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Cows: A Column By Len Johnson

posted by rtross on February 2, 2010, 4:11pm

By Len Johnson.

Don’t Have a Cow, Man

‘Don’t have a cow, man’ is a saying adopted by Bart Simpson as one of his catch-phrases and meaning, ‘don’t get worked up.’

Ted Baillieu and Peter Ryan want us to have lots of cows _ and at Falls Creek, Australia’s premier alpine training venue, to boot _ and they hope we won’t get worked up about it.

In the desperate thrashing around for issues in the Victorian state election due this year, the leaders of the Opposition coalition parties (Liberal-Baillieu; National Party-Ryan) sense that there might be votes in bringing back cattle grazing in the Alpine National Park.

The pair probably aren’t so silly as to imagine there’s a lot of votes in it _ the issue impacts directly on only a handful of grazier families with negligible spin-offs to associated suppliers and businesses. And fewer tourists come to the High Country for a Man from Snowy River summer experience than to walk, to ride (bicycles, not wild bush horses) and to run.

But with rural discontent an unknown x-factor in the coming election, the Nationals have probably convinced their more sophisticated Liberal partners that this is a symbolic issue that feeds into a potentially critical mass of city v country arguments. One of the key factors in Steve Bracks’ upset victory over Jeff Kennett 11 years ago was rural discontent, and the Opposition probably hopes the same tide may run in their favour in 2010. Opinion polls suggest they have little else to cling to.

Rural romanticism no doubt does have an emotional pull over some voters. Years ago, the Liberals won a crucial by-election with support from the Mountain Cattlemen Association in Nunawading, the thoroughly middle-class suburban seat within which I live. The Cattlemen attracted massive, uncritical media coverage by riding horses along Spring St to the Victorian Parliament (the fact that they had probably off-loaded said horses from Range Rover-drawn floats just around the corner was conveniently overlooked).

I’m going against self-interest here, as all my personal bests were run with cattle grazing on the High Plains. Victoria did not ban alpine grazing until 2005, long after the ACT (1908) and New South Wales (1972) had given the cows the boot.

The arguments for restoring grazing seem bogus and are easily countered. Tradition can be celebrated without continuing practices which are now known to damage the environment _ theme parks, educational displays; no credible study endorses the view that grazing reduces fire risk; and the visual despoiling of bogs and water-courses is plain for anyone to see.

For runners and walkers, too, the cows, or rather their droppings, bring hordes of annoying bush flies as well. It’s no fun shooing a herd of defecating bovines along the trails and aqueducts until they find a spot to get out of the way.

Finally, the Bogong High Plains Road was sealed and surfaced this year, creating a 230km bitumen loop through the high country from Falls Creek across the plains to Omeo, up to Mt Hotham, down to Bright, across to Mt Beauty and then back up to Falls. This loop will attract more vehicle traffic and cyclists and it would seem dangerous folly to allow cattle to roam the area, including across the road.

At this stage it might be long odds the coalition will be in a position to adopt its policy after the state election, but it wouldn’t hurt to let Liberal and National pollies know that this one has all the attraction of putting your foot down right in the middle of a fresh cow-pad.

Of course, the alpine grazing issue affects only Victoria, but it is one of a number of ways in which runners are being ‘got at’ around the country. To name but two or three, there is the increasing difficulty facing state athletic associations in finding suitable cross-country courses (metropolitan parks in Sydney and Melbourne are for passive recreation, which does not include running it seems), the growing trend to replace low-maintenance gravel paths with no-maintenance concrete surfaces, and the nit-picking restrictions (not the genuine safety ones) imposed on road events.

No individuals or groups should ever get their own way all the time, but it never hurts when runners let their representatives know their views on these issues.

Tags: Len Johnson, Falls Creek
Read more | Comments (2) | Updated on February 2, 2010, 5:06pm

Ranking: A Column By Len Johnson

posted by rtross on January 15, 2010, 8:43pm

So many honours have been heaped upon Steve Hooker for his exploits in 2009 that a significant one almost slipped by unnoticed.

Track & Field News ranked the Olympic and world champion pole vaulter fifth male athlete of the year, the first Australian to gain such a ranking since Jana Rawlinson was ranked tenth in 2003, the year she won her first world championships gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles, and the first male Australian since Robert de Castella was ranked sixth in his world championships marathon year of 1983.

Usain Bolt was voted 2009 male Athlete of the Year, followed by Kenenisa Bekele, Tyson Gay, LaShawn Merritt and then Hooker.

Each year, in addition to its event rankings, the American magazine assembles a panel of international experts to vote on the male and female athletes of the year across all events. The panellists vote on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis and the athlete of the year is decided on the aggregate.

Not surprisingly, a top-10 AOY finish is an honour that has eluded all but a handful of Australians. As a small nation, Australia doesn’t provide a huge number of Olympic and world champions which, three years out of four, is pretty much a minimum requirement for AOY candidates.

