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BUT .. I for one didn't want her to win on this occasion, as the pacesetters provided were left kicking their heels when neither Szabo or Adere were prepared to go with the pace being provided, to say it was shambolic was putting it nicely. [It should be remembered that such pacesetters come at a cost and are normally provided on request] After the 1st 400m in 67.10 the 1st pacesetter was reduced to a 'dawdle' and they passed through 1K in 2:55.18. The 2nd pacesetter Olga Komyagina of Russia, was left shaking her head as she tried to inject some desire and impetus into the event. Komyagina slowed right down and when the Moroccan Zhor El Kamch attempted to pass her she was happy to pick up the tempo with the willing El Kamch in her slipstream. Away they galloped, and amazigly Adere and Szabo didn't 'budge' . They must have been discussing past glories when the sun was shining during their holiday, as they seemed unperturbed when the Moroccan began disappearing into the distance, first 1m then 5m and before you knew it she was close to 40m ahead. What exactly were they doing, and when the pacesetter dropped out after 2K in 5:47.09, an acceleration of a 2:53 kilometer which was only upped after 450m of that 1K, she was seen from the sidelines visibly urging El Kamch to grab victory. And believe me, so was I. The Moroccan had shown the courage to go it alone and deserved a greater reward than a PB of 8:34.85 and 2nd place. Now back to Szabo and Adere. Granted the tall Ethiopian had attempted to close the gap marginally however when Szabo did go with 220m to go, she took off leaving Adere for dead, the acceleration was dazzling and the impact on the leaders gap was evident, but still I didn't want her to win as the Moroccan deserved more. But there was no denying Szabo as her pistons began to fire on all cylinders and she swept past the 'bedazzled' Moroccan with the most audacious ease. To say the finish was remarkable is somewhat of an exaggerated
understatement. I was left speechless and in the end not ultimately
disappointed as it signalled the return of an athlete who may have
considered retirement only a few months before. Welcome back Gaby.
[ results below
] The Men's 5000m race report The make-up of this race was very similar to the previous week and it started off in the same manner with the 'able' Kenyan pacesetter, Martin Keino providing the opening tempo. 1st 1000m 2:33.70. compared to Oslo - 2:34.11 2000m 5:09.80 Oslo=5:08.67 ... Then 3000m in 7:44.62 Oslo= 7:45.13 with Geb in front, however he was to slow the pace and turn it into a cagey affair. All I can say, is that if the Geb of old was still looking for
fast times this would not have happened. He is a man with the distinct
goal of wanting further titles and this may prove to be his undoing,
as his aura of invincibility is no longer. This does not distract
from the greatness of the man and one wonders whether he will pursue
a further track Gold medal in the Athens Olympics in 2004. That
however, is still a while away and we have the Paris World Champs
in August to come, as well as the completion of this race. Back to lads in red with the one Adidas blue and the national colours of the Moroccan Salah Hissou. The dropping of tempo was the same as the week before and the surrounding of the tiny Ethiopian was evident as well. The tall Kenyan Benjamin Limo, edged to the front going through 4k in 10:23.38. With 600m to go, I would have thought that geb would have taken
up the pace however he was content to sit out the proceedings waiting
for an opportune moment of attack. 400m to go ... No move ... 300m
to go no move .. he had however switched from the inside lane but
had he not watched laste weeks final 200m ... He obviously hadn't
or he was underestimating the finishing speed of Abraham Chebeii,
who the previous week had taken off like a scathed cat, only to
Geb moved to the front a threw in the surge of speed and has been the case before he dropped all of his opposition however coming from the rear and moving effortlessly onto the shoulder of Geb was Abraham Chebeii, preparing to deliver his 'sermon' on how to surge with devastating effect. And BOY, was it awesome. he breezed past the Ethiopian and galloped away towards the finish, and on this occasion he did not falter. In his wake was Gebrselassie and the rest of the others who did not seem to be making any in roads on the move Chebeii had made. Geb finished 2nd in 12:54.36 just under a second behind the winning time of 12:53.37. In 3rd place was the dominant athlete of last years 5000m distance, Benjamin Limo, in PB of 12:54.99. Gebrselassie didn't look disappointed and he should now be ever
aware of the need to maintain a tempo closer to his World Records
which I believe non of the current batch will come near to in the
next 2 years, albeit Bekele who has the ability however the distraction
of a World Championships and a thing called the Olympics for the
next two years. . Quote : Abraham Chebeii (KEN) “It’s a good feeling
to win a race and especially to beat Haile. You know Haile has been
a great athlete, the greatest ever. He has done fantastic things
on the track but I think it’s now time for him to let the youngsters
win. Before the race I thought that today would be my chance to
beat him. I had planned to try and finish ahead of Haile and now
that it’s done I am a happy man. I will run the 5000m hopefully
at the worlds while Haile will run the 10,000m. But I am sure another
one of my Kenyan fellows will give him a hard time at the worlds.”
