The World Athletics Championships in Daegu was full of spectacles in its nine-day run, centering around sprint sensation Usain Bolt.
The world-record holder in 100 and 200 meter and 4x100-meter relay powered to the home stretch in his last event as the anchor runner to help the team to mark 37.04 seconds, renewing the previous mark set by his team in the 2009 Berlin meet.
His jubilant dash to the finish line put his national team in an overall fourth place with four gold, four silver and one bronze medal.
The U.S. team topped the championships with 12 golds, eight silvers and five bronzes, followed by runner-up Russia and Kenya, having nine and seven golds, respectively.
While Bolt remained to be the most highlighted athlete in Daegu, the event saw a transition of generations, giving speculation that the track and field events in next year’s London Olympics will be more heated than ever.
In press conference Saturday, the usually joking Bolt forecast an “amazing season,” and added that he will get serious about the Olympics.
In addition to his longstanding rivals such as Jamaican compatriot Asafa Powell and the U.S. sprinter Tyson Gay, there are newly-risen stars including Yohan Blake of Jamaica who won the men’s 100 meters.
Blake, whom American sprint legend Maurice Greene picked as the potential candidate to outrun Bolt, seized his first gold in a major international event with his season-best time of 9.92 seconds.
In the men’s 400 meters, Kirani James, a prodigy from Grenada, showed his full strength to triumph and grabbed the gold medal.
The 19-year-old unfolded a superb race, outrunning defending champion LaShawn Merritt of the U.S. by powering to the finish line.
James was picked by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) as one of the favorites, but his spurt in the last part of the race proved he is now the definite ruler in this event. His victory also brought his nation the one and only gold medal in the Daegu athletics meet.
The United Kingdom also had a surprise star, as seen from victory in the men’s 400-meter hurdles by David Greene.
Greene’s race reminded one of James, as the British athlete made a final spurt to claim his first world title. The 25-year-old has improved in recent years, as seen from seventh in the 2009 Berlin worlds, followed by victory in last year’s European Athletics Championships.
However, he was not considered a title favorite — speculation was only around the season’s fastest runner L.J. van Zyl of South Africa, and Javier Culson of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. pair, Bershawn Jackson and Angelo Taylor.
Greene’s speed to power ahead over the finals hurdles changed everything. He not only beat silver medalist Culson as well as the Americans who lagged behind in the race, but also brightened U.K.’s hopes to claim gold in track and field events as the host of the London Summer Games.
In the women’s pole vault, Fabiana Murer of Brazil joined the list of rising stars as she won the event. But Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia denied that her rivals were better than her and vowed to show her prowess in London next year.
The U.S. saw some surprise and some expected wins. On Thursday Jennifer Simpson claimed a shock victory in the middle distance, women’s 1,500 meters. The 25-year-old outshone two-time defending champion Maryam Jamal of Bahrain who settled in 12th, the last among the finalists.
“The last few meters I was thinking about what this could mean for my life and family, and my little sisters starting in the army.
“I was thinking ‘let’s get that anthem played.’”
The traditional sprint powerhouse continued its compelling battle in the short distance events. Walter Dix of the U.S. performed superbly to win the silver in the men’s 200 meters, initially outdoing Bolt in the curve. Then Carmelita Jeter of the U.S. won the gold in the women’s 100 meters while Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica powered to the gold in the women’s 200-meter final, beating out Jeter and Allyson Felix of the U.S.
The two sprint rivals did not disappointment in the women’s 4x100-meter relay that highlighted the last day as the final two events.
In the women’s event, Jeter and Felix became double gold medalists in Daegu as members of the team that set this year’s leading record of 41.56. Jamaica, led by Jeter, also showed its strength by finishing in second followed by bronze-medal winning Ukraine.
While Jamaica dazzled the fans at Daegu Stadium in the men’s relay, team U.S., however, was out of the race after a mistake in its last changeover.
The Daegu meet produced regretful lessons for Korea, the host of the championships.
While the nation came up with the “10-10 project,” a plan to have its athletes in top 10 in 10 events, most of the local athletes were far short of the mark.
The only comfort came from men’s race walk. Kim Hyun-sub timed in 1 hour 21 minutes 17 seconds for sixth place in the 20-kilometer event last Sunday, while Park Chil-sung finished seventh in the 50 kilometers, Saturday, setting a national record of 3:47:13. Kim Deok-hyeon once drew attention as he joined the top-12 finalists in the men’s long jump. However, he suffered injury in his other event, the triple jump, and gave up both.
Source: The Korea Times
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