Nor does the lifespan of the award help. The men’s Athlete of the Year was inaugurated in 1959, the women’s in 1977, so the stars of Australia’s golden years in the 1950s and 1960s _ Marjorie Jackson, John Landy, Shirley Strickland, Betty Cuthbert, Herb Elliott _ never had the chance to win it.

Ironically, the only Australian to have been voted Athlete of the Year failed to win an Olympic gold medal. That would be Ron Clarke, whose amazing record-breaking year of 1965 saw him acclaimed male athete of the year. Clarke pretty well lived in the top 10 throughout his international career _ he was fifth in both 1966 and 1967, and equal ninth in 1968.

The only other Australian male top-10, Kerry O’Brien, also failed to win an Olympic gold medal. Like Clarke, however, that failure (in 1968, at least) was attributed largely to the high altitude of Mexico City. O’Brien was ranked third in the AOY poll in 1970, the year in which he set a world record in the 3000 metres steeplechase in Berlin; he was ranked number one in the steeple and sixth in the 5000 metres.

Deek’s appearance in the overall top 10 came the year he won the world championships marathon. He also won that year’s Rotterdam marathon, defeating Carlos Lopes in a head-to-head duel over the last five kilometres, and pushing Alberto Salazar back to fifth. You also have to wonder whether de Castella may have ranked in the top 10 in 1981 had he got the immediate credit for breaking Derek Clayton’s world marathon record in Fukuoka. Instead, Salazar “beat” him to the mark on a New York course which turned out to be just under 150 metres short.

In the shorter history of the women’s AOY only three Australians have made top 10. First, and most prolific, is Cathy Freeman, who was voted fourth overall in 1997, the year of her first world championship gold medal in the 400, seventh in 1999 (when she retained the title), and third in 2000, when she won at the Sydney Olympic Games and made the final in the 200.

More surprisingly, Emma George was ranked 10^th overall in 1997. The pioneer star of the women’s pole vault, George set two world records that year. Not that they counted in 1997 considerations, but George set plenty either side of that

year too.

Finally, Jana Rawlinson (then Jana Pittman), earned a top 10 ranking in 2003, the year she became the youngest woman to win a 400 metres hurdles world title, defeating world record holder Yuliya Pechonkina in Paris. Rawlinson also ranked in the 400 that year, via a personal when she handed Freeman her first defeat in over 40 races. (Note: Rawlinson was originally voted number 11, but has subsequently been elevated by the BALCO-related disqualification of American sprinter Kelli White.)

Clarke, O’Brien, de Castella, Freeman, George and Pittman _ Steve Hooker is joining an illustrious band. Of course, with Freeman, he belongs to an even more exclusive club: Australians to have won both an Olympic and world championships gold medal.

Tags: Len Johnson, Herb Elliot, Ron Clarke, Steve Hooker, Jana Rawlinson, Cathy Freeman, De Castella
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on January 15, 2010, 9:23pm

Summer: A Column By Len Johnson

posted by rtross on January 9, 2010, 5:00pm

By Len Johnson

Remember those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer? When did they drop the hazy and crazy and become just plain lazy?

We’re talking sport here. And I’m not referring to the whole of summer _ just January. Likewise, I’m referring to just one of the whole range of summer sports _ athletics. When did January, or the greater part of it anyway, become an athletics-free zone?

Athletics has abandoned a period in which it once thrived, the Christmas-New Year-early January period. Depending on the calendar, athletics association offices shut down about a week before Christmas, not to re-open until mid-January. Then, when it gets going again, takes time to re-establish momentum.

This year, there’s nothing much on the national calendar until Sunday, 17 January, when the selection trial for the world cross-country championships is conducted at Melbourne’s Brimbank Park.

To a certain extent, athletics is following the rest of the country. As annual leave entitlements stretched from two to three to four weeks, more and more people came to consider Christmas-January as the perfect opportunity for an extended break.

In sport, we have gone from a multiplicity of competitions over this period, to a shallow pool of major events. The Boxing Day and New Year Tests and, in the second half of January, the Australian Open tennis, leave other sports gasping for the oxygen of publicity.

Mass media has abandoned the broadcast in favour of a broader coverage of a narrower range of sports and events. Then there is the inane coverage of our major winter events for those who can’t live without them. “Dog Bites Man” may still not be a story, but ‘footballer has drink of water after pre-season training session’ _ mystifyingly _ is.

So maybe the decision by athletics _ and so many other sports _ to virtually close up shop at this time makes sense. But it wasn’t always so _ and hasn’t always been even in relatively recent times.

Major championships in our region in Auckland (1990 Commonwealth Games), Sydney (2000 Olympic Games) and Melbourne (2006 Commonwealth Games) have seen adjustments to the domestic season which resulted in a lot of action early in the year. The Auckland selection trials, for example, were in December in Sydney and by early January we were watching the likes of Sebastian Coe, Liz McColgan, Linford Christie and Colin Jackson warming up with competition in Hobart and Sydney.

