CAMPBELL TAKES OVER AT 100 METERS, LOSES AT 200

 

                                     
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Monte-Carlo - Jamaican Veronica Campbell (far left) not only ended Christine Arron’s (center) TDK Golden League Jackpot hopes for the season, but also dethroned the French athlete from the top of the Women’s 100m Event Ranking last week. Campbell rose from 3rd place to first after winning in Zürich last Friday in 10.85 (1392 points), while Arron slipped to second with newly crowned World champion Lauryn Williams (USA - right) also losing one place to go third.

Reigning Olympic 100m champion Yuliya Nesterenko of Belarus re-entered the Event Ranking in 11th place after running in two meets in three days. Nesterenko finished 5th in Zürich with 11.08 (1291 points), before placing 2nd in Sheffield with 11.09 (1287 points), although the latter performance was wind-aided (+2.4m/s).

In the Women’s 200m Event Ranking, the story is quite the opposite. Campbell, the reigning Olympic champion lost her leading position to World champion Allyson Felix (USA). Felix comfortably won in Sheffield in 22.54 (1325 points) and swapped places with Campbell to take the Ranking lead. Campbell’s compatriot, Aleen Bailey, re-entered the 200m Event Ranking in 13th place after placing 7th in Sheffield with 23.29 (1197 points).

There are two other women who are Event Ranking leaders this week. In the 800m Cuban World champion Zulia Calatayud, and in the Triple Jump Russia’s Tatyana Lebedeva, won at the TDK Golden League in Zürich. In both cases they beat the athletes who they also overtook in the Event Rankings.

Calatayud’s 1:59.16 (1338 points) run outpaced and then helped her to replace Morocco’s Hasna Benhassi at the top of the 800m Ranking, while Lebedeva’s fifth round jump of 14.94m (1370 points) sealed her win over World champion Trecia Smith of Jamaica and also replaced her as the number one triple jumper in the Event Ranking. The Russian’s victory also allowed her to remain in the hunt for the one million dollars TDK Golden League Jackpot.

In the men’s sprints, double World champion Justin Gatlin has improved in both of his events, closing the gap between himself and World record holder Asafa Powell to only 2 points in the 100m Event Ranking after winning in Zürich with 10.14 (1344 points). Gatlin also moved up to 2nd in the 200m Event Ranking replacing his compatriot Tyson Gay after winning in Sheffield with 20.04 (1354 points).

20-year-old Sanya Richards (USA) became the youngest woman ever to run under 49 seconds when she won in Zürich last week defeating World and Olympic champion Tonique Williams-Darling. Richards finished with 48.92 (1409 points), and defeated the Bahamian again in Sheffield with 49.77 (1349 points). As such, Richards swapped places with former World champion Ana Guevara of Mexico and moved into second place in the 400m Event Ranking, behind Williams-Darling. In the Women’s Overall Rankings however, Richards took a giant step from 15th to 7th, although she is still “only” the second youngest athlete in the Top-10, behind Ehtiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba, who lies in second place.

Russia’s Yuliya Nosova-Pechonkina also moved up dramatically in the Women’s Overall Rankings, by 16 places to 23rd thanks to her win in Zürich. Pechonkina ran 53.30 (1396 points) to reconfirm her status as World champion, and move into 3rd place in the women’s 400m Hurdles Event Ranking.

In the men’s 400m race, Britain’s Tim Benjamin followed his strong showing at the World Championships in Helsinki, with two solid performances in Zürich and Sheffield. The 23-year-old finished only 7th at the Weltklasse, but his time of 45.45 (1242 points) was not at all lack luster and he just about repeated that clocking in Sheffield, when he finished runner-up to Michael Blackwood (JAM) in 45.49 (1270 points). Consequently, Benjamin moved up two places to 7th in the Event Ranking and may look forward to receiving an invitation to the World Athletics Final in Monaco (9 – 10 September), for which the top 7 athletes of each event automatically qualify.

Kenya’s Benjamin Limo and Craig Mottram are also likely to travel to the Mediterranean Principality in September, as they are ranked 5th and 7th respectively this week in the men’s 5000 – 10,000m Event Ranking. Limo – the new World 5000m champion – finished 4th in the 3000m in Zürich with 7:38.93 (1303 points), just behind Mottram’s 7:38.03 (1319 points). The Australian then ran the 2 Miles in Sheffield, and won it in 8:11.27 (1352 points), which means that the only non-African runner in the Top-20 of the Event Ranking moved up even further.

Britain’s Michael East provided the home crowd with a victory to celebrate in Sheffield, won the Mile in 3:52.50 (1309 points) and moved up eleven places to 18th. Alan Webb of the United States also improved on his Event Ranking position by placing third in the 1500m in Zürich. Webb’s time of 3:33.40 (1327 points) moved him up two places to 8th.

In the men’s field events, Victor Moya seems to be comfortable with second place. In the World championships, the Cuban took the silver medal, and more recently cleared 2.28m (1283 points) in Zürich to finish second, and 2.30m (1178 points) at the Eberstadt International to finish second again. But in the Event Ranking Moya has not moved up to second yet. He stands in 7th place this week.

Miguel Pate of the United States missed his top form by about ten days. The 26-year-old won in Sheffield with 8.45m (1350 points) to defeat Dwight Phillips and move into 4th in the Event Ranking, swapping places with World championship bronze medallist Tommi Evila of Finland.

Pate’s compatriot, Walter Davis is up to second in the Triple Jump Event Ranking despite not winning in Sheffield. While the World champion was forced into second position by a mere four centimetres at the meeting itself, his 17.40m (1312 points) effort allowed him to replace Brazil’s Jadel Gregorio in second in the Ranking. The winner of the meet – Cuban Alexander Martínez – moved up six places to 13th after his 17.44m (1337 points) last round effort.

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