BEIJING: The Olympic showcase sport of athletics finally gets under way today — with the 100 meters dash and 110m hurdles the most anticipated events.
World record holder Usain Bolt (9.72 seconds), former record holder Asafa Powell (9.74) and world champion Tyson Gay (9.77) form a formidable trio set to battle for gold tomorrow in what Gay dubbed “one of the hottest 100m in Olympic history.”
Bolt and Powell aim to give Jamaica its first ever 100m title at the Olympics but the American Gay is the only one of them with a major title, from the 2007 worlds.
Experience is a crucial factor through the four rounds starting today and culminating in tomorrow’s final at 1430 GMT in what will be a packed National Stadium, with an expected billion viewers looking on as well on TV.
The sprinters stand out in a sport which may not have as many top stars as in the past but more diversity than swimming, for instance, which has been a Michael Phelps one-man show.
Jeremy Wariner aims for a second 400 meters gold to go with two world titles and Kenya-born American Bernard Lagat seeks a rare 1,500m and 5,000m double.
The whole of China, meanwhile, anticipates the duel between their world and Olympic champion Liu Xiang with Cuban world record holder Dayron Robles.
But while Robles lowered Liu’s record by one hundredth to 12.87 seconds two months ago, Liu has gone into hiding amid reports of injury ahead of the biggest race of his life.
On the women’s side, Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva is to provide plenty of glamor, a second Olympic gold and possibly a world record as well after raising twice over the past weeks to now 5.04m.
Britain’s Paula Radcliffe aims to defy the hot conditions to get marathon gold at last. With seven Russian distance runners out over alleged tampering with doping samples, the US could dominate the sport even more than in the past.
Men’s coach Bubba Thornton named his side “a dream team” but refused to make predictions, saying only that “I hope to have heard the national anthem once before I leave each night.”
But, battered by the positive test of 2004 champ Justin Gatlin, the stripping of all 2000 medals of three-time winner Marion Jones and her subsequent imprisonment, the US — and others — must also try to win back credibility in a sport tainted by doping.
Three original gold medallist from 2004 were stripped of their Olympic title over doping and the 2004 sprint champion Justin Gatlin is also not there after being caught doping two years ago.
“The Olympic champion does have to prove that he is clean,” Gay said this week. None of the three stars has failed a doping test so for now the stage is set for an intriguing duel. “There hasn’t been such hype about the 100m in a long time. The people have seen things they have never seen before. People say you can’t run that fast. To have three 9.7 runners is amazing,” said Gay.
Croatia’s Blanka Vlasic has dominated in the women’s high-jump since last season but the world record 2.09m from Stefka Kostadinova still appears like a Great Wall of China for her.
Whether that also applies in the women’s 800m remains to be seen as Kenyan wunderkind Pamela Jelimo has moved within less than two seconds of Jarmila Kratochvilova’s world record, which recently saw its 25th anniversary as the longest-standing record in the sport.
Kenya and Ethiopia will battle for supremacy in the long distance races, with Lagat posing a threat to Kenenisa Bekele and others in the 5,000m.
The women’s 3,000m steeplechase makes its Olympic debut as gender equality is almost reached. The women have only one race walk, 10 kilometers, while the men have two — 20km and 50km.
Athletics action starts on Friday with the heptathlon 100m hurdles but fans will badly miss Carloina Kluft, who won every major title on offer 2002-2007 but has had enough of the discipline and is competing only in the long jump. The first medals to be awarded today are the men’s shot put and women’s 10,000 meters.
