but the man himself - Usain Bolt.

Richards – ‘I enjoyed every step of my race’

Berlin, Germany – It was the dethroned champion Christine Ohuruogu who put it best. “It was a good run and a brilliant time. I think she just wanted it more than the rest of us.”

World number one for the last five seasons, but never a champion, Sanya Richards finally got it right when it mattered most as she took her first major championships gold at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Berlin in superb style.

After the heartbreak of the Olympic final in Beijing last year, when she was overhauled by Ohuruogu in the finishing straight, and the misery of missing 400 qualification for the Osaka World Championships two years ago, the Jamaican-born American at last fulfilled the promise of her world billing on the biggest stage.

Yes, she wanted it all right. She wanted it bad.

Richards had looked tense on the start line, and appeared at first to go off too fast – as she did in Beijing – but the glamorous 24-year-old judged her race perfectly this time and was smiling with joy and relief before she’d even crossed the finish line.

It was a look that told the tale of her last four years, a look of relief that all the frustration, doubts and worries had come to an end, that all the expectations, hopes, and, most of all, pressure, had at last led to gold.

“I thought ‘Yes, finally’,” said Richards. “Finally I have a major title. Finally the hard work has paid off. To finally come across the finish line and not be disappointed is such a wonderful feeling.”

Gone were the sleek, go-faster sleeves she’d worn at the Olympics, as Richards –in bright red spikes – clocked her 38th sub-50 time (more than any other athlete in history), stopping the clock at 49-dead, the quickest in the world this year. It could have been quicker if this celebrity of American track and field hadn’t allowed herself to skip through the line, so pleased was she to have finally won the global title her dominance of the event surely deserves.

Moments later she was dancing with joy, literally. “It’s called the ‘Dallas Boogie’,” she explained later to the curious press when she was asked about her victory jiggle, as her watching mother, Sharon, and father, Archie, plus a whole entourage of grinning family members, giggled in recognition.

“I do it all the time at home in front of my family,” said Richards, who describes herself as a bit of a singer and dancer on her website. “It’s a Texas thing. I told my sisters if I won I was going to do it, so I thought, ‘Well, here goes. I’m better do it.’

“I don’t know if I jumped across the line or what I did. I just wanted to get there first whatever it took – a skip, a bound, or whatever. ”

Richards clearly likes Berlin’s Olympiastadion, and it’s deep blue-ovalled track in particular, as she has won here three times in the last four years over 400m, most recently at the ISTAF Golden League meeting in June.

“It feels so great to finally hear my name announced as world champion and I can now say my first title was on the blue track here,” said Richards. “I didn’t have much doubt before this race. I thought about all the positive experiences I’ve had on this blue track. I feel so comfortable running here.”

Indeed, she’d looked comfortable all week, sailing smoothly through the rounds with easy victories in 51.06 and 50.21. Many observers wondered if the experiences of 12 months ago would again bring her down in the final, especially when Jamaica’s Shericka Williams, the Olympic silver medallist who was second again here, produced the fastest ever 400m semi in 49.51.

Like Ohuruogu, Williams is renowned for her strong finish so Richards knew she’d have to get her tactics right. As Ohuruogu put it, “The pressure was on her to win a title more than for me to lose it.”

And Richards herself admitted the stress-induced condition, Behçet syndrome, which hampered her season two years ago, from did “flare up” this week as her own expectations grew and grew.

“It does come on when I get stressed but I know how to handle it now so I didn’t let it get in my mind and I was able to concentrate,” she said. “I think pressure did get to me in the past and that’s what I wanted to shake this time. I was confident in my rounds and in my race strategy.”

Despite being the IAAF’s Athlete of the Year in 2006, and the youngest woman ever to break 49-seconds, many have questioned Richards’ tactical nose in major championships.

After finishing fourth in the 2004 Olympic final, she was a favourite at the 10th World Championships in Helsinki four years ago, when she finished second, and was again at last year’s Olympics, when she had to settle for bronze. She was also second at the 2002 World Juniors and fifth over 200m in Osaka.

This time, though, she ran precisely to plan. The difference, she says, is confidence.