In 2000, the domestic season kicked off early (the nationals were the final weekend in February). The Canberra meeting, held on the 15^th, saw Lauren Hewitt beat Melinda Gainsford-Taylor and Cathy Freeman over 200 metres in 22.52 seconds, Tamsyn Lewis run her fastest 800 at 1:59.21, Benita Willis produce a solo 4:08.59 1500 and Kris McCarthy break through at 800 with a 1:45.77. There were something like 15-20 Olympic A-standard performances.

These years were aberrations, however, as by that stage the sport had already pretty well abandoned Christmas-New Year. But in earlier times, this was precisely the time when things started to happen.

In 1956, it was all of four days into January when John Landy took on world 880 yards record holder Lon Spurrier of the USA at Olympic Park in Melbourne over Spurrier’s distance. It was Landy’s comeback race after having all of 1955 off and, fit as a trout after training in the mountains while on teaching assignment in the Victorian High Country, he ran the American to within inches, both men clocking 1:51.8.

That was a mere pipe-opener. By the end of the month, Dave Stephens had broken Emil Zatopek’s world record for six miles and Landy had run the first sub-four minute mile on Australian soil.

Regular interstate matches _ New South Wales v Victoria, Victoria v South Australia _ also took place in the January period, with the likes of Betty Cuthbert, Marlene Mathews, Ron Clarke, and Albie Thomas representing their states.

Clarke, as in all things, was a benchmark. In 1965, he had no less than eight races in January, including a world record 13:34.8 5000 in Hobart. That was run on the North Hobart Oval which had a slope from the 220 yards point to the finish. Clarke broke Vladimir Kuts’ record by 0.2 and was seriously concerned that the performance would not be ratified because he ran 13 times ‘down’ the hill and only 12 times ‘up’.

It didn’t matter: Clarke went to New Zealand where he broke the world record again in Auckland on 1 February, his ninth race in 32 days!

The following year, Clarke raced ‘only’ six times in January, but that included a 5000 on New Year’s Day (one of three races for the month at that distance), another 13:31.2 for 5000 (Kip Keino held the world record then at 13:24.2) and a 28:41 for 10,000 metres, so he wasn’t slacking.

Herb Elliott, too, ran regularly in January. He had four races in 1957 (plus a Boxing Day 880 to close 1956) and four more to begin 1958 were highlighted by his first sub-four minute mile at Olympic Park on 25 January, followed by a second five days later.

I know the world has changed, but it must have been great to have such feasts served up back in those days. Beats the heck out of today’s Januaries, I reckon.

Tags: Len Johnson, Herb Elliot, Ron Clarke, Willis, Coe
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on January 9, 2010, 5:32pm

Fire: A Column by Len Johnson

posted by rtross on November 20, 2009, 5:10pm

By Len Johnson.

In a landmark case, the US Supreme Court once ruled that the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting ‘fire!’ in a crowded theatre and causing a panic.

This example needs updating. Judging by the reaction to the release this week of the report by David Crawford into sport funding, perhaps the test should now be a man falsely shouting “your funding is under threat” to Australia’s peak sporting bodies. Crawford certainly generated panic, though his defence undoubtedly would be that there really is a fire.

Now Mr Crawford, in my brief exposure to him, is as dry as chalk dust. He produced the report which led to the successful restructuring of the Australian Football League (AFL) and the creation of an independent AFL Commission. Back in my days at The Age newspaper, I was one of the journalists covering that story and I don’t recall too many wisecracks as David Crawford outlined his recommendations.

But looking at the AFL, you’d have to say Crawford got it pretty right. And looking at another of the inquiries he headed up over the years, you’d have to admit he got the review into the structure, governance and management of soccer in Australia pretty right, too.

There’s a lot that is fundamentally right about this latest Crawford report, too. We do need to address the state of sport in schools, the participation rates by all Australians in sport, the provision and upkeep of community sporting facilities.

It’s just that we don’t need to do that by directing money away from the elite end of sport. For a start, taking all the money spent on the elites and redirecting it into community sports would be mere symbolism. As massive as the amounts spent on chasing Olympic gold medals sometimes sound, and as wacky as some of the efforts to identify and pursue possible medals undoubtedly are (Cool Runnings, anyone?), they would not go far if redirected into setting up and implementing meaningful nationwide community programs.

And please don’t tell me that more money should go to the popular sports _ the major football codes, netball, cricket _ because people actually watch and play them. These sports are well and truly capable of looking after themselves without taxpayer money. Any further funding in that direction would be some sort of sporting middle-class welfare.

Not to mention counter-productive. The sports Crawford cited as “central to the national ethos” _ cricket and football, gold, tennis, netball, surfing and surf lifesaving _ are for the most part also central to less attractive sides of the national ethos, including higher rates of alcohol and tobacco consumption, gender and ethnic imbalances, inappropriate attitudes to women, etc, etc.

