Day 4 (18th) Morning Wrap

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 Gay, Chambers and original Olympic silver medal winner Churandy Martina had withdrawn due to injury, with Gay hoping to recover for the relay on the weekend.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.

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.

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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'Hills are speedword in disguise '
Frank Shorter