“I did go out well in the Olympics,” she said. “But today my split was 23-flat so it was almost the same. I don’t think I went too fast last year but this time I was really confident in my strategy. I enjoyed every step of my race tonight.

“I would love to have won the Olympics but sometimes you have to learn things to grow, and I think I’m a better athlete because of it.”

Richards added that a lot of credit should go to her coach Clyde Hart, famously guide to Michael Johnson and Jeremy Wariner, for making her more consistent and getting her to the start line with greater self belief.

Now she has a World Championships gold medal to place alongside the Super Bowl ring won by her boyfriend Aaron Ross, cornerback with the 2008 Super Bowl champions, the New York Giants.

Not that she’s satisfied yet.

“I’m only 24,” she said. “I have time. Lots of 400m runners are at their best when they’re 31 or 32 – look at Michael Johnson. 2009 is just the start.”

23 global golds for Bekele; Dreaming: Bekele vs Bolt at 800m

Berlin, Germany - So it took a very strong Kenenisa Bekele to restore Ethiopia’s long distance pride in Berlin at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, on Monday night (17).

Two days after the country’s shock defeat by Kenya’s Linet Masai in the women’s 10,000 metres it was the double Olympic Champion and world record holder, who took the gold medal in the men’s 25 lap race. “I am very happy to have won this one for Ethiopia. It is not easy if you run for your country in a major championship,” said Bekele who counting team results at cross country has won 23 senior global gold medals in his career.

4 in the bag, ambition to surpass Haile

And as so often when Bekele takes a major race, there was something special to come with it. We are not talking about a World record in a championship race, though with his great time of 26:46.31 minutes the 27 year-old improved his own championship’s record from Paris 2003 (26:49.57).

But it was the great Haile Gebrselassie, with whom Kenenisa Bekele is now on the same level regarding the number or World Championship wins in the 10,000m. While Gebrselassie took each of the golds in 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999 Bekele now also has four in a row: Paris 2003, Helsinki 2005, Osaka 2007 and Berlin 2009.

So in two year’s time, when the World Championships will take place in Daegu (Korea), Bekele could even surpass Haile Gebrselassie with a fifth win.

“To surpass Haile is always a major challenge for me. But we will have to wait what will happen until then. I have to stay healthy and fit.”

Jos Hermens, Bekele’s Dutch manager, confirmed: “Oh, yes, Kenenisa is still very determined to surpass Haile whenever there is a chance.”

5000m double

Well, there is one opportunity coming up very soon: next Sunday, when the 5000m final will take place. No man has so far taken both gold at 5,000 and 10,000m in the history of the World Championships. Gebrselassie had just missed out at his first World Championships back in 1993. In Stuttgart he took the 10,000m gold but then was narrowly beaten by Kenyan Ismael Kirui. After that Ethiopia’s superstar never tried doubling again at global championships.

Bekele also tried the double at his first World Championships in 2003. But he ended up with a bronze medal in Paris, narrowly beaten by Kenya’s winner Eliud Kipchoge and Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj. But of course Bekele succeeded in Beijing last year.

The prospect of a unique World Championships’ double seems to be an attractive feat for Bekele. “Yes, to take the double would be an important success for me,” said the world record holder at both distances. “But I will decide about the start tomorrow,” he added on Monday night. Asked if he feels that this might be the best chance at these championships to take both golds, Kenenisa Bekele replied: “It is never easy to win the 5,000 metres gold medal. Even if it might look so.”

Usain was very special

But chances seem to be very good that we will see more of Kenenisa Bekele in these World Championships. But first the Ethiopian will see more of World Championships’ action himself. “Yes, I watched the 100 metres and I enjoyed it. It was a superb race and the result from Usain was very special.”

Asked about his personal best at 100 metres Kenenisa replied: “It is 11.00 seconds.” Talking relaxed after the end of the official press conference in the dark outside the press conference tent next to the historic Olympic Stadium he was asked about his improved English: “I do not really study it at home, but because I speak regularly I am improving more and more.”