So in my understanding of his recommendations, I think Crawford is way off-line here. As he is in underrating the passion Australians feel towards the Olympics and, by extension, Olympics sports. In speaking to the report, Crawford was unwise to single out archery as a target, not because all Australians value archery, but because it was a blatant case of playing the man, not the ball.

There is wastage in Australian funding of sport. At times the Olympic movement does get its priorities wrong in the headlong pursuit of medals. We do right to ponder the value of medals in the most obscure events against other goals. But the overall Olympic appeal remains stubbornly popular. Australians do care about Olympic participation and Olympic success and are devastated when it doesn’t happen (remember Montreal?).

Crawford should have understood this, and to the extent that he and his panel did not, the report is flawed and, ultimately, undermined. AOC boss John Coates was right to be agitated, even “pissed off”. At the risk of evoking one too many legal aphorisms, let’s paraphrase one of Australian High Court judge and reforming politician Lionel Murphy’s here and say that Mr Coates in entitled to be an agitator with regards to this one.

Tags: Len Johnson, David Crawford, AFL, Olympics, Funding
Read more | Comments (1) | Updated on November 20, 2009, 5:29pm

Masai Climbs Mountain to take 10,000m on Opening Day: By Len Johnson

posted by rtross on October 7, 2009, 2:12am

In Amman a few short months ago, Linet Masai lost a world cross-country title to teammate Florence Kiplagat, the race decided by the climb up the brutal last hill.

Tonight, in Berlin's Olympic stadium, Masai climbed a mountain in coming from a seemingly impossible position with 50 metres to go to run down first Meseret Defar and then Defar's teammate Meselech Melkamu to snatch the gold medal in the 10,000 metres in the last few strides.

Masai affected not to mind losing in Amman, because it was a teammate who took the win. Nevertheless, it must have hit her hard. Hard enough, indeed to motivate her through an enthralling battle over the final five laps of the first world championships final decided in the stadium.

Unlike last year's magnificent Olympic final, where supporting actors Lornah Kiplagat and Elvan Abeylegesse set up a near world record race, the first half of tonight's race went by at a fairly pedestrian pace. Kiplagat was not here, nor was Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba. Abeylegesse was, but was never a factor.

By the mid-race point, though, the Ethiopian and Kenyan squads had marshalled themselves at opposite ends of the pack of almost 20 runners (at 15:45.19, few were dropped off at this stage). Defar, Melkamu and the third Ethiopian, Wude Alayew, were prominent towards the front of the pack, Masai and teammates Grace Momanyi and Florence Kiplagat, towards the rear.

Masai put in the first pace injection, coming round towards the 7000 metres point with just under eight laps to go. Immediately, the pack was whittled down to five _ Masai, Momanyi, Defar, Melkamu and Alayew, with Shalane Flanagan and Kim Smith struggling unsuccessfully to remain in touch.

A couple of laps around 70 seconds _ one just under, the next just over _ had Ayalew briefly struggling too, but Masai could not quite hold the momentum. Now Momanyi took the lead, giving her a vital breather. Masai was back in front with two laps to go and at the bell, where there seemed an air of inevitability as Defar was at her shoulder.

Down the back-stretch the leading three duelled with each other and used lapped runners like pawns in the battle. With 180 to go, all possibilities were open, from a Kenyan 1-2 (unlikely) to an Ethiopian sweep (possible), or anything in between.

Defar struck, but not decisively. Yet until she got the staggers 20 metres from the line she seemed to have it won. Then it was Melkamu's gold, but inch-by-inch, Masai pulled it back to claim Kenya's first gold medal in this event since Sally Barsosio in Athens in 1997. Since then, with the exception of China's Xing Huina in Athens, it has been an Ethiopian hegemony both at Olympic and world championship level.

Something is really changing in women's distance running.

Elsewhere on day one, there was Australian delight as Jeff Riseley ran a well-judged heat to go through to the 1500 metres semi-finals (Ed: Results are now saying that Riseley has been DQ'd), but disappointment for Jeremy Roff and Ryan Gregson, whose break-through seasons came to unhappy ends. But who would have thought three Australian 1500 representatives six months ago?

And Asafa Powell answered the question everyone was asking: "what on earth was he doing when he almost relaxed from first to out of the automatic qualifiers in the final 30 metres of his first round 100 heat. Well, as it turns out, he was just "running too easy. I under-estimated the other guys."

He was switched on running the second round, clocking fastest time of 9.95. But Usain Bolt was even more impressive clocking 10.02 while conducting a running conversation with Daniel Bailey, who edged him in the next lane. How much more has he got? A lot, I'd say.

ends

Len Johnson was The Melbourne Age athletics writer for over 20 years, covering five Olympics, 10 world championships and five Commonwealth Games. He is the author of The Landy Era, From Nowhere to the Top of the World, and a former national class distance runner (2.19.32 marathon) who trained with Chris Wardlaw and Robert de Castella.

