by Larry EderLiu Xiang took the hurdles in a superb race, and the U.S. went 2,3. Germans went 2,3 in the women’s javelin and the first day of the decathlon wars just ended, with Bryan Clay as one of the injured….nice improvement for Trammel, who was fifth in Helsinki!
Women’s Javelin Final
Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic heaved the world leader in the javelin, with her first round 66.40 meters, then delivered a 67.07 meter throw in round three to cement her hold on the gold and give her the Czech Republic’s national record.
Christina Obergfoll of Germany threw 64.01 in round 1, then 65.26 in round 2, then 60.90 meters, 61.87 meters, 61.22 meters, and on her final throw, added over a meter to her silver medal winning throw, with a fine 66.46 meter throw!
Steffi Nerius of Germany, threw three sub 60 meter throws, then, in found four, boom, a 64.42 meter throw, which put her into the bronze medal position, where she stayed!
Nikola Brejchova of the Czech Republic, held third for one round, until Nerius popped her throw in round four. Brejchova’s best, of 63.73 meters, gave her fourth.
Savva Lika of Greece delivered herself into fifth with a personal best of 63.13!
A little trivia for you–Daniela Zatopekova, the widow of the late Emil Zatopek, won two medals in the javelin. In fact, after coaching in the late fifties, Daniela took a bronze in her comeback at the Olympics. Her 1952 gold medal in the javelin, won while her husband Emil was dropping the best marathoners in the world, is still the only husband-wife combination to win Olympic gold medals on the same day!
Men’s Decathlon, Day 1
At the end of day one, Maurice Smith of Jamaica has the lead with 4525. He ran 10.52 for 947 points, long jumped 7.50m for 935 points, threw the shot 17.32 meters for 933 points, high jumped 1.97 meters for 776 points and ran 47.48 for 938 points.
Dmitriy Karpov of Kazhakstan, is in second in 4439. Karpov sprinted 10.70 for 929 points, long jumped 7.19 meters for 859 points, threw the shot put in 16.08 meters, in 856 points, high jumped 2.06 m for 859 points, and ran 47.44 for 400 meters with 936 points.
Roman Sebrele, of the Czech Republic, the Grand master of the decathlon, is in third in 4434. He ran 11.04 for the 100 meters for 852 points, long jumped 7.56m for 950 points, threw the shot for 15.92 m for 846 points, and high jumped 2.12 meters for 915 points and ran a 400 meters in 48.80 for 871 points.
Aleksey Drozdov of Russia is in fourth with 4343 points. Tom Pappas of the U.S. in in fifth in 4342, 10.96, 7.44m, 16.31 m, 2.03 m, and 49.22 m. Pappas stumbled at the finish of the 400 meters.
Norman Muller of Germany was sixth in 4310. Aleksey Sysoyev of Russia was seventh in 4303. Yordani Garcia of Cuba is in eighth place with 4294. Andre NIklaus of Germany is in ninth in 4186 and Paul Terek of the U.S. in in tenth with 4174-10.95, 7.26m, 14.81m, 2.00m, 49.34.
Bryan Clay, the defending champion, who ran 10.44 for 100 meters, 7.65 m for long jump, threw the shot in 15.51 m, and high jumped 1.97m, did not start the 400 meters, and pulled out of the competition.
Men’s 110 meter high hurdles-Beijing Olympics is on…
The men’s 110 meter hurdles race started with Terrance Trammel taking the lead, and keeping it until the seventh hurdle, where Liu Xiang of China took control. Xiang hit hurdle nine, an unusual event for him, and cleared hurdle ten, looking over at David Payne and Terrance Trammel, who were already leaning for the finish.
Liu Xiang of China did not relent. He did not give up and leant perfectly, taking the gold in 12.95! Terrance Trammel, just as he did in the Reebok New York Grand Prix, pushed Xiang and finished second, running 12.99. In third, and an alternate at that, was David Payne of the U.S. who not only had the presense of mind to execute the race, and not panic, but ran a personal best of 13.02 for the bronze!
Dayron Robles of Cuba took fourth in 13.15. Dongpeng Shi of China ran a personal best for fith in 13.19. Serhiy DEmydyuk of the Ukraine ran 13.22 for sixth, a national record for Ukraine. Jackson Quinone of Spain ran 13.33 for seventh, a national record for Spain. Marice Wignall of Jamaica was eighth in 13.39.
In truth the Beijing Olympics started tonight, with Liu Xiang’s win. With nearly a billion people watching the race live in China, Xiang will be the most popular athlete in his country, period.
Xiang is a great hurdler, but more importantly, he has nerves of steel. He does not make mistakes, and he focuses on his race. Today, he knew he had won when he crossed the line!
Something to read: http://www.quotidienmutations.info
I am sitting with the French television and print media. Sitting next to me is Laurel Aboya, who wrote a thoughtful column on the need for drug testing and her concerns about how the suspicions about drug use hurts the sport. It is en francais, but if you have google, you should be able to translate:
For live coverage in the U.S. please check out: www.WCSN.com
For complete results from August 31, 2007: http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/results/bydate.html#racedate=08-31-2007
For complete coverage from American Track & Field: http://www.american-trackandfield.com/features/worldchamps07list.html
For the interactive digital version of American Track & Field resource guide:
http://www.flipseekllc.com/ATFguide.html