Over 800m Haile’s confident of his success

But back to Usain Bolt: How about an 800m race against the 100m World record holder? Who would win that one? “Oh I would definitely beat him if we would race 800 metres. I would be ready”, said Bekele, who, after answering this one, may prompt meeting directors to turn to him regarding a challenge with Usain Bolt.

Monday’s race had been Bekele’s first 10,000m event this year. Following his stress fracture in the foot in November 2008 he had to abandon any starts in the indoor season and in cross country this year. “Such an injury can happen, so I was not feeling too disappointed. I recovered well and the main goal of the year had always been the World Championships in Berlin.”

At the start of the season Bekele then concentrated on the 5000m and successfully stayed in the AF Golden League Jackpot with wins in Berlin, Oslo, Rome and Paris. But although he had not raced the 10,000m before Monday he was confident.

“Of course you can never be sure that you will win a race – you can only dream about that. But I prepared very well. And because of this I felt comfortable even with the fast pace. At first I stayed back a bit, but I felt fine all the way,” said Bekele and added: “There was no team tactic today. It can not work when the pace is so fast. You can do this if the race is slow, but if it is fast then you have to run for yourself only.”

Bekele once more did this in an impressive way.

Bolt sets record to win 100m gold

ATHLETICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Berlin Date: 15-23 August

Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt set a new world record as he stormed to a stunning victory in the 100m at the World Championships in Berlin.

The 22-year-old Jamaican recorded a time of 9.58 seconds to shave 0.11 off the mark he set last year when winning gold at the Beijing Olympics.

American Tyson Gay was second in a time of 9.71, with Jamaica's Asafa Powell claiming bronze in 9.84.

Britain's Dwain Chambers came sixth in a season's best time of 10.00.

Bolt, who set three world records when winning his Olympic golds in Beijing last summer, served up another superlative display to enhance his reputation as the best sprinter of all time.

In the final, he powered out of the blocks at the first time of asking and took control of the race within the first 30m, the crowd going wild as he streaked across the line.

Bolt's time represents the biggest increase in the record since electronic timing was introduced in 1968.

"I was ready, I was feeling good after the semi-finals," Bolt told BBC Sport.

"I knew it was going to be a great race and I came out and executed it. It's a great time. I did well and I feel good in myself."

Former world record holder Powell paid tribute to his compatriot, saying: "When I saw the time I had to try and catch him, but I couldn't."

Gay, who went into the final as the reigning world champion, has been troubled by a nagging groin pain and had to cut practice on his start.

"I ran the best I could but it was not enough," he said. "I believe I put in a championship performance and I am very pleased with the national record.

"I'm happy he ran 9.5 because I knew he could do it. I'm happy for him."

Chambers, back competing at

the top level after serving a two-year ban for taking the designer steroid THG in 2003, said the final was a "great experience".

"It is hard to explain what it is like to go out there and stand on the line to compete with the best in the world," said the 31-year-old. "It does not get easier as you get older but it is worth it."

Earlier, there was controversy as Britain's Tyrone Edgar was disqualified from the semi-finals.

After Bolt made the opening false start, Edgar was ruled to have transgressed the second time, although initial reaction times seemed to suggest that decision was harsh.

"I don't think it was a false start," said the 27-year-old Edgar, who was also disqualified at the London Grand Prix last month.

"To me it looked pretty good but there is nothing I can do. I am not going to argue the point. I am disappointed right now because I reckon I would have made the final."

After round two, 100m momentum with Bolt and Bailey

Berlin, Germany - Both literally and figuratively, the quarter-finals of the men’s 100m managed to separate the dash’s boys from the main event’s men. And the big men at the moment are Usain Bolt and Daniel Bailey.

It may not have been the fastest, but Heat five, featuring the World record holder and his Antiguan training partner, was certainly the most entertaining, and arguably the toughest.

Not that Bolt and Bailey had a particularly difficult time breezing through to tomorrow evening’s semi-finals. With the best starts in the field, the pair, running side-by-side, ran virtually stride-for-stride through the finish, sharing glances and trading smiles back and forth over the final 30 metres. Nor did it matter that the comparably diminutive Bailey, who barely reaches the Jamaican’s broad shoulders, crossed the line first in 10.02 to Bolt’s 10.03. The ease with which Bolt ran suggested a far different result when he’ll be seriously tested. Not to be outdone, the relaxed 22-year-old Bailey played the part of a medallist in waiting quite admirably.