Tags: Len Johnson
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on October 7, 2009, 2:14am

Day 3 (17th) Wrap

posted by rtross on October 7, 2009, 1:43am

Brought to you by Edward Ovadia who is in Berlin with official IAAF accreditation covering the championships for Runnerstribe.com

Bekele Day Three had only one session in the evening, which had a couple of big finals. First up was the Womens pole vault; where the biggest upset imaginable happened. The impenetrable force of Russia's Elena Isinbaeva didn't come to the party tonight. Isinbaeva failed to clear a height after passing up to 4.75m. She had one attempt at that height, which didn't even reach the bar. She then passed to 4.80m, which she had two failed attempts at. Which means that Isinbaeva comes away without even a medal. The gold went to Poland's Anna Rogowska, who was the only one to successfully clear 4.75m.

Rogowska: "If somebody told me this morning that I was going to get a gold medal today, I would just smile. I still do not believe I won. Maybe tomorrow I will realise it. Maybe I hoped for silver but gold is a big surprise for me."

Isinbaeva: "I have no proper explanation for what happened today. Everything was perfect, I was confident and I cleared 4.70 during the heat up. When I was laying on the ground and concertrating, I imagined my victory, and good jumps, not defeat. Something like this happened nine years ago, I did not expect it. I do not regret I did not start at lower heights because even if I cleared 4.65 it would mean nothing. I think it happened because it just must have happened. This competition was important to me but I hope that will encourage me to be great in London. I hope I will recover from this."

In the womens 400m hurdles heats, all the favourites made it through, with the fastest qualifier being Lashinda Demus of the USA, running 54.66. Olympic Champ Melaine Walker of Jamaica won her heat comfortably

The womens 100m semi finals showcased some very fast times, with the fastest going to Shelly-Ann Fraser of Jamaica, who ran a then season best of 10.79. She was closely followed by Kerron Stewart, who looked the two to beat. Fast forward to the final two hours later, and that's how it stayed. Fraser got off to a brilliant start, and Stewart was forced to play catchup. In the end she nearly did, but Fraser was too strong on the line, winning in a world leading 10.73, with Stewart in a personal best 10.75. Carmelita Jeter was third in 10.90.

The womens 800m semi finals saw another upset, as Olympic Champion Pamela Jelimo, who looked so strong two days ago in the heats, pulled out with 250m to go, after never really looking like she was in the race. Vessey, too, failed to make it through to the next round. However South Africa's Semenya again looked unstoppable, as she cruised to the line to win her semi in 1:58.66, leaving World Champion Jepkosgei scrambling to try and catch her. Semenya is clearly the one to beat, now that Jelimo is out, and we still haven't even seen Semenya actually extend herself and hit a sprint down the final straight. She is certainly in 1:56 shape, and the others will have to be too to try and catch her.

Lagat Smenya: "It's my first time on the international stage and I will try to do my best. The tactic was to go in front first, then slow down and let the other go and accelerate again closer to the finish. I used to play football as a left back. Running is just a game for me. Even next year, I can stop running if I want."

In the mens 1500m semis, Aussie Jeff Riseley had a gutsy run but missed the final, placing 10th in his heat. He positioned himself perfectly throughout most of the race, but with 300m to go, he was unable to make the move up to the front of the pack, and was left with too much too do in the final straight. Kiprop looked untroubled in striding to the front and claiming the win. So to did Lagat in the other heat, who although didn't win, looked the form runner. Those two will be very hard to beat.

Lagat: "It will be a great final, really awesome. Laalou [Lagat's heat winner] is a 800m runner, so he has a great finish. It will be a challenge for me. Yes, I looked strong and I also felt strong. I have to defent my title, but it will not be easy. The final is going to come down on the last 600m. We have three US guys; this is incredible."

Riseley: "I felt like I put myself in the right position, I didn't want to get caught out on the rail like I did in the heat, I hit a few dead ends, and I was always conscious of someone coming around me, and getting shuffled back. I tried to hold my space, and I really made a move with 450m to get back on with the leaders, and get myself in a position where I could close fast in the last lap, and get one of those top five spots. I felt like I was capable of that tonight, but I got to the 300m mark, and I just didn't have the kick I had two days ago. I was still competitive, and I still ran kind of well, but I just didn't have the gear that those guys had tonight, so I was pretty disappointed. Bolt powered to the line, and didn't pull up, and was rewarded with a time that will prove very hard for anyone else to reach anytime in the distant future. Gay got off to a good start, and ran a US record to become the second fastest person ever, in 9.71. Powell, who has become much more playful with the crowd and the camera (perhaps in an attempt to relax before big races), finally shook off his big time nerves and claimed a gallant third place. But Bolt is truly a champion, and continues to shock like never before. He is the man who can do absolutely anything.

