Friday, 29 July 2011
Cheruiyot, Thorkilden and Watt world leads, Isinbayeva impresses, Bolt gets his first win in Stockholm – Samsung Diamond League
Stockholm, Sweden – World champion Vivian Cheruiyot, with one of the most dominant 5000 metres performances in living memory, was the star of a wind spoilt but still highly entertaining DN Galan - Samsung Diamond League - meeting in front of a full-house of spectators in Stockholm on Friday (29).
Cheruiyot brought home a world season lead as did the victories of Andreas Thorkildsen and Mitchell Watt respectively in the Javelin and Long Jump. The other headlines came from Yelena Isinbayeva who sent a message to the world that she is back, while Usain Bolt managed on the third time of asking to get a victory in the 1912 Olympic stadium.
Kenyan record for Cheruiyot
Cheruiyot, with a national record and world season leading time of 14:20.87 thrashed her rivals, when defying the unhelpful conditions with a memorable performance which saw her finish over 120 metres ahead of her shell-shocked rivals.
The reigning World 5000 champion with her awesome individual display sent out a clear message that she will again be the athlete to beat in Daegu where the IAAF World Championships take place from 27 August- 4 September.
Hitting the front after one and two kilometres were passed in 2:55.35 and 5:47.19, she saw herself with seven laps remaining holding a huge 40 metres lead ahead of eight of her opponents who were left battling for second place.
Cheruiyot, her stride never faltering, progressed through 3K and 4K in 8:38.67 and 11:31.22 and at the bell held an amazing lead of over 100 metres.
She continued to motor around the final circuit, while Sally Kipyego making a long run from 300m finished runner-up in 14:43.87, with a Kenyan clean sweep of the podium places being confirmed as Sylvia Kibet took third in 14:45.31.
“I am happy for the national record and world lead because I came to this race with the vision I can run very fast,” said Cheruiyot. "Frankly the weather was not the best today. Looking to the future she added: “I feel like I am able to break the World record soon but conditions must be perfect.”
World leads also for Watt and Thorkildsen
On a night where the unhelpful conditions particularly the blustery wind stifled the concentrated efforts both on the track and in the field, two events at least were not hindered by the wind and world leads followed.
World season leader Mitchell Watt, in a lively Long Jump competition improved his year’s best performance (8.44m) which he achieved in Melbourne in mid-April, while in favourable wind conditions for the Javelin, Andreas Thorkildsen bettered the mark (88.30m) he had set 19 days earlier at the Samsung Diamond League Birmingham meet.
Watt after a solid opening effort of 8.34m then roared down the runway in the next round to clear a new Oceania Area record of 8.54m (+1.7) to show his World championship credentials a month ahead of Daegu.
The 23-year-old Australian, the bronze medallist at the 2010 World Indoor and 2009 outdoor World Championships, only took one more jump after clearing 7.96m in round four.
Enough damage had already been inflicted on his opponents thwarting the threat of Morocco’s Yahya Berrabah, who matched his personal best of 8.40m, and 2007 World gold medallist Irving Saladino of Panama who had a best of 8.19m for third.
Watt returning from a heel injury said: “This is only my second competition in two months, so I was unsure what to expect. This is my comeback. For four months I did no jumping in training in fact I was only running. So this result and the Area record is surprising.”
Thorkildsen, after preparing himself well on a huge meal of fresh prawns at lunchtime, threw a confident 85.35m to lead after the first round and clearly also had the appetite for greater distances.
In the very next round Norway’s Olympic and World champion, who holds the stadium record of 89.78m, unleashed his spear to an event winning distance of 88.43m to better the 88.30m season lead he set in Birmingham.
Thorkildsen said: “It was a good competition with the best result in the world so far. I am in a good position to go to Dageu and I still have one month for preparation.”
Behind him Germany’s Matthias De Zordo had a good night clearing 84.37m with Stuart Farquhar of New Zealand taking third with a season’s best 84.21m.
Isinbayeva silences the doubters
Yelena Isinbayeva silenced her critics who, after she no heighted in Lignano last week (20 July) and then withdrew from the Lucerne meet in Lucerne two days later after injuring her wrist in a fall in warm-up, had questioned whether she will be a force at the IAAF World Championships next month.
The 29-year-old Russian bounced back with an excellent performance. Confidently not entering the competition until the bar was at 4.64m and although failing on her first attempt and being lucky that the bar stayed on when she tried again, that clearance seemed to dispel any remaining doubts she might have had lurking in her mind.
In a competition containing her main rivals for Daegu, where she insists she can regain her World crown after no heighting two years ago in Berlin, she laid a challenge down to Germany’s Silke Spiegelburg, Jen Suhr of the USA, fellow Russian Svetlana Feofanova and World Indoor champion Fabian Murer of Brazil and after all had passed 4.58m, the contest began in earnest.
After her 4.64m opener Isinbayeva rested herself until attempting 4.76m and let her opponents fight between themselves with Spiegelburg having the best fortune attempting and clearing 4.70m, a bar which saw the elimination of Murer (5th 4.51m)
The German took runner-up with that height when Suhr and Feofanova, who passed, had three failures at 4.76m with the latter taking third on count-back at 4.64m.
Isinbayeva then sailed over 4.76 at her first attempt before failing three times at what would have been a world lead and meet record of 4.86m.
“The competition and the technique was okay, it was nice to be back,” said the Olympic champion and World record holder who missed the 2010 outdoor season to recharge her batteries. “I did not have any expectations about heights and just wanted to win.”
Bolt carefully coasts to victory
Usain Bolt finally broke his Stockholm stadium duck and scored an individual victory at the DN Galan meeting but like in other events he had to battle with the wind and settled for a time of 20.03 into a wind of -1.2.
The World record holder for the distance producing a reasonable start, then roared around the bend to come into the home stretch his stride eating up the ground ahead of him.
Marvin Anderson his fellow Jamaican made an attack with 70m remaining but that was quickly blown away and he had to settle for second in 20.47, with Panama’s World silver medallist Alonso Edward third in 20.56.
Bolt, who will defend his World 100 and 200 titles in Daegu, said: "Technically it was not a good race because the curves here are a bit tight so I was careful of not getting injured before the World Championships. But generally it was a good race despite the fact I wanted a better time.”