PARIS, 19 August 2003 — Rarely has it been so difficult to pick gold medal favorites at the World Athletics Championships — a fact that especially applies to the blue riband 100 meters races where a seven- week-old toddler plays a prominent role.
The mother, three-time Olympic champion Marion Jones, is yet to return to the track after the June 28 birth of Tim Jr. and will miss the championships which kick off on Saturday at the Stade de France.
Meanwhile the child’s father, the 100m world record holder Tim Montgomery, is struggling badly with his form after several weeks of disrupted sleep and nappy-changing instead of a proper world championship build-up.
In addition, the women’s 2001 champion Zhanna Block of Ukraine and the three-time defending men’s champion Maurice Greene are also struggling to find top form.
Predictions are equally as difficult for many of the 46 events at the ninth edition of the nine-day athletics event, which runs from August 23-31 and for which a record 203 countries have entered 1,902 athletes.
There are arguably not even a handful of clear favorites. They are Moroccan three-time 1,500m champion Hicham El Guerrouj (who also plans to run the 5,000m), Ana Guevara of Mexico in the women’s 400m, Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic in the men’s 400m hurdles and Czech decathlon world record holder Roman Sebrle.
Even Maria Mutola, who is just one win away from a $1-million Golden League jackpot, must still prove her class when she runs into Slovenia’s Jolanda Ceplak in a bid for back-to- back gold medals. “I am not thinking about the $1 million right now. I want to win the world championship title,” said Mutola after her win Friday in Zurich.
Turkey’s Surreya Ayhan leads the 1,500m list but still has to complete the Paris job which could see another duel with title holder Gabriela Szabo whom she ambushed at the European championships last year.
The sprints at the prestigious Swiss meet only underlined how wide open the men’s 100m race is. US trials champion Bernard Williams managed no better than sixth, the 2003 leader Patrick Johnson of Australia was seventh and British hope Mark Lewis-Francis dead-last.
Johnson’s leading 9.93 seconds was run in early May and Greene’s 9.94 in early June.
Greene has always insisted that “I want to win another gold”, but it appears that he and Montgomery will need some very good training in the final countdown to shine in Paris.
On the women’s side, Chandra Sturrup is the dominant sprinter with 10.89 seconds and will be happy that Chryste Gaines, who also has a 10.89, is not on the US team.
Other contenders are the 100m and 200m US trials winner Kelli White and veteran Gail Devers, who finally wants to get a second 100m and 100m hurdles double 10 years after she did it for the first time in 1993.
Block, by contrast, has not managed to break the 11-second barrier since her return earlier in the month from back problems. The long-distance races are set to become an African affair once again but it is unlikely that the popular Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie can win a fifth 10,000 crown.
Already beaten in Edmonton 2001, Gebrselassie may have to give way again for his young protege Kenenisa Bekele or a strong Kenyan team led by Abraham Chebii.
Like the sprints, the women’s long distance races will take place without their prime attraction as British star Paula Radcliffe withdrew on Friday stating she was not 100 per cent fit after an injury and an illness. Also not present are retired Australian 400m icon Cathy Freeman and injured German long jump veteran Heike Drechsler. Suspended because of doping offenses are steeplechase world record holder Brahim Boulami of Morocco and Brazilian long jumper Maureen Maggi.
The field events should see a thrilling heptathlon duel between local heroine Eunice Barber and rising Swede Carolina Kluft, while German discus thrower Lars Riedel aims for a sixth gold to match Sergei Bubka’s six pole vault crowns.
Czech Jan Zelezny eyes another javelin gold while the women’s high-jump should feature giant leaps from season leader Kajsa Bergqvist of Sweden and South African title holder Hestrie Cloete-Storbeck.
