The third meeting on the Golden League circuit in Rome, Italy, brought an end to a number of the favourites' dreams. The two distance events over 5000m produced shock results, as well as an unexpected winner in the 1500m for Women.
Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco was again able to display, why he has the title of "The World's Greatest Athlete" by securing victory over the Mile distance. For Gabrielle Zsabo of Romania and Benjamin Limo of Kenya their dreams were left shattered under the floodlights of The Roma staduim on a warm evening.
In the women's 1500m, Maria Mutola of Mozambique proved successful over the distance she has struggled to dominate over the years. The Men's 800m saw Saint Denis' surprise winner, David Krummenacker of the USA, repeat his win with a commanding display.
Following are the race reports from the middle and distance events :
The Women's 5000m race report
Gabriele Zsabo [Romania] was expected to be the victor in this event, even though her two previous victories were close run contests against Berhane Adere of Ethiopia.
Zsabo, again, took up her familiar role tucked in directly behind the pacesetters. This event proved to be strange as the tempo that was being provided was not spectacularly fast. The warm evening contributed to the cauldron effect and added to the pressure of competing. Oddly enough, a number of the main contenders; Olga Yegorova [Russia] being one of them, dropped off the pace like flies.
The Km splits handed out were as follows : 1K in 2:56.76 .... 2K in 5:57.19 and then a slow 3K in 9:02 [3:05] Then the Japanese athlete Kayokowith Fukushi went to the front in an attempt to add some tempo. [ The Japanese athlete was able to set a 'new' National Record (NR) of 15:02.08 for 7th ] This small injection of sent previous Olympic Champion, Fernanda Riebeiro [Portugal] out the back door leaving a pack of 11 athletes to amble through the 4K in 12:02.
With 2 laps to go the 'evergreen' Tegla Laroupe [Kenya] went to the front, in attempt to apply pressure to her rivals. With a lap to go the 2 main contenders Adere and Zsabo were neck to neck. This time Adere went from 350m to go and the move caught Zsabo by surprise. Going down the backstraight, the gap grew between the 2 athletes. With 200m to go Zsabo was 'dead and buried', as well as her chances of winning the 'Golden Jackpot'. Edith Masai [Kenya] came past Zsabo at 200m pushing the Romanian into 3rd spot.
Coming into the last 120m Adere was maintaining her form, however what was displayed was pure 'poetry in motion', as Masai unleashed her 'dazzling' gazelle like finish eclipsing Adere before the line. Masai's winning time was 14:53.57, a staggering 60sec last lap.
A strange race but an amazing last 400m and a 'maybe' a stepping stone to Edith Masai's brilliant future ? [ results below ]
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The Women's 1500m race report
With Maria Ciocan's ambitions of being a 'Jackpot' winner, going
out the window in Paris last week, the Romanian could now concentrate
on putting her 'house back in order'. Her compatriot Violeta Szekely
[2001 winner of the Jackpot over 1500], was there to 'shepherd'
Ciocan through this race.
However, they had not counted on a number athletes in the filed
who wanted a 'sharp' race before the Commonwealth Games kicks off
later this month. The one athlete being Kelly Holmes [Britain] and
the other being Maria Mutola [Moz], making an unexpected appearance
over the distance [a matter kept quiet in build-up to this event].
Holmes was tucked in directly behind the pacesetter who pulled
the field through 400m in 63.44 following that with a 67.17 lap
for 2:10.61 at 800m. The next 200m was covered in 'about' 32sec,
taking the athletes through the 1000m mark in 'about' 2:42. A great
feature of the race was how all the contending athletes began to
form towards the front of the pack, all 'ready to show their hand'.
The pacesetter stepped off the track with a lap to go, Holmes sprung
at the chance to assert herself and at 1200m [3:15 - 65sec lap]
and 300m to go, she went to the front with a vengeance. Her intentions
were definite. Stepping out the pack down the backstraight was the
familiar figure of Mutola and she powered her way to the shoulder
of the Briton going round the last bend. [ on occasions (over
1500m) in the past Mutola's move did not signal success ]
Over the last 100m Mutola edged away from Homes, leaving the Brit
to claw desperately onto her 2nd position. However, blasting out
of the chasing pack was [ Monday night's Zagreb winner over 1500m
] Alesya Turova [Belarus] who was making 'in-roads' on Mutola's
lead. Holmes clung onto 3rd spot, ahead of 9 athletes who were to
set Personal Bests [PB's] . Mutola's winning time of 4:01.51 was
a PB [ and NR ] as well as the year's fastest time [ YB
] over the distance.