The race claimed a pair of strong names, Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles (10.19) and British champion Simeon Williamson (10.23).

Also running well was former World record holder Asafa Powell who breezed onward with a strong victory in Heat Three. Second or third out of the blocks, Powell got into gear quickly and gradually pulled away from American Darvis Patton. Easing up some 15 metres from the line, Powell clocked 9.95, the evening’s first sub-10 and fastest of the round, ahead of Patton (10.05) who finished runner-up. Trinidad’s Marc Burns was third in 10.12 to move on as well. 2001 World champion Kim Collins, fourth in 10.20, did not. The race also saw the departure of African record holder Olu Fasuba (10.25) and Frenchman Ronald Pognon (10.27).

After a somewhat sluggish start, defending champion Tyson Gay was forced to work harder than he would have liked through the midway point of Heat Four before he finally took control. He won handily in 9.98, ahead of Jamaican Michael Frater (10.09), the 2005 silver medallist, and lanky Norwegian Jaysuma Ndure (10.16).

After a pair of false starts, it was U.S. champion Michael Rodgers from gun-to-tape in Heat Two. Unfazed by the delay and running relaxed, the 24-year-old cruised to a 10.01 win. Briton Tyrone Edgar was next in 10.12, with Naoki Tsukahara (10.15) of Japan. Gerard Phiri needed a Zambian national record of 10.16 to advance on time. Guilty of the false start was French teenager Christophe Lemaitre’s whose season, which has included a 10.04 European junior record, ended on a down note with his unceremonious departure.

From the gun, Heat One was dominated by Briton Dwain Chambers and Olympic silver medallist Richard Thompson of Trinidad. Chambers got out well and maintained his lead, stopping the clock in 10.04, a season’s best. Thompson was never far behind, reaching the line second in 10.08. Further back, Frenchman Martial Mbandjock (10.22) advanced by right

After thriling title run, Masai no longer the bridesmaid

Berlin, Germany – When Kenyan distance runner Moses Masai was asked yesterday morning how his younger sister Linet would fare in the women’s 10,000m he said he thought she’d do well. “But whatever she does,” he added. “I’ll do better.”

After his 19-year-old sibling’s sensational victory over the mighty Ethiopians in last night’s final he’ll have to produce one hell of a stunning performance in the men’s race on Monday to outdo her now. Not that the softly-spoken shy girl of Kenyan distance running is worried about that. Indeed, she believes her gold medal is a good omen for the Masai family.

Like sister, like brother?

“In Beijing both of us were fourth,” she says, referring to last year’s Olympic Games when she and her brother came agonisingly close to medals. “This year I am the champion and I believe he will be the same.”

Of course, Moses will have to overcome the triple champion and World record holder, Kenenisa Bekele, to match his sister’s achievement. And, no doubt, some will claim Linet’s win was devalued by the absence of Tirunesh Dibaba, the reigning champion and double Olympic gold medallist, who pulled out of the event a few days ago with a leg injury.

'It doesn't matter that Dibaba wasn't here'

Not surprisingly, Masai doesn’t see it that way. After all, she destroyed the Ethiopian in New York earlier this summer over 5000m, a performance that gave her the belief she could win again in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, even though the Ethiopian great was below her best at the time.

“It doesn’t matter that Dibaba wasn’t there tonight,” she says. “This year I have beaten Dibaba already so I don’t think it would have made any difference.”

In fact, Masai’s victory over the remaining Ethiopians – Meselech Melkamu, the world number one and second fastest all-time, Meseret Defar, the reigning 5000m champion, and Wude Ayalew, who took the bronze medal – was no matter of chance or luck.

The Kenyan team devised a plan to end Ethiopia’s decade-long dominance of this event, and Masai made it work to perfection.

Initially, she was the only Kenyan runner named for the event but the federation later granted the World Cross Country champion, Florence Kiplagat, and African 5000m bronze medallist, Grace Momanyi, wildcard places in the team.

