BERLIN, 9 August 2003 — Chandra Sturrup faces her toughest test so far in attempting to win a share of $1 million when lines up in a high-class field in the women’s 100 meters of tomorrow’s Berlin Golden League meeting.
The Bahamian sprinter, making the most of triple Olympic champion Marion Jones’ maternity leave, is one of two athletes still on course for the $1 million-jackpot to be shared between athletes with victories in all of the series’ six events.
With Zurich and Brussels still to come after Berlin, only Sturrup and 800 meters runner Maria Mutola of Mozambique remain in contention for the money.
But while Mutola, who has also won in Oslo, Paris and Rome, will start as favorite despite the presence of Austria’s Stephanie Graf, Sturrup might struggle.
Ukraine’s world champion Zhanna Block, who has missed most of the outdoor season because of a quadriceps muscle injury, has told organizers she will compete in Berlin and providing she is fully fit, should push Sturrup hard. American Gail Devers, the Olympic 100 meters champion from 1992 and 1996, will also run the event.
Jones, who gave birth in June to a boy named after partner Tim Montgomery, the men’s 100 meters world record holder, may return for the final Golden League meeting on Sept. 5 in Brussels.
Montgomery, meanwhile, has had a poor season in Europe but should line up against fellow American Bernard Williams and Namibia’s Frankie Fredericks in the 100 meters tomorrow.
Olympic and world 100 meters champion Maurice Greene will also be in Berlin but was expected to enter only the 4x100 relay, despite efforts from the organizers to convince him to run the 100.
Another highlight at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Stadion, where the meeting will be staged for the second year due to the rebuilding of the Olympic Stadium, should be the men’s 110 meters hurdles, with American Allen Johnson and Latvia’s Stanislavs Olijars looking to gain a psychological edge ahead of the world championships in Paris from Aug. 23 to 31.
Local hopes will rest on European 400 meters champion Ingo Schultz, and on distance runner Dieter Baumann, who will run the 3,000 meters — one of his last races before he steps up to the 10,000 in Paris.
Organizers said they were hoping to treat the fans to a 100 meters showdown between Tim Montgomery and Maurice Greene.
World record holder Montgomery and Olympic and world champion Greene will both be in the German capital but whether they will both enter the showcase 100 is yet to be decided.
Only Montgomery has so far entered the race, with Greene scheduled to enter just the 4x100 relay, but organizers were still trying to convince him to run the 100 as well.
“There are still talks going on between his (Greene’s) coach, his manager and the organizers,” said Florian Schwarthoff, head of sports for the Berlin event.
Pechyonkina Sets 400m Hurdles World Record
Russia’s Yulia Pechyonkina set a new world record in the women’s 400m hurdles at the national athletics championships here in Tula, yesterday.
Pechyonkina clocked 52.34sec to beat the previous record of 52.61, established by Kim Batten of United States in 1995 in Gothenborg, Sweden.