Last week's winner over 1500m Nicole Teter [USA] could only manage
10th spot in 4:04.19, this however was a PB, thus displaying the
quality of the field and the high standard of the results. [ results
below ]
The Men's 800m race report
The men's 800 produced the same winner as last week's 800 in Paris
in the form of David Krummenacker of the USA. His display was promising
and one can look forward to see whether he can produce the same
result when all the athletes go with the pacesetter.
The pacesetter scorched through 400m in 49sec, however the rest
of the field was close to 2sec 's behind and when he stepped off
the track with 300m to go, the American took his opportunity to
'glide' ahead of the field. His position at the head of the field
was never threatened and he went on to win in a time of 1:45.24.
[ results below ]
The Men's Mile race report
Yet again Hicham El Guerrouj [Morocco] showed the world, why he
is rated as the 'Best Athlete in the World' at the moment. His supremacy
in this event was never in doubt, eventhough his winning time was
5secs 'shy' of his own World Record. It must be noted though, that
his winning time of 3:48.29 his faster than his Oslo time [ 3:50.13
]
Behind El Guerrouj, Rui Silva [Portugal] was to set a new National
Record in 3rd spot with his time of 3:49.50, William Chirchir 'dipped'
past Silva on the line to take 2nd place in 3:49.49. [ results
below ]
The Men's 5000m race report
Salah Hissou [Morocco] was finally able to put the previous two
Golden League events in Oslo and Paris behind him. After 'simply'
being blasted away by superior finishing speed in the two previous
events, the Morrocon athlete had to come up with a solution to 'remedy
the problem'.
And 'remedy the problem' he did. Here is the solution simply run
them off their feet; take away their finishing kick, that is if
the field is anywhere near in the last 400m. Hissou [ the former
1999 World 5000m Champion world record holder for 10,000m ]
put on a display of sustained power running over the last 3 laps
that was simply awesome. It was great to see the Moroccan 'reel
off' lap splits 61 - 59 and 60sec consecutively, to leave race favourite,
Benjamin Limo [Kenya] trailing and shattered in 2nd place.
Hissou's winning time was 12:55.85 compared to Limo's 12:57.24,
eventhough the time gives the deficet of 1sec the win was far more
conclusive than the time suggests. With this loss Limo is no longer
in contention for the Jackpot, however he has an opportunity to
return to winning ways next week.
For Hissou it was a signal that he is returning to form and his
main objective is to win the African Champs in Tunis, thereby booking
his spot at the World Cup. [ results
below ]
Golden Gala Meeting Roma Italy 12 July 2002
Women's Results
5000m
01 - MASAI, Edith KEN 14:53.77