“We saw it would be unfair for Linet to compete against the Ethiopians alone at the World Championships, and coaches recommended to Athletics Kenya that they include Grace and Florence,” new national head coach, Peter Mathu, explained at the time. “I believe now we have a strong team to take on our rivals since Linet has runners she can work with.”

With her heartbreaking Beijing experience still fresh in her mind, Masai was right behind the plan. “You have to start pushing early and run strong since they can finish you with their kick and that requires serious training,” she said after the decision was made. “I will try to handle them in Berlin. I’m more experienced now.”

That extra experience certainly came to the fore as Masai executed the plan superbly. “We knew we’d have to run the last eight laps fast to run the finish out them,” she explains. “I was expecting the race to be harder and so with 3k to go I decided to push the pace higher because this way I could win.”

Indeed, it was only when the young Kenyan stretched her long, elegant legs to move from the back of the field to the front that the race raised itself above the pedestrian. With Momanyi for support she proceeded to run smoothly but swiftly, raising the pace from 3:09-3:10 per km to around 2:56-2:58. It was enough to burn the blistering finishing kicks out of Defar and Melkamu’s legs, and give herself a chance when it came to the final lap.

It was this move, says Masai, that meant she had strength to fight back from a boxed position 200m from home, and from fourth place with 100m to go, to outsprint her rivals on the line. “In the last 100m I saw that I was still strong and so I decided to push it,” she says. “I am so happy I was strong enough to win.”

Although Masai tries to play down talk of rivalry between Kenya and Ethiopia, her manager Ricky Simms explains that she was well aware of the history of the event, and in particular that the last non-Ethiopian gold medallist was Sally Barsosio in 1997, another member of his management group and of Masai’s training group.

“She knew that the last person to win apart from Ethiopians was Sally and that was important to her,” he says.

But there were other reasons, too, for her determination to win here, Simms explains. She was hurt after the Olympic final when she was in third place close to the end but just didn’t have enough strength to take a medal. And then she led the World Cross Country Championships this year until right at the death when passed by Kiplagat.

“She was worried that she was always going to be the bridesmaid and never the bride,” he says. “Well, now she’s the bride.

“I call her the Queen, and now she’s the Queen of Berlin,” he added when asked to reveal more about his latest champion’s character. “She appears shy but when you get to know her she has a lot of confidence. She’s very popular with her teammates.”

Her mental strength also comes from her background in a land of hardship, he says. She comes from the Mount Elgon area in Kenya where 600 people were killed last year in an internal conflict involving a guerrilla movement from the Sabaot tribe that she belongs too. She missed a flight to Belfast for a cross country race because of roadblocks and reports suggested her training was badly disrupted.

But she shakes her head at the memory, and backs away from the question with the lowered smile of a teenager still not quite used to the attention that comes with being a world champion.

At that point she escapes the prying microphones as Simms passes her the phone. “It’s Moses,” he says, ushering her away.

What’s the bet she put the handset to her mouth and raised her voice above its customary whisper to say, “Beat that, older brother.”

Radcliffe to test Berlin fitness in New York Half Marathon

New York, USA - Paula Radcliffe, the World record holder in the Marathon, will test her Berlin preparedness over the Half Marathon distance in New York on Sunday (16).

The Briton will use her first start of the year at the fourth annual NYC Half-Marathon to gauge whether she will be ready to regain the World title she won in Helsinki in 2005. Radcliffe last competed nearly 10 months ago when she won her third ING New York City Marathon title. She had bunion surgery on her right foot in March.

"Recently, my training has started to go very well. I’m definitely ready to run a half-marathon, and the NYC Half-Marathon will give me important feedback about where I am,” said Radcliffe. “After the race in New York, I will consult with my coaching and medical teams and we will make the final determination as to whether I am ready to run the marathon in Berlin. It is certainly my hope to compete there.”
Radcliffe is on the Great Britain team for the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, which starts in Berlin on Saturday, 15 August. The women’s Marathon is scheduled for Sunday 23 August.

