by Larry Eder
Merritt and Van Niekerk, 400 meters, August 26, 2015, photo by PhotoRun.net
It was an amazing 400 meters on Day 5, and Van Niekerk won, after LaShawn Merritt took the field through a killer 200 meters
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Being the world champion, being from Kenya, it is unbelievable for me. It is a nice prize for me, because I’ve really been working hard to win this championship. Remember, in Moscow, I almost won a bronze medal, but the last throw from Tarabin didn’t let me win it. But this time I came out strong. After throwing 92, I feel some pain in my foot, so I needed to take it easy. I played it safe. I knew nobody else was going to throw further than that,” Julius Yego after winning first technical event medal for Kenya at World Championships and straight a gold.
RESULT OF THE DAY
Julius Yego 92.72 in javelin the 8th best ever performance, 3rd best ever performer, best result since 2001 in 14 years.
Wayde Van Niekerk 43.48 in the 400 m the 6th best ever performance, 4th best ever performer, best result since 2007 in 8 years (The South African collapsed onto the track exhausted at the end of the race and was taken straight off for medical treatment).
SURPRISE OF THE DAY
German Gesa Felicitas Krause winning bronze in women steeple and was so close to silver and actually also the gold. US Olympic medalist Jenn Suhr without medal in pole vault. World title defender Vesely in javelin 8th. Kaliese Spencer in the 400 m hurdles final only last, she was unbeaten this year.
TOP PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY OF IAAF
Saturday: Mo Farah, Sunday: Usain Bolt, Monday: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Tuesday: Greg Rutherford, Wednesday nominees: Van Niekerk, Silva, Yego.
MEDALS (33 countries)
KEN 6-3-2, GBR 3-0-0, JAM 2-0-1, CUB 2-0-0, USA 1-3-5, GER 1-2-2
POINTS (53 countries)
USA 111, KEN 108, GER 58, JAM 40, POL + ETH 39
AGENT RANKINGS (by individual gold medals)
Ricky Simms 3, Jos Hermens 3, Jorge Aguilera 2, Jukka Harkonen 2, Sylvia Abmayr 1, John Nubani 1, Czeslaw Zapala 1, Alberto Armas 1, Enrico Dionisi 1, Paul Doyle 1, Adrian Laidlaw 1, Steffen Keil 1, Ulf Saletti 1, James Templeton 1, Libor Varhanik 1, Peet Van Zyl 1, Jessica Ennis-Hill no official IAAF agent.
LONDON 2012 WINNERS
YES (7): Farah (10k), Bolt, Ennis-Hill, Kemboi, Fraser-Pryce, Rutherford, Rudisha, NO (10): Kiprotich, Pars, Majewski, Chen Ding, Rypakova, Lavillenie, Perkovic, Suhr, Walcott, James, NC (6): Adams, T. Dibaba, Sanchez, Bulut, Antyukh, Zaripova.
MOSCOW 2013 WINNERS
YES (7): Farah (10k), Fajdek, Bolt, Kemboi, Fraser-Pryce, Ibarguen, Hejnova, NO: (11) Kiprotich, Storl, Kasyanova, Holzdeppe, Perkovic, Menkov, Gordon, Aregawi, Aman,Vesely, L. Merritt, NC (5): Adams, Ivanov, T. Dibaba, Isinbayeva, Chemos.
RECORDS
4 World leads (men 400 m hurdles, javelin, 400 m, women 400 m hurdles)
5 Area records (Asia men 400 m, Oceania men shot put, Africa men javelin, Africa men 400 m, South America wom pole vault)
51 National records
STATS (By Ken Nakamura)
400m: South Africa’s Wayde Van Niekerk ran 43.48 to win the men’s 400m final, the fourth fastest time ever recorded at a world championships and a Chinese all-comers record. The other medalists, Lashawn Merritt and Kirani James, also went sub 44; the first time three men have done this in the same race. The best marks for place, in any competition, were set for 2nd, 3rd and 4th place. Lashawn Merritt won silver for a record fifth world medal over 400m. The next best is Michael Johnson with 4 medals, although the world record holder won all his finals while Merrit won two.