The third big upset of the night happened in the womens steeplechase final, where Olympic Champion and world record holder Gulnara Galkina, after looking so dominant in her heat, never figured in the final. She struggled to keep up, finishing fourth in the end, just in front of a fast finishing Jennifer Barringer. Instead the win went to Spain's Marta Dominguez, who set a personal best of 9:07.32.

Dominguez: "When I ran side by side with Galkina I realised she was not breathing good and so I knew that I had a medal for sure."

The biggest race of the night was the mens 10000m, which featured the first foray of Kenenisa Bekele on this World Championship track. It was a successful one, with Bekele kicking away from Zersenay Tadesse in the final lap to take the win in 26:46.31, a new Championship record. The pace was fairly pedestrian for the first half, until Tadesse took over and started laying down 2:38 kilometres, one after the other. Slowly people dropped, until it was just four: Bekele, Tadesse, and Masai, and Kogo of Kenya. Kogo was the first to go, the Masai, and for the last five laps it was mono a mono, as we have seen so many times already - but it never gets old! Tadesse did everything he could to shake Bekele, but with one lap to go, and with Bekele still on Tadesse's shoulder, it was clear to all, including Tadesse, who the winner would be.

World Champs Dathan Ritzenhein ran a blinder of a race, coming through the field in the last few kilometres, to take sixth place in a personal best of 27:22.28. Rupp was eight in 27:37.99. Collis Birmingham, who decided to line up in both the 5000m and the 10000m, was in the mix for the first half of the race, but then slowly dropped as the pace picked up. After running in no mans land for a long time, he pulled out with four laps to go. Hopefully he will bounce back for the 5000m. Dave McNeill had an incredibly gutsy World Championships debut, coming 24th in 29:18.59. McNeill gave it his all, and worked off everyone he could, never giving an inch. His last 100m was pure agony, as the jelly legs kicked in, and the Aussie could barely stand after crossing the line, and was carried off the track with hypothermia and dehydration. A gallent effort, and McNeill should be very proud of his debut.

Bekele: "It's great to win for the fourth time. I am so happy. I planned already to stay behind until one lap is left, and then kick. [On the 5000m] I haven't decided yet. I will decide maybe tomorrow."

Tadesse: "I am very, very happy. The race was tough because for many, many laps I was in front. The problem is at the finish. I am happy because this is my first time to be second and the World Championships. The Kenayns were in front and I went to the front after 15 laps. That was my plan."

On to tomorrow! More Usain Bolt, the mens steeple final, the womens 400m final, the mens 400m hurdles final, it'll be big! See you then.

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Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on October 7, 2009, 1:45am

Day 4 (18th) Morning Wrap

posted by rtross on October 6, 2009, 5:47am

The morning got underway with the mens 200m heats. Gay, Chambers and original Olympic silver medal winner Churandy Martina had withdrawn due to injury, with Gay hoping to recover for the relay on the weekend. Bolt did his usual morning job to run 20.70 and win his heat; Shawn Crawford also looked good in winning his heat; and although Wallace Spearmon qualified, he was in a bit of trouble coming into the straight, and had to work hard to get second. But with no Tyson Gay, one would think Bolt has a clear run to the gold medal.

Next up was the mens 400m heats. Australia had three very capable runners lining up - John Steffensen, Joel Milburn, and Sean Wroe - with Wroe being the standout performer so far this season. First up was Milburn, who dominated his heat from the outside lane, looking very strong. He finished third in a blanket finish, clocking 45.56.

steffenson Then came Steffensen, who ran a blinder of a race, taking it out to Olympic Champ LaShawn Merritt on his outside, and running a very strong race - the Steff of old is back, and he's focused on running well. "I've got a game plan, but when you're out on the track you're just got to run hard," he said. "I've made the final before, and I should have made it in 2007, so yeah, hopefully."

Last up was Wroe, who also ran strongly all the way to run the fastest time of the Aussies, 45.31, to be the sixth fastest qualifier overall. Wroe held on well in the final straight, and looks set for a PB run tomorrow night. Wariner and Merritt also made it through easily.

Milburn: "It was fantastic, probably the best race to do a seasons best at. I've been training really well over the last month, and I know it's there, I just need to get out there and do it. [Lane eight] is normally the best lane for me to be in, I just run my own race."

Wroe: "I took it out hard in lane eight, and kind of coasted it for the later half of the race, but I guess it eventually turned out to be a fast race, but I guess I feel comfortable running at that pace now, so it doesn't feel like it's taken much out of the tank, so I'm ready to recover and get ready tomorrow."

Merritt: "It was a great first round. I stayed relaxed, made my moves and finished up. My body is feeling good. I have been feeling a little rocky, I have not been running too good this seaso because the agenda was not there, no pressure."