Radcliffe is a late entry to the NYC Half-Marathon field that features top Americans including 2004 Olympic bronze medallist Deena Kastor, Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall, and three-time 10,000m Olympian Abdi Abdirahman. Also in the field are defending champion Tadese Tola of Ethiopia, defending champion and two-time Olympic medalist Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, and ING New York City Marathon 2004 winner Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa.

“Paula’s late entry adds more suspense, glamour, and intrigue to an already exciting race,” said New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg. “Winning the NYC Half-Marathon women’s crown has now just gotten that much harder.”

Radcliffe, 35, is only the second woman to win the New York City Marathon three times, claiming her most recent victory last year in 2:23:56. Radcliffe captured her first crown in 2004 in dramatic fashion when she out-dueled Kenyan Susan Chepkemei by three seconds in the closest women’s finish in race history.

Also accomplished at the 13.1-mile Half Marathon distance, Radcliffe has a career best of 1:05:40, which she ran at the Great North Run in 2003, the fastest ever by a woman, and she won the World Half Marathon title in 2000 and 2001. However, Radcliffe has not run a Half Marathon since her second-place finish at the Great North Run in 2007.

Radcliffe owns the women’s Marathon World record of 2:15:25, which she set in 2003 at the London Marathon. She also holds four of the five fastest women’s marathon times in history.

Jaouad Gharib of Morocco, the 2008 Olympic marathon silver medallist and two-time World Marathon champion, withdrew from the race at the insistence of his national federation that he attend the World Championships.

"Although Jaouad is not able to compete at his normal level at the marathon distance, he has been called up, not only by his federation, but by the general public in Morocco, to represent his country and to keep the team’s morale high,” said Eric Lilot, a member of Gharib’s management team.

Bolt ready for showdown with Gay

ATHLETICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Berlin Date: 15-23 August

Triple Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt is relishing the prospect of a 100m showdown with American Tyson Gay at the World Championships in Berlin.

World record holder Bolt and Gay, who has set 2009's fastest 100m time, have not faced each other yet this season.

"I wouldn't say I've followed him, but he's hard to ignore as he keeps telling me how fast he runs," said Bolt.

"It's not a fight for me, it's a race. I am just competing. Who is faster? I am going to say me."

Gay, meanwhile, has said he is "preparing for battle" ahead of the pair's expected mouth-watering clash in Sunday's 100m final.

The defending world champion endured a miserable Olympics in 2008 after rushing back to competition from a debilitating hamstring injury, but he is now back to form and aiming to break Bolt's world record of time of 9.69 seconds en route to claiming gold in Berlin.

"If breaking the world record is what it takes to win the 100m, that is what I will have to do and he will try to do the same," said the 27-year-old.

"The world record is the only number I have in mind, I want to win more than anything, but I want to run fast.

"I don't want to run 9.99 and people say it wasn't fast. I believe 9.60 is obtainable - that is my goal."

After taking the Beijing Olympics by storm last year, winning the 100m and 200m in world record times and also claiming victory as part of Jamaica's 4x100m relay team, Bolt has continued his impressive form in 2009.

The burden of expectation will be firmly on Bolt's shoulders, but the sprinter says he will be attempting to better his Beijing performances.

"Expectations are going to be higher here than Beijing, but I am ready to go and do my best," he said. I know what I did there and I know the high responsibility which comes with it, I am working hard to do better than last year.

"I would love to do better than the Olympics, just going out there and winning is enough for me.

"These championships are very important for me as I haven't got a world gold medal and it's something I want.

"I'm itching to run right now. I'm looking forward to it and I can't wait.

"I'm always ready to go out there and do my best."

Bolt and Gay may be separated by just two-hundredths of a second in terms of their fastest times this season, but they could hardly be more different in their approach to the sport.

"I would love to do better than the Olympics, just going out there and winning is enough for me.

"These championships are very important for me as I haven't got a world gold medal and it's something I want.

"I'm itching to run right now. I'm looking forward to it and I can't wait.

"I'm always ready to go out there and do my best."

Bolt and Gay may be separated by just two-hundredths of a second in terms of their fastest times this season, but they could hardly be more different in their approach to the sport.

