Athletics World Championships: Day 8

Bolt on the blue part 3…he’s only human.

Results.

Men’s Marathon

Gold    Abel Kirui KEN  2 Hours 6 minutes 54 seconds
Silver  Emmanuel Kipchirchir Mutai KEN  2:07.48
Bronze Tsegay Kebede    ETH  2:08.35 

Men’s Long Jump

G  Dwight Phillips    USA  8.54 metres
S  Godfrey Khotso Mokoena RSA  8.47
B  Mitchell Watt     AUS  8.37

Men’s pole vault

G  Steven Hooker   AUS  5.90 metres
S  Romain Mesnil    FRA   5.85
B  Renaud Lavillenie   FRA   5.80

Women’s Hammer Throw

G  Anita Wlodarczyk  POL  77.96 metres (world record)
S  Betty Heidler   GER   77.12
B  Martina Hrasnova  SVK  74.79

Women’s 5000m

G  Vivian Cheruiyot  KEN  14 minutes 57.97 seconds
S  Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet   KEN  14:58.33
B  Meseret Defar     ETH  14:58.41

Women’s 4 x 100m

G  Jamaica (Facey, Fraser, Bailey, Stewart) JAM  42.06 seconds
S  Bahamas (Ferguson, Sturrup, Amertil, Ferguson-McKenzie) BAH 42.29
B  Germany (Wagner, Möllinger, Tschirch, Sailer)    GER  42.87

Men’s 4 x 100m

G  Jamaica (Mullings, Frater, Bolt, Powell)   JAM  37.31 seconds
S  Trinidad & Tobago (Brava, Burns, Callandar, Thompson)  TT  37.62
B  Great Britain (Williamson, Edgar, Devonish, Aikiney Aryeetey) GB  38.02

 

Such have been the exploits of Usain Bolt in Beijing and Berlin that whenever he steps onto the track, we expect new things to happen. When they don’t, when it’s just another day at the office, there is a sense of anti-climax. Initially we feel let down and then perhaps slightly ashamed of our vicarious cinematic pleasure-seeking.

The big man concluded his Berlin program as the third-leg runner in Jamaica’s winning men’s 4 x 100m relay team, the last track final of the evening. The winning time was fast but, for the first occasion in the last six big Championship finals featuring Bolt, a world record had not been set.

The relay events in athletics are interesting because they have the added dimension of teamwork (however fleetingly!), something which won’t feature that much in the life of the average professional athlete. Sure, there are coaches and training partners, but athletics is fundamentally a selfish sport, more obviously so than most and athletes are used to being in control of their destiny. When you put four raw instances of testosterone together to complete a task, the outcome might be brilliant but it can just as soon be comically inept or wretched – how many times over the years have we witnessed the US 4 x 100m men’s relay team, invariably composed of the fastest individuals, make a complete pig’s ear of getting the baton around the track?

This time round, the US team, trying to do it for JO, weren’t the strongest and didn’t drop the baton but did contrive to get themselves disqualified through a premature changeover between the third and fourth leg men in yesterday’s heats. The Jamaican team are pretty well drilled, with only Steve Mullings replacing Nestor Carter from the world record-breaking Beijing ensemble. The 200m finalist ran a solid first leg, the dependable Michael Frater took up the delivery down the back straight and handed on to Bolt, who didn’t look his usual self as he loped round the curvy third hundred metres, not discernibly pulling away from the other runners. Jamaica were still in the lead and just as well because the baton change with last-leg man Asafa Powell was a shocker. However, there was no fear that the tank-like Powell was going to be beat – he really seems to enjoy anchoring the team. Bolt had his third gold. Trinidad and Tobago set a national record in taking silver with Great Britain taking bronze in an excellent team performance.

Prior to this, the women’s 4 x 100m relay final had seen yet more Jamaican success, in a par-for-the-course time. With the US team again absent, this time due to injury, as Muna Lee pulled up in the heats, the Jamaican team put in safety-first baton changes and let their superior leg speed do the business.

In the first track final of the evening, the women’s 5000m, there was more disappointment for Ethiopian Meseret Defar, who, in a repeat of the 10000m, got out-sprinted in the home straight. The Kenyan contingent had taken the race up with seven laps to go, only Defar being able to live with them. At the bell, Defar made a bid for home but her break wasn’t decisive, with Vivian Cheriuyot and, at the last gasp, Sylvia Kibet, coming past her. Defar did at least hold on to get a consolation bronze.

If LaShawn Merritt had put in the big American track performance last night, then it was the turn of long jumper Dwight Phillips to do likewise this evening in the field, in a more resonant recalling of Jesse Owens, whose long jump gold in the 1936 games was the hardest earned of his four. Phillips bossed the competition from the first round, when he put in an 8.40m jump, which he extended to 8.54m in the second. Beijing silver medallist Mokoena responded with 8.47m but Olympic champion Saladino dipped out after three rounds, having fouled on all his jumps. There was to be no improvement by either Phillips or Mokoena and no serious challenge from the other competitors. Phillips was presented with his third World Championship gold medal by Owens’ granddaughter, Marlene Dortch, and he memorably described the moment:

"It was like history looking at me in the face."

It was by far and away the best night of field event action, as following the long jump competition, both the women’s hammer and the men’s pole vault produced outstanding performances in different ways.  In the former, the Pole Anita Wlodarczyk went one better than male compatriots Majewski and Malachowski and took gold with an almighty hurl of 77.96m – a new world record by 16cm. In the men’s pole vault, Olympic champion Steve Hooker of Australia was nursing a groin strain and only entered the competition at the advanced height of 5.85m. He failed on his first attempt and passed up to 5.90m, which he cleared first time. No-one else could match this height.

The first medals of the day were decided in the men's marathon, on a scenic and vibrant city course, designed so as to get the most out of the spectator support. It was the usual battle between Kenya and Ethiopia, with the Kenyans prevailing. It was hard to get too excited about the race because it is very much second fiddle to the Berlin marathon proper, which takes place next month.

From the Team GB perspective, added to the 4 x 100m bronze, there were good performances from Greg Rutherford and Chris Tomlinson in the long jump, placing fifth and seventh respectively and both of our 4 x 400m relay squads made it through to the final.

Performance of the day: Anita Wlodarczyk