by Larry EderThe outdoor global season is winding down, and the last signifigant meets in China, India and Japan…..
CAMPBELL-BROWN, HARPER THE STANDOUTS IN SHANGHAI
TRACK PROFILE Report #831
21-September-2008
By Bob Ramsak
(c) 2008 TRACK PROFILE Report, all rights reserved
Olympic champions Veronica Campbell-Brown and Dawn Harper produced the leading results at today’s Golden Grand Prix in Shanghai.
Despite a sluggish start, Campbell-Brown, the 200m Olympic champion and reigning 100m world champion, dominated the field in the 100m clocking 11.01. It was the Jamaican’s ninth victory in 10 starts in the 100 this season. Her only loss came at the Jamaican championships in late June where she finished fourth thus missing an Olympic team berth.
American Lauryn Williams was the runner-up a quarter of a second back in 11.26, with Briton Jeanette Kwakye (11.32) third.
Harper apparently likes competing in China. The surprise Olympic winner won her fourth race in seven outings since her Olympic triumph in 12.56, just shy of her 12.54 career best which brought her Olympic Gold. Brigitte Foster-Hylton of Jamaica was the distant runner-up in 12.66.
After skipping last weekend’s World Athletics Final with a cold, Yelena Isinbayeva returned to action in the pole vault to take an easy win with a 4.60m clearance. She cleared on her second attempt before bowing out with three misses at 4.75. The two-time Olympic champion and world record holder set the Shanghai stadium record a year ago with a 4.83 leap. Russian Tatyana Polnova and Germany’s Carolin Hingst topped out at 4.50 to finish second and third.
Leading from the outset, Tatyana Lebedeva defeated Olympic champion Francois Mbango in the triple jump with a third round 14.83m leap. In her fairly consistent series, she also reached 14.81 in the final round, topping Mbango’s best of 14.75 best from round three. Russian Ann Pyatykh was third, with a 14.71 best from the fifth round.
Olympic champion Andrey Tereshin of Russia won the high jump with a 2.31m leap, beating back American Jesse Williams and Swede Linus Thornblad, who each cleared 2.28m. American Miguel Pate won a heated battle with surprise World Athletics Final winner Fabrice Lapierre. The pair saved their best for the sixth round, with Pate leaping 8.17 to top the Australian’s 8.15 best. Christian Cantwell upset Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski in the shot put with a 20.84m effort. Three of the American’s efforts — including throws of 20.44 and 20.75– would have sufficed to out-do the 20.36 opening round toss by the Pole.
Jamaicans also dominated the men’s 100m, with Michael Frater (10.05) and Nesta Carter (10.10), both members of the nation’s world-record setting squad from Beijing, finihsing 1 and 2.
Wilfred Bungei snapped a four-race losing streak in the 800 with a solid 1:44.63 victory, his first triumph since taking the 800m Olympic title in Beijing. Poland’s Pawel Czapiewski also dipped under 1:45 to finish second in 1:44.96.
Zimbabwe’s Brian Dzingai, who was fourth in the Olympic 200m final, won the half-lap in 20.38, ahead of American Rodney Martin who clocked 20.42.
Olympic 400m hurdles champion Angelo Taylor’s late season form continued. Two weeks after a season’s best 44.38 in Lausanne, th 29-year-old again contested the flat 400 and won handily in 44.94, well ahead of African record holder Gary Kikaya (45.09).
Gelete Burka’s September visit to China proved better than her visit last month. Failing to reach the Olympic final, the Ethiopian rebouned with a dominating 4:02.30 victory, well ahead of Ukraine’s Anna Mischenko (4:07.89), who was ninth in Beijing.
Elsewhere, Olympic bronze medallist and World Athletics Final winner David Oliver won the 110m hurdles with ease in 13.25 and Kenyan Levy Matebo won the 5000m in 13:16.26.
Jamaican Shericka Williams won the 400 (50.88) well ahead of Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu was finished a distant fourth (52.30), Sheena Tosta won the 400m hurdles in 54.51 ahead of fellow-American Tiffany Williams (54.70).
used with permission of Bob Ramsak.