"He's exciting and we both bring our own styles to the race."

Also competing in the 100m will be Bolt's fello Jamaican Asafa Powell - beaten comprehensively by his compatriot at the London Grand Prix last month - and Brit Simeon Williamson.

Williamson, 23, crushed Dwain Chambers in the UK trials, running

For Ethiopian Marathon hope Tune, third time lucky in Berlin?

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Nearly two weeks before she lines up at the start of the women’s marathon at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany, Ethiopian runner Dire Tune greets teammates, guests, and fans at the national team hotel on the outskirts of Addis Ababa with an unmistakable grin.

What is the cause of this seemingly-perpetual happiness?

“Confidence and peace,” says Tune. “I have been involved with the national team for the last four or five years and never have I seen such a healthy atmosphere in the team. The spirit has been fantastic and we can achieve big things in Berlin.”

The 24-year old has so far represented Ethiopia in two World championships (Helsinki and Osaka) and one Olympic Games (Beijing), but failed to even finish in the top 10 of all three races.

“We used to have a lot of selection problems in previous years,” says Tune. “The environment around the team used to be very tense and everyone in the team used to look at each other with suspicion. This year, there are a lot of changes. I am confident of my training and I also think that we can dominate in Berlin.”

2009 Consistency and improvement earns Berlin selection

Apart from predicting dominance by her teammates in the German capital, Tune will be satisfied by another improved year in the full Marathon and shorter events.

Her year began with a dominating victory in the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates where she improved the national Half Marathon record to 1:07.18. In April, she fought a close battle with Salina Kosgei in the Boston Marathon and finished just behind the Kenyan.

“The race did not go as expected,” says Tune who had started the race as the defending champion. “I had expected to run faster than the previous year. But the pace was very slow and I fought hard. The Kenyan beat me at the finish and I was very disappointed.”

In June, she returned to Ostrava for a crack at the World 20,000m record at the Golden Spike, but fell short of the target.

“I tried to break the world record, but the pacemakers did not help me as well as I had wanted,” says Tune. “Running 50 laps on the track is a bit boring, but I had a good experience running around the track in Ostrava.”

Although Tune’s season best for the full Marathon is only 2:32.17, which was the 12th fastest in Ethiopia this year, her improved form on the roads and track convinced selectors to pick her ahead of faster runners for the team.

“It is always such an honour to represent your country in the big competitions,” she says. “Therefore, I am delighted that I have been selected to run for this team. If I and my teammates succeed, it would be great for women and the sport in Ethiopia.”

Early connection to Gebrselassie

Of course, things were quite different when Tune came to this world 24 years ago in Kulemsa, a small village in the Arsi zone which is home to many of Ethiopia’s top runners. Then, few schools across Ethiopia encouraged girls to practice sports, but Tune remembers a strong relationship with Ethiopian distance running legend Haile Gebrselassie even as a child.

“My family knew Haile Gebrselassie’s family very well,” she says. “I was born just one kilometre from where Haile was born and we always heard about his success as children.”

There is also much more than Gebrselassie’s influence on Tune’s career. She comes from a fast-developing running dynasty led by former national team athlete Hadji Adilo, who coaches Tune and works for American-based Jordanian agent Hussein Makke. Adilo is a relative of Marathon runner Leila Aman, who is a sister of Tune’s husband Kelil Aman. Adilo too has four world class Marathon siblings in Hussein, Kassim, Radiya, while his latest running protégé, Frehiwot Dado, won the Rome Marathon two weeks ago.

Initially, Tune started running in elementary school in the sprints. In one of her first competitive races, she competed over the 400m, but joined the Global club run by Gebrselassie a year later after showing promise in a string of regional races.

“I mainly ran the 3000m and 5000m,” she says. “It was difficult competing for Global because we did not have any salary and lived in a small rented house with other runners. I joined Omedla [police club] in 2003 because we wanted to earn a living and at sustain ourselves.

Gebrselassie’s Global club collapsed shortly after other runners left for greener pastures. And Tune continued her progress setting 3000m (9.01) and 5000m (15.48) in her first two races abroad. But after taking advice from coaches, she decided to switch to the Marathon and made her debut in the 2005 Los Angeles Marathon where she finished fourth in 2:30.04.

