The act of doing something well often belies the difficulty of doing it at all.

Not always: Emil Zatopek never made running look easy, but he made it a darned side harder for those lumbering in his wake. But think of a Federer backhand, a Bekele surge, Tendulkar batting – part of the art is that all of them look simple.

So it was for a Steve Hooker pole vault for the magic years from 2006 to 2010. As he won the Commonwealth Games, the World Cup, the Olympic Games, the world championships and the world indoor championships, he built up an air of invincibility.

Why, it was all so easy he could do it off one leg, as Hooker memorably did in winning the Berlin 2009 world championships despite a strained quadriceps muscle restricting him to just three jumps – one in qualifying, two in the final.

That apparent ease masked the reality that vaulting is difficult – and dangerous. So difficult, in Hooker’s case, that he went for a year virtually unable to jump a bar early in his career. Those demons have returned to haunt him now, at pretty much the worst possible time in his Olympic preparation. 

“The confidence I require to stand at the end of the runway and then charge down, land my pole and soar almost six metres into the air has left me for the time being,” Hooker said this week.

The good news is that Hooker got through ‘the yips’ one time and he can get through them again. Despite an ordinary year last year, he has the Olympic B-standard so, other than the unlikely event of someone else getting the B (or, even less likely) the A-standard, he can be picked for London provided he is on the right track.

It hasn’t been a good few months at the sharp end of Australian athletics. Sally Pearson remains a shining light – though even she had an injury scare in a ‘pro’ race on a grass track just before Christmas.

Jared Tallent is going alright, too, but almost everyone else who has shown out in recent years has a query against them right at the minute.

Mitch Watt hasn’t been jumping due to a calf injury. (A report this week said that he and his support team were “on top of his calf”, which must make it even more uncomfortable.)

Our other top jumper, world indoor champion Fabrice Lapierre, has been struggling too, though he will resume competition in Perth this weekend. Last time he competed there, Lapierre cleared a wind-aided 8.78 metres. Let’s hope it is an omen.

Dani Samuels, 2009 world champion in the discus, has not shown anything like that form since, our 400 men are struggling to get anywhere near individual qualifying times (when they won a bronze medal in the Berlin 4x400, three of them were individual semi-finalists).

Javelinists Kim Mickle and Jarrod Bannister are off the scene, the former injured, the latter suspended for part of the season.

Then dual 400 hurdles world champion Jana Pittman has had an injection for plantar fasciitis, a potentially debilitating foot injury which, like Hooker’s problems, could hardly have come with worse timing.

Finally, there has been the storm that has erupted over the marathon qualifying standards – or, rather, Athletics Australia’s adjustment of the IAAF standard, the only event for which it has done so – which is likely to see anything up to half-a-dozen IAAF A-qualified athletes told that no, in fact they have not qualified.

With all the bullets flying around this week, the last thing you need is to come under ‘friendly fire’.

Back in the lead-up to Sydney 2000, team manager Peter Brukner and head coach Chris Wardlaw had regular media briefings at which, among other things, they ran through the injury list. Many wondered if it was worth it, as the downside was an inevitable negative story on injuries.

Better, the counterview then was, not to have the briefings unless you had something positive to say. And that has been the approach since. It works a treat, too, until you get swept away by an avalanche of bad news, as happened this week.

No doubt everyone is fervently hoping Perth marks the reversal of this trend.

‘And all that I knew was the hole in my shoe which

Was letting in water’, (Traffic, 1967)

I blamed Carl Lewis.

There I was, on the steps of the old Parliament House in Canberra, squinting into the sun and trying to explain to a national television audience on the Today show that, yes, the world’s greatest athlete wasn’t coming, but no, the World Cup would not hence be cancelled.

And all that I knew was the hole in my shoe, which was letting in water. Today was presented on Channel 9, hosted Steve Liebmann. I was doing a live cross from Canberra. And the producer had decided he’d get the best vision by asking me would I mind standing with one foot in a shallow puddle.

Guess which one of my shoes had the hole in the sole?

It wasn’t really all Carl’s fault, though he, or his people, had agreed to be available for the USA 4x100 metres relay for the World Cup in Canberra. Until then, it had looked as if he wouldn’t come at all. After winning four gold medals at the previous year’s Los Angeles Olympics, TWGA (the world’s greatest athlete) had decided to take it low-key in 1985.

That meant no US championships and that, in turn, meant no spot for Carl on the World Cup team. Until some genius in the World Cup local organising committee decided we could get TWGA to Canberra if a vacancy could be created in the relay squad.

Of course, nobody checked whether the spot which apparently was available really was available. Lewis joined the team in Tokyo before it came to Australia but someone _ either the athletes or the team coach _ demanded he come to relay training and, when he did not, he was off the team again.

So now, instead of TWGA simply being unavailable for the World Cup, we _ which that sunny spring morning meant me _ had to explain why he was first, coming, and then, not coming to Canberra.