In the womens high jump, Aussie Petrina Price got off to a brilliant start, looking full of confidence. She had first attempt clearances at 1.80m, 1.85m, and 1.89m; but then struggled at the 1.92m mark, having a couple of close attempts, but ultimately missing out on the clearance. Blanca Vlasic qualified easily, as did home town hero Ariane Friedrich, who only needed one jump to qualify, at the automatic mark of 1.95m.

petrina price Price: "I was so excited to be out there and jumping again, unfortunately 1.92m didn't stay on, so I'll be upset if 1.92m gets into the final [depending on past misses, it did] considering I jumped 1.94m a week and a half ago, but I'll come away from these championships with my head held high, I did a PB a week and a half ago, and this is the second comp in five years, that I've competed at internationally."

Then came the womens 1500m heats, which got off to a bang when the USA's Shannon Rowbury fell 200m into the first heat. An appeal is pending. The heat was won by Maryam Yusuf Jamal, who looked comfortable all the way. Second heat was again won comfortbly, this time by Gelete Burka, with Lisa Dobriskey running strongly for third, and Anna Willard for fifth. Kenya's Irene Jelagat was the victim of another fall at around halfway, and struggled home at the back of the field. Olympic Champ Nancy Langat qualified in the third heat, where Steph Twell fell off the back and didn't manage to hang on. But the one sliding under the radar was third place Kalkidan Gezahegne for Ethiopia, who looked very strong in coming third, and looked to have a mean turn of speed. She's my tip for a value bet, highly underrated.

Jamal: "It was tactical, we had to push a little bit, but on the whole it was really easy. My competitions this season were good although at the beginning it was a little tough. At the start of the season, when I'm doing my training, it sometimes takes me two or three competitions to get race-sharp."

Burka: "The race was very nice, so I'm happy. At the Olympics I didn't qualify, so now I'm satisfied. I will see how the others run, and I hope I will qualify again."

For Willard quotes, check out our separate interview (ed: on the way). See you tonight!

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Frank Shorter

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Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on October 6, 2009, 5:49am

Steeple : By Len Johnson

posted by rtross on October 6, 2009, 5:36am

steeple For a home crowd of Berliners, nothing was going to surpass a German gold medal. So Steffi Nerius topped the bill with her first throw of the competition win in the women's javelin.

The best championship steeplechase ever won might run a close second, even with locals knowledgeable enough to recall that a German, Patriz Ilg, won the steeple at the first world championships in Helsinki. (Italy's Francesco Panetta won in Rome in 1987, so it was not until Moses Kiptanui in Tokyo in 1991 that Kenya first won its 'own' event at a world championship).

After the drama of the previous night's women's race, when six runners were still in contention at the final water jump, four men came to the last 150 metres with a real chance of taking the gold medal. Even more of a surprise, one of them was 'Bob' Tahri of France, who was in among the Kenyans and looking a real chance to beat them.

Ezekiel Kemboi, the Athens 2004 Olympic champion and second at the past three world championships, burst clear out of the water to win and Richard Mateelong, Olympic bronze medallist last year, got home second. Tahri fought off Paul Kipsiele Koech for the bronze medal.

The times were sensational. Kemboi's 8:00.43 was the fastest world or Olympic championship ever; Mateelong was a couple of steps back in 8:00.89. Tahri was right on his heels in a European record 8:01.18 and Koech a non-Usain Bolt sprint margin back in 8:01.26.

steeple Kiptanui held the previous world championships record at 8:04.16 in Gothenburg in 1995 and Julius Kariuki holds the Olympic record at 8:05.51, set in Seoul in 1988. So this was quality running indeed.

The race went off at a sprint, slowed marginally as if pausing for breath, then rattled home at near world record pace over the last five laps. Tahri was always a factor, which added crucial intrigue to the mix.

Kemboi figures in the only other steeple I can think of that may have been more exciting, if not quantitively better. That was in the 2003 Paris world championships when Saif Saaeed Shaheen, formerly Stephen Cherono of Kenya, set off at seemingly suicidal pace with a Qatari teammate. They ran the first lap in under 60 seconds.

Soon Kemboi reeled them in and he and Shaheen kept going at a slower, but still amazing pace for another lap or two. They then slowed to such an extent that the field regained them, before settling down to a decisive final lap which Shaheen ran in 57-point while the lead changed hands several times. Shaheen won, but it was one hell of a race.

If, as for this purpose we must, we consider Shaheen a Kenyan, the added factor in this race was the possibility of a non-African win. It didn't happen, but it always looked like it might. A few years from now, this might look like a race in which a non-Kenyan snuck in for a minor medal. Those who saw it will always know it was much more than that.

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Racing in a shoebox

posted by rtross on October 6, 2009, 4:33am

By LEN JOHNSON

You see plenty of shoeboxes around a track and field championships as shoe companies hand out sponsor product like confetti at a wedding.

You don't expect to see the men's 1500 raced in a shoebox, however, yet that's pretty much what happened in a compelling, if slightly bizarre, final tonight.