She has since run 10 marathons including successive victories in the 2007 and 2008 Chevron Houston Marathon, the latter where she set her personal best of 2:24.42.

Big ambitions in Berlin

Joining the national team’s training camp in Addis Ababa has meant that Tune had to abandon some of her established training schedules and train as a group with the other four members of the team.

“The coaches give us freedom to train on our own, but they design our training programme,” she says. “It is not like previous years. I feel more responsible for what I do in training because my body has gotten used to the marathon.”

And when asked what she expects in Berlin, Tune does not think even twice. “I think it will be one, two three for Ethiopia,” she says. “That is how confident I am about our chances.”

Elshadai Negash for the IAAF

Ndiku and Cherono prevail - African junior champs, Day 1

Thursday, 30 July 2009
Bambous, Mauritius - Emphatic wins by Kenya’s World junior champions Jonathan Ndiku and Mercy Cherono were the highlight on the opening day at the ninth Africa Junior Championships in Bambous, Mauritius on Thursday (30).

Their victories confirm Kenya’s intention to retain the team title earned in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, two years ago. 515 athletes from 31 countries have converged at the Germain Comaramond Stadium for the four day contest.

The famous adage ‘Tough times do not last but tough people do’ best describes Ndiku’s stoic performance in the 3000m Steeplechase. Barely 800 metres into the race, Ndiku’s spike flew off his right foot.

Undeterred by this setback, he maintained his challenge upfront. This even as the Ethiopia duo of Legesse Lemesso and Desta Alemi Mokona sought to work as a team to wear him down. Initially, Ndiku’s teammate Stephen Kiprotich held back.

With four laps to the finish, Ndiku made his move as first Mokona, then Lemesso fell off the pace. As the Ethiopian seemed to be struggling, Kiprotich who had held back for the first half of the race appeared rejuvenated.

Kiprotich caught up with the fizzling Ethiopian duo and then overtook them with 600m to the finish. Over the last lap the Kenyans coasted home in majestic style. Ndiku won the race in 8:28.83, and was followed by Kiprotich (8:35.97), Lemesso (8:39.53), and Mokona (8:44.40).

“I was initially ruffled by the incident of losing one shoe. But I was not going to let my country down,” Ndiku said. “I knew that the best out of this situation is to put pressure on the Ethiopians, thus preventing them from controlling the pace. Once I regained some balance I just went ahead and ran my own race,” Ndiku explained.

Cherono stamps her authority in women’s 3000m

Earlier Mercy Cherono set out to give a solid account of why she is the world’s best junior 3000m runner. Initially, Ethiopians Etenesh Diro Neda and especially Tsaga Gela Reta made the spirited challenge in the opening three laps.

When Cherono upped her pace, the contest for the gold medal effectively ended in the first half of the race. Cherono covered the distance in 8:54.96. Neda (9:09.22) followed ahead of Reta( 9:25.31).

“Today I was confident of victory as I have previously prevailed over my Ethiopian rivals,” says Cherono. Besides her 3000m world title in Bydgoszcz last year, she was a silver medallist in the junior women’s race at the World Cross country Championships in Amman in March.

“I think it is God’s blessing that I have done very well as a junior over the past two year. Winning accolades on the world stage is just as important as winning here at home in Africa. Now I am going to pay more attention to my school work,” Cherono revealed.

A third round 7.67m leap in the Long Lump, albeit wind assisted, was enough for Tunisia’s Alaeddine Ben Hassine to clinch the gold medal. A finalist at the recent Mediterranean Games in Pescara Italy, Hassine was pleased with his performance.

“It is Tunisia’s first medal at these championships and my first gold medal for my country. What more can my country ask from me at this event?” Hasssine asked with a broad smile.

The fourth gold medal of the day went to South Africa’s Lindie Liebenberg. She won the event courtesy of a modest 43.24m effort in the Discus Throw.

“We threw the implement against the wind. Therefore we did not expect a big throw today,” Liebenberg said.

Mark Ouma for the IAAF