The will-he/won’t-he question was a disconnect for me anyway. I came to be working in the Canberra World Cup marketing section because my boss recognised that she knew a lot about marketing and promotion but nothing about athletics, and therefore needed a mirror opposite. Knowing nothing about marketing and a little about athletics, I fit the bill.

As an athletics nut, all I could see was regardless of whether Carl Lewis, Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett _ to name but a few _ turned up, over 400 of the world’s best athletes were coming. Australia had been starved of world athletic talent on this scale since the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Whoever came, it would be a feast.

I worked for the World Cup Local Organising Committee for nearly 18 months, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. In the course of it I travelled to the European Cup in Moscow and the aftermath (unfortunately) of the African championships in Cairo.

At the former, I had very little to do. I judged it wasn’t exactly politic to file stories about athletes who might, or might not, come to Canberra.

Moscow was then a micro-controlled environment; Cairo a chaotic one. At baggage claim, locals clambered right on to the carousel and tossed carpet bags out to waiting friends or family members. On the street, traffic moved intermittently, horns blared constantly.

We had a meeting with the African delegation, headed by the imposing figure of Lamine Diack. The treasurer, I was warned, had placed a gun on the table at a previous meeting, saying that he couldn’t carry the cash without ‘security’. This time, mercifully seeing we were discussing finance, he came unarmed.

The LOC thought it was organising the Cup, but the IAAF had other ideas. The original dates were 5, 6 and 7 October, the latter falling on a bank holiday Monday. The IAAF insisted that the dates be amended to 4-6 October for European television. I still have posters and stationery with the original dates!

The competition was fantastic, culminating in two world records by East Germans _ Marita Koch in the 400 metres and the women’s 4x100 relay _ on the final day. Both still stand and we now know to be shrouded in suspicion, but they were still spectacular. Speaking of future drug scandals, Ben Johnson won the 100 metres on day one in an all-comers’ record of 10.00.

Then, the World Cup was fondly regarded by athletics fans. It had been the forerunner of the world championships, with editions in Dusseldorf (1977), Montreal (1979) and Rome (1981) before the IAAF staged its first world championships in Helsinki in 1983.

My first link with the Cup was in Montreal, where I ran the associated World Cup marathon, finishing one place behind Bill Rodgers (he had a bad run, mine was a pretty good one). Then came Canberra, and in 2006 I was invited to Athens to provide coverage for the Oceania region. On a huge final day Craig Mottram, Steve Hooker and Valerie Vili all won, Mottram defeating Kenenisa Bekele to win his second consecutive World Cup 3000.

In Split last weekend the World Cup had morphed into the Continental Cup, with a revised format of two per team per event. It was refreshing to hear Steve Hooker say there appeared to be widespread acceptance of the changed concept among athletes. Maybe the IAAF has got it right.

The IAAF got something right back in 1985, too. The day after the Cup, the Monday the LOC had wanted as the final day, it poured non-stop. Instead of finishing with two world records, the 1985 World Cup would have squelched to a close.

And I would probably have been wearing the shoes with the hole again.

First up on the second main session of the Championships was the womens 100m second round. Particularly impressive was Kerron Stewart from Jamaica who ran 10.92, and Carmelita Jeter from America, who ran 10.94. Both looked very relaxed and in control, and still ran some very quick times. Everyone you would expect to get through did just that. The semis and final will be stacked!

Then came the warm up act to the big event tonight - the semis of the mens 100m, with the finals set for later tonight. The first heat had Bolt, Darvis Patton, Daniel Bailey, and Michael Rodgers. In fact only three of the eight had Pbs slower than ten seconds - in a semi final. Heat two was no less stacked, with Gay, Powell, Chambers, and Frater, and another five sub ten second men.

And a false start! By none other than Usain Bolt, the man who has stated that the new false start rule of immediate disqualification doesn't worry him because he has never false started in his life before. I wonder if this will change his mind. And then came another false start, this one by Britain's Tyrone Edgar, who was unfortunately disqualified.

And then came an incredible display of running, as Bolt jogged the last 60 metres, as if waiting for the field to catch him, and still ran 9.89. The world record will definitely go tonight if Bolt runs hard.

In the second heat Gay and Powell have a good battle, with Gay winning in 9.93. But none of them look as comfortable as Bolt, and Bolt still ran faster. But then Gay never looks as comfortable as Bolt. It's still up for grabs, but it's swinging further in Bolt's favour.

Next up was the womens 400m semi finals, with a punishing qualification process. Three heats, and only the first two in each heat, plus the next two fastest times, qualify for the final. In the first heat Novelene Williams-Mills ran a hard race to take it out in a fast 49.88. In heat two, Shericka Williams ran an even faster 49.51 to record a PB. Russia's Antonina Krivoshapka wasn't too far behind, wunning 49.67. In the third heat Sanya Richards and Christine Ohuruogu went head to head. Within 100m Richards was up on Ohuruogu's shoulder, and going into the last 100m had a lead of nearly ten metres. Looking around, she slowed to a jog for the last 100m, but there's no doubt that Richards is out here with a point to prove. Ohuruogu got in second to also qualify for the final.

