The heavens opened at the start of Fridays’ Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace
but USA’s 2007 World 100m and 200m champion Tyson Gay defied the elements when it came to the final event of the meeting some three and half hours later, sizzling to 9.78 sec (-0.4) 100m world season lead.
Crystal Palace stadium was hit by a rain shower of monsoon proportions at 5.30pm local time as the women’s Discus Throwers were midway through their competition – won by Cuba’s Yarelis Barrios who thundered out a massive first round 65.62m – with the torrent so heavy that the men’s Pole Vault had to be temporarily suspended. Well, effectively the wet ended the competitions of Australia’s World and Olympic champion Steve Hooker and France’s world season and Diamond Race leader Renaud Lavillenie who both registered no mark at their opening heights of 5.51m. The runway was exceptionally slippery and in these extreme conditions these protagonists found themselves bravely upstaged by Poland’s Luhasz Michalski (5.71m).
The rain lasted for approximately 30minutes, transforming the stadium’s open tribunes on the top and bottom bends into a sea of umbrellas. An hour and 15 minutes after the rain ceased the men’s sprinters came onto their blocks for the 100m heats in exceptionally dank conditions (16C) and in that sort of cool weather none of the capacity crowd of 16,000 could have imagined they would be in for such a night of hot racing.
Gay was smoothly through to the final with 10.02 (-0.4m/s) as the winner of the first heat, and Walter Dix, who had taken a famous victory over Gay at 200m in Eugene last month, dominated the second race in 10.08 (-0.3). Jamaican Yohan Blake was slightly faster (10.07) as the runner-up behind Gay in the first dash.
It was certainly no warmer at 8.48pm when the gun went for the final and there were only three men in contention – Gay, Dix and Blake. The 2009 World silver medallist got a superb start in lane four and quickly established a good margin. Dix in his pursuit sustained an injury in the later half of the contest which basically halted his progress (last in 12.46) leaving Gay clear up-front, who crossed in 9.78. Blake, 20, his nearest challenger established a new PB 9.89, his previous was 9.95, and it was a meet record and world season lead for Gay.
“I wasn’t expecting to go that fast in these conditions but I knew I was in good shape and was going to go fast,” said Gay. “I was hobbling a bit at the end, my groin is a little sore but I’m sure it’s OK.
“I wasn’t necessarily sending a message to Asafa and Usain, I was just running my own race. I think there’s more to come.”
Lopes-Schliep – meet record and world season lead too
Perhaps we shouldn’t have been that surprised at the times in the dash considering that three events earlier in the programme the women’s sprint hurdlers had also proved that the cold and wet were no bar to fast times.
The two heat winners Sally Pearson (12.66; +1.3) and Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (12.71; +0.9) have had many memorable races together, they are respectively the 2008 Olympic silver and bronze medallists, and tonight was another ding-dong affair.
The Australian Pearson was the quickest away of the entire field (0.128 reaction time) in the final and led comfortably until her Canadian rival applied a second half surge which took her well clear by the tape 12.52 to 12.61 sec (+0.2). The winning time was a meet record and the only other world lead of the first session of this two day London meeting. With double World Indoor champion Lolo Jones finishing third (12.66) this leaves Lopes-Schliep and the American tied on 14pts in the Diamond Race with one competition in the 100m Hurdles remaining, and $40,000 and the Diamond Trophy up for grabs.
“You never know what’s going to happen in hurdles, you can’t worry about anyone else, so I just went out and focused on myself… I don’t worry about the weather. I feel that my mental strength gave me the edge,” confirmed Lopes-Schliep.
Felix flies
There is no one close to Felix in the 200m Diamond Race after tonight, the reigning triple World champion dominating this field to finish in 22.37 sec (0.5), with veteran Debbie Ferguson-Mckenzie, 2004 Olympic bronze medallist, who is 10 years older than the 24 year-old American the only other under 23sec (2nd 22.88).
Vlasic exhibits confidence in the wet
Blanka Vlasic, the double World High Jump champion indoors and out and the recent winner of the European title, does not like wet conditions – hey what high jumper does – but it has especially been an unwelcome element in the career of the great Croatian who it could be argued caused by a soaked jumping surface in Brussels in 2008 lost a share of the Golden League $1 Million Jackpot in that year. Tonight the 28-year-old didn’t just master the slippery conditions she was a veritable water nymph by comparison to her opponents who could scale no better than a 1.91m bar.