02 - ADERE, Berhane ETH 14:54.46
03 - SZABO, Gabriela ROM 14:55.48
04 - MALOT, Leah KEN SB 15:00.88
05 - EL KAMCH, Zhor MAR PB 15:01.34
06 - OCHICHI, Isabella KEN PB 15:01.42
07 - FUKUSHI, Kayoko JPN NR 15:02.08
08 - KIDANE, Werknesh ETH SB 15:03.05
09 - LOROUPE, Tegla KEN SB 15:04.48
10 - CHEPKEMEI, Susan KEN 15:06.96
11 - PAVEY, Jo GBR 15:09.99
12 - DOMINGUEZ, Marta ESP SB 15:10.67
13 - YEGOROVA, Olga RUS 15:15.98
14 - JOSEPH, Restituta TAN 15:17.32
15 - AYABEI, Jepkorir KEN PB 15:18.90
16 - RIBEIRO, Fernanda POR 15:22.49
17 - JOHNSON, Benita AUS 15:25.16
18 - KENAH, Cheri USA 15:33.06
19 - RHINES, Jennifer USA SB 15:34.25
20 - VICECONTE, Maura ITA SB 15:35.72
21 - CHERUIYOT, Rose KEN 15:36.79
22 - SANTIAGO, Beatriz ESP 15:44.53
23 - MARCONI, Gloria ITA 15:46.70
24 - WEISSTEINER, Silvia ITA SB 15:58.81
348 PIEDRA, Amaja ESP dnf
351 MARTÍN, Jacqueline ESP dnf
359 N'DEGE, Ana TAN dnf
339 GIGI, Asha ETH dns
1500m
01 - MUTOLA, Maria De Lourdes MOZ NR,YB,PB 4:01.50
02 - TUROVA, Alesya BLR PB 4:01.70
03 - HOLMES, Kelly GBR SB 4:01.91
04 - JACOBS, Regina USA SB 4:02.51
05 - RODRIGUEZ, Natalia ESP PB 4:02.84
06 - RUNYAN, Marla USA PB 4:02.95
07 - CIONCAN, Maria ROM 4:03.15
08 - NELYUBOVA, Olga RUS SB 4:03.69
09 - FERNÁNDEZ, Nuria ESP PB 4:03.99
10 - TETER, Nicole USA PB 4:04.19
11 - FUENTES-PILA, Iris ESP PB 4:04.25
12 - SACRAMENTO, Carla POR 4:04.62
13 - GARCÍA, Adoración ESP PB 4:04.64
14 - VARGA, Judit HUN PB 4:04.76
15 - DEJAEGHERE, Veerle BEL NR,PB 4:05.05
16 - MUGO, Naomi KEN SB 4:05.52
17 - IAGAR-BUIHANU, Elena ROM 4:06.36
18 - BENHASSI, Hasna MOR 4:08.10
19 - SZEKELY, Violeta ROM 4:08.69
20 - ROMAN, Sonja SLO PB 4:12.66
320 DA FONSECA-WOLLHEIM, Kristina GER dnf
332 VASILYEVA, Lyudmila RUS dnf
331 IONESCU, Simona ROM dns
800m
01 - KRUMMENACKER, David USA 1:45.24
02 - SEPENG, Hezekiél RSA 1:45.43
03 - KIMUTAI, Japheth KEN SB 1:45.53
04 - MULAUDZI, Mbulaeni RSA 1:45.56
05 - SAÏD-GUERNI, Djabir ALG 1:45.86
06 - SOM, Bram NED 1:45.94
07 - MCCARTHY, Chris AUS SB 1:46.06
08 - NEUNHAUSERER, Christian ITA PB 1:46.07
09 - REINA, Antonio Manuel ESP 1:46.35
10 - KORIR, Paul KEN 1:47.23
11 - KIMUTAI, Sylas KEN 1:47.60
42 KIPTOO, David KEN dnf
MILE
01 - EL GUERROUJ, Hicham MOR YB 3:48.28
02 - CHIRCHIR, William KEN SB 3:49.49
03 - SILVA, Rui POR NR 3:49.50
04 - ROTICH, Laban KEN SB 3:50.16
05 - CHIRCHIR, Cornelius KEN PB 3:50.69
06 - ESTEVEZ, Reyes ESP PB 3:51.82
07 - HACHLAF, Abdelkader MAR PB 3:52.20
08 - HIGUERO, Juan Carlos ESP 3:52.49
09 - TAHRI, Bouabdallah FRA 3:52.95
10 - DE SOUZA, Hudson BRA AR 3:52.97
11 - OBRIST, Christian ITA PB 3:55.55
12 - HASCHKE, Franek GER 3:55.85
13 - DIAZ, Andres ESP 3:58.74
14 - BABA, Youssef MAR 3:59.54
15 - NGENY, Noah KEN 4:00.76
16 - OKKEN, Arnoud NED 4:07.52
45 REDOLAT, Josè ESP dnf
61 LELEI, David KEN dnf
62 MUTAI, Sammy KEN dnf