Tristan Thomas and Brendan Cole lined up in the semis of the mens 400m hurdles (Cole after being reinatated after being disqualified on a technicality last night). Both Thomas and Cole didn't hit their stride, with Cole hitting the fifth hurdle when he was hoping for a big PB. Thomas ran 49.76 and Cole ran 49.92. But 14th and 15th respectively is certainly something the Aussie duo can be proud of. Meanwhile in the field Alwyn Jones battled hard in the qualifying rounds of the triple jump, and just missed qualification by 40 centimetres.

The womens shot put final got off to an interesting start with World and Olympic Champion Valerie Vili only sitting in fourth for the first two round. But everything was put right when Vili busted out a massive 20.25m throw in the third round to claim first place. She was shortly followed by local hero Nadine Kleinert from Germany who threw 20.20m to be right on Vili's tail. Both competitors held their positions until the fifth round, when Vili extended her lead by comfortably throwing 20.44m. And it stayed like that until the end, with Vili claiming yet another gold medal.

In the womens heptathlon, which had been unfolding over the past two days, UK's Jessica Ennis established a big lead in the first two events, her best events - a lead she held right to the end, with no one ever really getting close to catching her. In her first event, the 100m hurdles, she ran 12.93 (and has a PB of 12.81), and in the second, the high jump, she jumped 1.92m (and has a PB of 1.95m). It's no wonder no one could catch her! She claimed the UK's first medal of the Championships, and there's no doubt the hosts of the 2012 Olympic Games were glad to be on the board.

Then came the main event. The mens 100m final. Would the world record go? Would Bolt be beaten? Would he celebrate again, like he did in Beijing? What would happen when the three fastest men in history lined up for the first time together, all fit and ready to go? All questions were answered in 9.58 seconds - a new world record! And by 0.11 seconds, a margin unheard of. 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.

 

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'Hills are speedword in disguise '
Frank Shorter

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

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.

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.

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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'Hills are speedword in disguise '
Frank Shorter

"I can't really believe it. It's been a crazy fortnight. Qualifying was difficult, it was difficult to get through. To have this result tonight, I can't believe it. These guys have been vaulting well all year. I thought maybe I would have been able to come out and get 5.85m on the first attempt and get maybe a bronze."

"Early on [in the final] I thought that there was no way I was going to jump, it was quite sore during my warm up. I went in and got some treatment from the doctor, when the boys were jumping 5.65m, and as that kicked in, I thought I was more and more of a chance of jumping."

"As this injury has developed we've realised there's probably less muscular stuff involved [in the injury] than we initially thought, and there's more neural stuff, and we just shut that nerve off, and I was able to get down the runway pretty well."

"I can't believe that I put up such a good attempt in the first attempt [at 5.85m], I was pretty devestated when it was a miss though, it would have been good if it had been just a rubbish jump and I hadn't cleared it, but it was a really really good attempt, it just wasn't quite good enough for 5.85m. I was just happy that there was enough left in me that I could do that second jump. I made some pretty good improvements to my run up on that second jump, and the way I lowered the pole, and that was enough to get me over. It felt like a good jump as well, but I haven't seen it yet!"

"Just thinking about that moment [the emotions] are coming back a bit now. It's been a very challenging couple of weeks, I've tried to be as honest as possible with everyone during that process, and you've all been through that journey with me. But it's been ten times worse from my perspective. Every day it was a question of whether I would jump or not, and going to sleep at night wasn't the easiest thing, I've been sleeping like hell. But good people around me have helped me make smart decisions, and that's what got me through."

[Could you have jumped again if you had to?]

"I can't answer that, I don't know, I might have blown something off halfway down the runway - I'm glad it didn't come to that."

"I thought I would have one jump in me like in the qualifying competition. In qualifying, after 5.65m I had nothing left, I wouldn't have been able to get down the runway. After the first miss tonight I thought that was it. I walked around a bit and I felt better. I can't answer if there was a third one in me, I don't know."

"I think I've proven something to myself by this working out the way it has. I've got a lot more in me, and I know that if I can do jumps like this under these circumstances, then when I'm healthy, when I've got good conditions, massive jumps are not out of the question, and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do next year."

"Dani definitely ignited The Flame and took a lot of pressure off. She's such a young competitor and to do what she did under pressure was just fantastic. I thought if I was able to compete at half that intensity, I would be alright."

[Did you think about waiting until one jump would have been certain to win?]

"That could have been six metres. The way these guys were jumping, it could have been 6.10m or 6.16m. The strategy wasn't to win but to get a medal, so I came in at 5.85m. To have enough left for a second jump was a surprise to me."

 

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'Hills are speedword in disguise '
Frank Shorter