[ results below
]
The Men's 1500m race report From the outset Baala followed the pacesetter, David Kiptoo, who shot through the 1st 400m in a swift 53.76 before settling into the 2nd lap and an 800m clocking of 1:51.60. By then Legat had settled into his normal roll of the pursuer, awaiting his opportune moment. Once the pacesetter dropped out Baala was content to provide the pace and he kept the tempo true, going through 1200m in 2:49.97, a slow down of the initial lap average of 55 plus. Going down the backstraight the powerful Frenchman began to apply pressure and one by one his foes began to drop from his shoulder, except Legat. Who looked good in his role, and was surely ready to take victory after being so well positioned. Legat began his drive for home and his finishing sprint was evident in the action of his arms and the strain of the attempt, however he could not go past Baala who looked strong, composed and able, displaying the qualitiy of an athlete who looks to have matured a great deal since last year. He was rewarded with a decisive victory over the ever competitive Kenyan and a winning time of 3:30.97 which was a National Record, as well as the fastest time of the season. [ results below ] The Women's 800m race report
Mina Ait Hammou of Morocca was to fair best sprinting to a new
PB of 1:58.82. At the front, Mutola again showed her The Men's 800m race report However, this race brought the undoubted talent of the Russian athlete, Youri Borzakovski to the fore. The Russian has been known in the past for his trademark sit and kick approach to running, and has often been criticised for not having the confidence to win off a fast pace by staying handy. Things have changed in the last year he has worked on his 400m speed and has also applied different tactics to his armoury. This was to prove that things are going according to plan. The 1st 400m was covered in the usual swift 50.24 and the field
were unbelievably packed together going into the backstraight. Frenchman
Nicolas Aissat was at the head of the affairs, approaching 200m
the Spanish athlete, Antonio Manuel Reina was making his move towards
the front. Borzakovski had positioned himself in a decent position
and as they straightened out towards the finish, he made his move,
it was decisive, it was composed and calm. The South African, had
left his challenge too late and when he switched to attack the Russian,
he gave the impression that he could sneak a victory. However, Borzakovski
simply added more pace and he went on to win at will in a satisfactory
1:43.94 with Mulaudzi finishing 2nd in 1:44.12. 3rd place went to
Andre Bucher who found space on the inside to pass a number of his
fading rivals, and in the process record a SB time of 1:44.30 closely
followed by David Krummenacker in 1:44.30 and Reina in 1:44.37,
also season bests. The first 7 athletes all clocked sub 1:45 and it depicts the healthy state of 800m running, and that the World's form athlete Bungei was not there, nor the great Dane Wilson Kipketer the World Record Holder, further underlining the strength. This event to me is becoming ever exciting and now that there is no longer anyone left at this distance chasing the Golden Jackpot we can prepare for future races of the highest quality and intrigue. [ results below ] The Men's
3000m SteepleChase race report With an opening 1k split of 2:38.18, this ambition was on track,
going through 2000m in 5:19.19, the ideal had slipped off In the end he was pursued by compatriot Paul Keoch and Frenchman Bouabdellah Tahri with all crossing the line in a sub 8:07 time. This time was reason for jubilant celebration for Tahri as it was new European and National Record, which again gave credence to the French public to have enjoyed the evening's meeting. Cherono is somewhat a different athlete, he has posted the year's fastest 5000m with 12:48.81 as well as the World's fastest 3000m SC time of 8:05.68, however he tends to favour running the 1500m at the World Champs in August. His 1500m time this season has been 3:35.15. Yes, as stated, somewhat different.
Results Men 5000m 1500m 800m 3000m SteepleChase
1500m 3000m 800m
. Course B (vent: +1,5 m/s) 200m 110m Hurdles . Course B (vent: nul)
Men : Javelin Pole Vault Women : 100m 200m
. Course B (vent: nul) 400m Hurdles Triple Jump High Jump This report from our Time-to-Run contributor
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fade
to 4th.
target,
Cherono began to fade to the simple desire of winning the race.
1.
Mehdi Baala (FRA) 3:30.97 NR WL PB |
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