Sprints Preview – IAAF Golden League
Tuesday 12 June 2007
Monte-Carlo - Nine months after completing their unbeaten 2006 Golden League campaigns, last year’s World Athletes of the Year Asafa Powell and Sanya Richards will be back for more when the IAAF Golden League 2007 kicks off at Oslo’s ExxonMobil Bislett Games on Friday 15 June.
Both the 24-year-old Powell and 22-year-old Richards were without peers in 2006 in their specialty events.
Asafa Powell (JAM)
(Anthony Foster)
Setting aside a false-start in his final race of the season, Powell was unbeaten in 16 100m contests in a season that spanned from early March through late September. Twice he equalled his own World record of 9.77 and won virtually each of his races in dominating fashion.
Richards was no less the powerhouse in the 400m. Undefeated in 13 outings, she capped her Jackpot chase with a sensational 48.70 USA record at the IAAF World Cup, the fastest performance in a decade. Each ended their successful Golden League campaigns $250,000 richer.
Men’s 100m
Francis Obikwelu (POR)
(Getty Images)
After postponing his 2007 debut due to tendonitis, Powell opened his season last week in Belgrade with a 9.97 victory, the 26th sub-10 clocking of his career. Last year he produced a pair of sub-10s in Oslo, first a 9.96 in the heats and then a 9.98 in the final to fend off Shawn Crawford’s late-race charge.
This year his primary challengers at Bislett Stadium will be led by Trinidad’s Darrel Brown, the 2003 World Championships silver medallist who clocked a near-career best 10.02 in early May, his first of three victories in as many races this spring. His most recent win came in Eugene on Sunday at the Prefontaine Classic.
The field also includes double European sprint champion and Olympic silver medallist Francis Obikwelu, African record holder Olusoji Fasuba, and American Marcus Brunson.
Sherone Simpson (JAM)
(Kirby Lee)
Women’s 400m
Like Powell, Richards’ 2007 debut was delayed by more than a month due to illness, but she finally returned to the track last Sunday in Eugene with a 50.74 win, her 19th straight victory over the full-lap.
Oslo will feature the first of what should be several 2007 face-offs between Richards and British rising star Nicola Sanders, who caught the continent’s imagination after a sterling indoor campaign. Her 50.02 stunner in Birmingham to take the European title in March elevated her to the No. 5 spot all-time indoors, and clearly indicated that her outdoor best of 50.68 will soon be relegated to history.
Kim Gevaert (BEL)
(Getty Images)
Jamaican Novlene Williams has a 50.66 to her credit this season with her win at the adidas Track Classic last month. The 25-year-old Williams had a strong 2006 season as well, dipping under 50 seconds on three occasions. 2001 World champion Amy Mbacke Thiam of Senegal is also in the field after a pair of solid races this spring, including a victory in Dakar.
Women’s 100m
The women’s 100m also features last year’s No. 1, Jamaican Sherone Simpson. The 22-year-old won 12 of 14 100 metre races in 2006, including wins at the Rome, Brussels, Zurich and Berlin Golden League stops, and ended the season as the fastest at both the 100 (10.82) and 200 (22.00) metres. Simpson has raced only once this spring, a 200m outing in Kinston where she finished second.
On Friday, her primary challengers include compatriot Sheri Ann Brooks, the reigning Commonwealth champion, and Bahamian Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, who handily beat Simpson into second place in Oslo last year. Ferguson McKenzie has already run 11.14 this season. Double European champion Kim Gevaert will make her second outing of the year, while Bulgarian star Ivet Lalova continues her comeback from injury.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
IAAF Golden League - Dates and venues in 2007:
Friday 15 June, OSLO, NOR
Friday 6 July, PARIS, FRA
Friday 13 July, ROME, ITA
Friday 7 September, ZURICH, SUI
Friday 14 September, BRUSSELS, BEL
Sunday 16 September, BERLIN, GER
IAAF Golden League Jackpot in 2007:
$1 Million Prize
Successful claimants of the $1 Million Jackpot must win their event (a list of applicable jackpot events is shown below) at ALL SIX meetings of the IAAF Golden League.
However, should NO athlete manage to attain six wins and claim the $1 Million, then anyone with five victories will share half the original prize - $500,000. NOTE. this secondary prize is only on offer should nobody win his or her event at all six meetings.
All winners must compete at the IAAF World Athletics Final to be eligible for their share of the Jackpot.
IAAF Golden League Jackpot Events in 2007:
MEN: 100m, 1500m, 110m Hurdles, Triple Jump, Javelin Throw;
WOMEN: 100m, 400m, 100m Hurdles, High Jump, Pole Vault.