JT: Julius Yego’s 92.72 is the longest throw ever recorded in Asia. He won Kenya’s first world medal in this event and his winning margin of 3.73 is the largest in championships history with the current model. European champion Antti Ruuskanen threw 87.12 but only got 5th; it is the best throw ever for a 5th placed athlete in any competition. His Finnish compatriot Tero Pitkamaki won bronze, to become the first javelin thrower to complete the full medal set.
400mH: Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic became the first women to successfully defend the world 400mH title. Two others have won the title twice: Jana Pittman and Nezha Bidouane.
PV: Yarisley Silva won Cuba’s first gold in the women’s pole vault. Bronze medalist Nikoléta Kiriakopoúlou won Greece’s first world medal in this event.
800m: Maryna Arzamasova’s heat time of 1:58.69 is the fastest ever in this round at a world championships.
W 200m: Dina Asher Smith won her heat in 22.22, the fastest heat time in world championships history.
M 200m: Justin Gatlin ran 19.87 to win his semi-final of the men’s 200m, the second fastest semi-winning time in championships history.
110mH: David Oliver now has the two fastest heat times in the 110mH at a world championships. He ran 13.05 in 2013 and 13.15 in 2015.
BEIJING NEWS
Kenyan Doping Positives: Kenyans Joyce Zakary and Francisca Koki have tested positive in doping tests performed at the world championships. The story was reported by sportsnewsarena.com and then confirmed by IAAF. Both are reported to have tested positive for a masking agent for an unknown substance. The IAAF stated that Koki and Zakary have “accepted provisional suspensions following positive samples provided in Beijing on the 20th and 21st of August respectively.” Zakary did not start her 400 m semi-final after setting a national record of 50.71 in the heats, while Manunga got knocked out in the heats after setting a national record at the Kenyan trials.
ARD Allegations Continue: The German broadcaster reports that Kenyan athletes have been warned ahead of “unannounced” doping tests, report Reuters. The allegations were made by former athlete Frimin Kipchoge (35). Ronald Kipchumba also alleges that when he tested positive for EPO in 2012, Kenyan officials demanded money in order to cover up the positive test.
Mauritius Helps Malawi: The Athletics Association of Malawi could not afford to pay the air fare of Stuart Banda to go the world championships, but the government of Mauritius came to the rescue by offering the necessary finances. (Nyasa Times)
Hansen Supports Prince Albert: European Athletics President Svein Arne Hansen showed his support for HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco’s charitable foundation at a special event on Tuesday. President Hansen attended a presentation of the foundation’s “Oceans 2015” initiative, the Monaco-based foundation set up to protect the environment and to encourage sustainable development.
No Stopping Rutherford: Olympic and world long jump champion Greg Rutherford has answered those who say he should be less outspoken, by saying, “I’m going to stay exactly as I am,” report PA. “In my opinion, the sport needs more people to speak out and actually try to promote and push the sport forward.”
Physical Races: There were plenty of bustling among runners in the morning heats. Mo Farah was clipped twice in his 5000m heat; the Briton believes that his long stride leaves him vulnerable to this. Canada’s Mo Ahmed got disqualified for one of the incidents, but was reinstated after an appeal. US champion Alysia Montano also got clipped, although she suffered much worse, crashing to the track in the women’s 800m and missing qualification.
IAAF and UN: The IAAF and UN have signed a memorandum of understanding to celebrate international partnerships in sports. The IAAF’s Athletes for a Better World (ABW) will partner with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Hurdles: Top disqualification after false start was US Ronnie Ash, Czech Petr Svoboda was also disqualified but after the protest was reinstated as he did not lost contact with the ground as per latest rules changes concerning false starts.
5000 m: Canadian Mohammed Ahmed executed a great race to place third in heat 2 of the men’s 5000-meters in a seasonal best of 13:19.58. Drama unfolded as Ahmed was through to the final in initial results having nabbed one of the auto-qualifying spots, however updated results showed a disqualification for IAAF rule 163.2 for pushing, obstructing or jostling a competitor. Athletics Canada launched an appeal and Mohammed was reinstated.