For almost all of a race which went out at the sort of pace you would associate more with a 1950s sub-four minute mile attempt than a 21st century championship, the field of 12 ran as if they were inside a box. A strange box it was, too, with many athletes who might have done something to set the race alight trapped inside by others with no intention of doing anything but wait for the finishing kick.

Gus Choge led initially, but without any noticeable ambition. Among those trapped on the inside were defending champion Bernard Lagat and pre-race favourite Asbel Kiprop. This tight formation held up even when world indoor champion Deresse Mekonnen of Ethiopia took the lead coming up to the bell. The third 400 was actually run in 57 seconds (after 59.5, 60.5), but all the quickening came on the first bend of the final lap.

From there, it was a desperate sprint. The imprisoned had no hope. Lagat almost got out with 200 to go, but was cut off by Belal Mansoor Ali and Mehdi Baala to his outside. Kiprop, deep in the field but not so deep as to be able to drop out and come around, literally had nowhere to go.

Such tight formation running is more typical of an 800, so it was hardly a surprise that an 800 man _ 1:42.79 runner Yusuf Saad Kamel _ came with one of the few clear runs of the race to claim Mekonnen in the shadows of the post and win in 3:35.93. Mekonnen, Lagat and Kiprop followed within 0.54 seconds.

Kamel's 800 pedigree is impeccable. His father is Billy Konchellah, who won successive world championships 800s in 1987 and 1991. He finished 5th in last year's Olympic final.

Lagat finally found some air to come through the middle of the pack and claim the bronze medal. Kiprop did not get out until it was too late, and came charging home to grab Choge on the line for fourth, but could not push his way into the medals. How he must have rued passing up a half-chance to drop out of the back of the box in the back-straight of the third lap.

Later, Lagat told of how he had been in his hotel room during the afternoon thinking just one thing _ "don't get boxed: stay out of trouble". So, what happened? He went out and found some trouble, a box with nowhere to go until it was too late.

Coincidentally, while this was proceeding so too was a men's discus competition that in its own way also stayed inside a box, Germany's Robert Harting and Piotr Malachowski of Poland marching lock-step in search of the gold medal.

The third outdoor meeting between these great rivals was supposed to be in the 1500 final at the 1976 Olympics. They raced twice indoors in the US in the interim, each time over a mile. Bayi won both narrowly, but we were deprived of the climactic Olympic meeting by the African boycott, ironically, in protest against New Zealand's rugby ties with South Africa. Walker won the gold medal, turning the race into a long, sustained sprint over the final 300 metres.

Malachowski opened with a 68.77 metres throw; Harting replied with 68.25. The Pole threw 68.05, his German opponent 67.04. Round three went 67.00 to 67.80 and both fouled in round four.

By now Harting was throwing before Malachowski and he again reached 67.80 in the fifth round. The Pole looked to have landed the knock-out blow with a 69.15. To a massive build-up for his last throw, Harting produced a stunning 69.45. The crowd erupted, but Malachowski had one more throw. Out it flew, again beyond 65 metres, but only as far as 67.33.

The previous night Steffi Nerius had won Germany's first gold medal when her first-round throw stood up throughout the women's javelin. Now Harting did it in the last round. The fans didn't care how he did it, only that he had.

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Women's 800m final

posted by rtross on October 6, 2009, 4:30am

Brought to you by Edward Ovadia who is in Berlin with official IAAF accreditation covering the championships for Runnerstribe.com

Janeth Jepkosgei

"That wasn't easy but I told myself I had to fight. I really wanted to get the gold but it was too hard. I'm so happy because at least I'm not coming home empty-handed, especially after falling down in the heats.

"I'm hapy with my competition today. I have had a tough week with the fall in the heats and I qualified from the semi-final only as a best loser. I had to give all of my best tonight and hoped to be on the podium.

"I think when I started in the 800m I enjoyed running with Mutola. Then I got the South African lady. I'm really enjoying it, especially when they know [racing] Janeth is not easy."

Jennifer Meadows

"It was really fast at the start but then I realised it and chilled out. I ran concentrated on myself to make everything to be on the first places. I still cannot believe it. I wanted to make sure till I reached the line and then I just screamed at my friends from the happiness. I am 28 and this is my first big medal.

"A medal for me is a dream come true. It was my dream to make the final, and it was a relief when I did. It's my first championships medal, I've never won a medal at any championships, senior, junior, relays, anything, so I'm very happy with this.

"It's three years to an Olympic Games on home soil. It's my aspiration to make the final there, and it is hard to make a big leap the year before an Olympics, so I needed to do it now.

"[On the situation surrounding Semenya] I think I have to have a professional head on my shoulders. I didn't mind what medal I got, so I just have to let the IAAF do its work."

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'Hills are speedword in disguise ' Frank Shorter

'Hills are speedword in disguise ' Frank Shorter

'Hills are speedword in disguise ' Frank Shorter

'Hills are speedword in disguise '
Frank Shorter

'Hills are speedword in disguise '
Frank Shorter

'Hills are speedword in disguise '
Frank Shorter