5000m
01 - HISSOU, Salah MOR YB 12:55.85
02 - LIMO, Benjamin KEN SB 12:57.24
03 - LIMO, Richard KEN 12:57.52
04 - KIPKETER, Sammy KEN 13:01.56
05 - CHEBII, Abraham KEN SB 13:03.01
06 - YUDA, John TAN NR 13:03.62
07 - KIBOWEN, John KEN 13:04.13
08 - GARCIA, Alberto ESP SB 13:10.90
09 - MEZEGEBU, Assefa ETH 13:13.18
10 - EL HIMER, Driss FRA SB 13:16.31
11 - KEFLEZIGHI, Mebrahtom USA SB 13:21.87
12 - IVUTI, Patrick KEN 13:21.91
13 - GARCÍA, Roberto ESP 13:24.64
14 - HAUGHIAN, Sam GBR PB 13:25.56
15 - MULI, Pius KEN 13:29.40
16 - KIFLE, Yonas ERI 13:34.46
17 - GAMBA, Michele ITA 13:35.12
18 - ESPANA, Jesús ESP 13:36.36
19 - DEJENE, Birhanu ETH 13:37.32
20 - DIAZ, Mauricio CHI SB 13:39.46
21 - ABDIRAHMAN, Abdi USA 13:42.75
67 CARROLL, Mark IRL dnf
79 BITOK, Paul KEN dnf
89 KISANG, David KEN dnf
90 KEINO, Martin KEN dnf
68 BAKKEN, Marius NOR dns
78 MOURHIT, Mohammed BEL dns
100 M
1. Maurice Greene, United States, 9.89 seconds; 2. Tim Montgomery,
United States, 9.94; 3. Bernard Williams, United States, 10.00;
4. Kim Collins, St. Kitts and Nevis, 10.05; 5. Frank Fredericks,
Namibia, 10.07; 6. NobuharuAsahara, Japan, 10.15. 200M
1. Frank Fredericks, Namibia, 19.99; 2. Darvis Patton, United States,
20.14; 3. Gennadiy Chernovol, Kazakhstan, 20.44; 4. Morne Nagel,
South Africa, 20.49; 5. Stephane Buckland, Mauritius, 20.56; 6.
Kaaron Conwright, United States,20.59. 400M
1. Michael Blackwood, Jamaica, 44.99; 2. Fawzi Al-Shammari, Kuwait,
45.09; 3. Leonard Byrd, United States, 45.12; 4. Gregory Haughton,
Jamaica, 45.20; 5.Avard Moncur, Bahamas, 45.31; 6. Antonio Pettigrew,
United States, 45.32. 400 M Hurdles
1. Felix Sanchez, Dominican Republic, 47.73; 2. James Carter, United
States, 48.18; 3. Fabrizio Mori, Italy, 48.23; 4. Eric Thomas, United
States, 48.39; 5. Jiri Muzik, Czech Republic, 48.77; 6. Hadi Soua'an
Al-Somaily, Saudia Arabia,48.83. Pole Vault 1. Tim Lobinger, Germany, 19-2 1/4 ; 2. Lars Borgeling, Germany,
18-10 1/4 ; 3. Jeff Hartwig, United States, 18-10 1/4 ; 4. Nick
Hysong, United States, 18-10 1/4 ; 5. Timothy Mack, United States,
18-6 1/2 ; 6. Okkert Brits, South Africa, 18-6 1/2 . Triple Jump
1. Walter Davis, United States, 56-10 1/4 ; 2. Jonathan Edwards,
Britain, 56-7 1/4 ; 3. Yoandri Betanzos, Cuba, 55-6 1/4 ; 4. Leevan
Sands, Bahamas, 55-2 3/4 ; 5. FabrizioDonato, Italy, 55-1; 6. Aleksandr
Glavatskiy, Bulgaria, 54-6. High Jump
1. Mark Boswell, Canada, 7 feet, 8 1/2 inches; 2. Stefan Holm, Sweden,
7-7 3/4 ; 3. Staffan Strand, Sweden, 7-5 3/4 ; 4. Andrey Chubsa,
Bulgaria, 7-5 3/4 ; 5. Abderrahmane
High Jump 1. Igor Astapkovich, Bulgaria, 265-0; 2. Vladislav
Piskunov, Ukraine, 264-0; 3. Andrey Skvaruk, Ukraine, 263-4; 4.
Adrian Annus, Hungary, 263-0; 5. Balazs Kiss, Hungary, 262-8; 6.
Koji Murofushi, Japan, 262-3.
The race reports and results for 2002 . 