Vlasic sailed effortlessly over four heights to 1.98 without a sign of trouble, took two attempts to make 2.01m, and wow wasn’t that second successful clearance graceful, and had three game attempts at 2.04 which would have been the world season’s best performance. It wasn’t to be but this is someone who by the end of the night had managed to put fear far to the back of her mind as the manner of her jumping personified confidence. Vlasic now has six out of six victories in her Diamond Race. Impressive!
“I have a fear of wet surfaces to jump on so I’m happy I beat the field today. It was a big challenge for me… but by the end I couldn’t feel my legs it was so cold,” confirmed Vlasic.
Not such a bright homecoming
Considering the record haul of medals by the British team in Barcelona, the greatest ever number achieved by the country in European Championship history, tonight’s meeting organisers had quite rightly arranged and duly delivered a run past the stands by many of the British medallists to celebrate their achievements. Despite the fact that it took place after the end of all competition much of the capacity crowd stayed behind to applaud.
It was a level of devoted support that was also shown throughout the night when ever a local appeared, though in the case of two Barcelona heroes it was not quite the homecoming they would have preferred.
In a 3000m staged for 5000m and 10,000m continental champion Mo Farah, even the screams and urging of 16,000 voices could not push him to victory, as he was held off by USA’s 2007 World 1500 and 5000m champion Bernard Lagat, losing a close battle 7:40.75 to 7:40.36 with Lagat in full control.
Competing on the runway which runs parallel to the finishing straight World and European champion and Olympic Triple Jump silver medallist Phillips Idowu was having an even worse competitive return to home shores, the Briton managing no better than sixth, 16.54m. Winning was Sweden’s former World and Olympic champion Christian Olsson, in a season’s best of 17.41m (-0.7), who prevailed over world season leader Teddy Tamgho of France, who retains top spot in the Diamond Race for the event with 10pts.
Kaki no closer to sub 1:42; Langat shows her class
Not contesting Diamond Race points here but still pusuing his first ever sub 1:42 time was double World Indoor 800m champion Abubaker Kaki of Sudan but the 49.24 sec clocking at mid-point by pace Khadevis Robinson was too rich for Kaki’s blood and while he prevailed in 1:44.38, he was being hunted down by USA’s exciting young miler Andrew Wheating (1:44.56 PB) and compatriot Nick Symmonds (1:45.28).
Olympic 1500m champion Nancy Langat, a surprise when she won that crown two years ago with no other international wins during that 2008 season, is now looking the real deal in that champion’s mould. After six Diamond League races she now leads the battle for the season long prize with 17 points, after comfortably seeing off in a time of 4:07.60, Russia’s Anna Alminova (4:08.82) and Britain’s Lisa Dobriskey (4:09.07).
Another stealing a march on his opponents in the Diamond Race was Bershawn Jackson in the 400m Hurdles. The 2005 World champion was stalked all the way to the line by Puerto Rico’s always impressive Javier Culson, the American prevailing 48.12 to 48.17sec. Jackson now has 20 points in the Diamond Race. Britain’s newly crowned European champion David Greene was third, 49.09.
On the track the penultimate event was the women’s 5000m with Tirunesh Dibaba’s 14:36.41 bettering Kenyan World champion Vivian Cheruiyot, 14:38.17, in a typical display of last lap sprinting brilliance by Ethiopia’s Olympic 5000m and 10,000m gold medallist
Summing-up the rest of the night, the 3000m Steeplechase was won by Kenyan Paul Kipsiele Koech (8:17.70), while on the infield Czech World record holder Barbora Spotakova, nursing an arm injury, won the Javelin Throw with one attempt (63.50m). In the Shot, a fourth round 20.27m put by Belarus’ Nadezhda Ostapchuk was enough to hold off the 19.83m rally of World and Olympic champion Valerie Adams-Vili, and in the Long Jump there was a win for Russian Darya Klishina, 6.65m, in a low key competition.
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