ZURICH, 17 August 2003 — Maria Mutola of Mozambique moved within two minutes of the biggest prize in athletics meet history — $1 million — when she kept alive her unbeaten 800 meters streak at the Golden League series on Friday night. The world and Olympic champion Mutola clocked 1 minute 59.93 seconds at the 75th anniversary edition of the “Weltklasse” meet, leaving only second place for Austrian Stephanie Graf in 2:00.52 minutes.
Mutola now only needs one more victory at the Sept. 5 Golden League finale in Brussels to claim the jackpot — following earlier wins came in Oslo, Paris, Rome and Berlin.
She is the only athlete left in contention from originally 12 Golden League disciplines. “This was another race and business as usual. The hardest race of my career awaits me in Brussels. Let’s wait and see,” said Mutola.
By winning for the 11th straight year in Zurich, she also underlined her status as big favorite for the Aug. 23-31 Worlds in Paris.
In other action at the world’s most prestigious one-day meet, Americans John Capel and Justin Gatlin were joint 100m winners in 9.97 seconds in the absence of world champion Maurice Greene and world record holder Tim Montgomery.
The biggest Worlds favorite Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco grabbed another convincing 1,500m win in 3:29.13 minutes — one of five 2003 world best results eight days before the start of the season highlight in the Stade de France.
In the women’s 1,500m, European champion Surreya Ayhan of Turkey underlined her dominance with a personal best and 2003 year best in 3:55.60 minutes. “I think I will do the same type of running in Paris. What suits me best is front-running,” said Ayhan about her familiar tactics.
The defending 1,500m world champion Romanian Gabriela Szabo did not compete over the distance but rather won the non-World Championship 3,000m race in a 2003 best of 8:33.95 minutes.
Ana Guevara won the women’s 400m in 49.11 seconds for another personal and 2003 world best. The other 2003 world mark came from Stephen Cherono of Kenya, who changed his name to Saif Saeed Shaheen and his citizenship to Qatar in mid-week and raised his own mark by more than two seconds to 8:02.48 minutes in a neck-to-neck finish with Kenyan Ezekiel Kemboi (8:02.49).
“It’s a special situation for me, and only last week I was really thinking what it means to compete for another country,” said Shaheen. In addition, Chryste Gaines of the US won the women’s 100m dash in 10.89 seconds to tie the 2003 mark from Chandra Sturrup of the Bahamas, who had to settle for second on the night in 10.97 seconds.
World champion and freshly crowned Pan-American Games winner Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic cruised to victory in 47.82 seconds. Veteran four-time world champion Gail Devers of the US beat season-leader Brigitte Foster of Jamaica in the 100m hurdles by eight hundredth with a winning time of 12.50 seconds.
“It’s always a challenge for me, and I’m enjoying it. Today, I was pleased with my aggressiveness over the hurdles between numbers six and ten. I know that with the rounds in Paris, I’ll be better and better,” said Devers.
Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and Hezekiel Sepeng got another 800m one-two for South Africa in 1:44.12 and 1:44.26, respectively, leaving only third place for world record holder Wilson Kipketer of Denmark in 1:44.36. Local hero Andre Bucher, the world champion, had to settle for eighth place in 1:45.12. There was more joy for South Africa from Hestrie Cloete-Storbeck’s high jump win in 2.03m.
Czech veteran Zan Zelezny underlined his javelin world championship ambitions with 87.95m and John Kibowen led five other Kenyans to win the 5,000m in 13:01.01 minutes.
Radcliffe Considers Road Race Return
Meanwhile, British selectors are hoping Paula Radcliffe will make her return to competition in the autumn after her withdrawal from this month’s Worlds because of injury.
Radcliffe has not run competitively since setting a world best at the London Marathon in April and withdrew from both the 5000m and 10,000m in Paris after failing to recover sufficiently from a shin injury and bronchitis.
UK Athletics performance director Max Jones said yesterday that he was heartened to hear that the 29-year-old was considering competing in some road races. “She won’t be running a marathon I wouldn’t think, but she will be doing a road race,” said Jones.
Organizers of the Great North Run are planning to try and attract Radcliffe to their race, where in the past she set a then European record of 67 minutes 17 seconds. But the Tyneside Classic takes place on Sept. 21, which might be a little early in Radcliffe’s comeback plans.
