Daegu, Korea – The first weekend of the IAAF World Championships, Daegu 2011, promises to come to an explosive end as Usain Bolt puts his 100m title on the line this evening in Daegu Stadium.
The double World record holder hasn’t quite illustrated shades of his Beijing 2008 and Berlin 2009 heroics this year, but his cool, calm, collected – and quick – opening round run last night did show that the sport's biggest star certainly is in the finest shape of the season, form that will be extremely difficult to beat. If he succeeds, Bolt will be the first back-to-back winner since Maurice Greene a decade ago.
There’s even talk that he, along with two of his three Jamaican compatriots, can duplicate the feats of Kenya’s two triumphant triumvirates who swept both finals yesterday.
The semis are at 18:30 local time, and the final at 20:45.
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Action begins with 20Km Race Walk - Borchin ready to defend?
The men’s evening-capping 100m is just one of six finals on the day; the first is the men’s 20Km Race Walk at 9 a.m. where defending champion Valeriy Borchin will be the man to beat. But he’ll face a significant challenge that will make his tour of central Daegu anything but a Sunday stroll in the park. Leading contenders include China’s Zhen Wang and Yafei Chu, the fastest in the world this year at 1:18:37 and 1:18:45, respectively.
Men’s 10,000m - Is Farah up to the challenge?
There will be another strong test in the men’s 10,000m, where favourite Mo Farah will have to finally face the expectations put on his slight shoulders after his sizzling season this year in which he’s gone unbeaten on the track. He’s also the year’s fastest over both 5000m and 10,000m, having beaten the best the world has had to offer. So far.
The biggest mystery looming over the proceedings tonight will be form of Kenenisa Bekele, who will return to action in his first race in well over a year to chase an unprecedented fifth straight title. The Ethiopian has never lost a 10,000m race – his first was in 2003 – and has amassed an astounding 22 World Championships (track and Cross Country) gold medals. Little has been heard from the Bekele camp, only a brief quote from the man himself upon his arrival in Daegu: “I’m ready for the challenge and looking forward to it.”
Decathlon – the Eaton and Hardee show resumes
Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee will continue their battle in the Decathlon over the course of the ‘anything goes’ second day, during which many of the world’s finest have met with either a sensational triumph or the most brutal of disappointments. If Hardee succeeds, he’ll be the first to successfully defend a World title since Czech Tomas Dvorak won a third straight back in Edmonton 2001.
Women’s Discus Throw and Long Jump to be decided
In the women’s Discus Throw, leading qualifier – and the most consistent thrower this year – Nadine Muller will look to return the title to German hands. As expected, her chief challenge will come from world leader Li Yangfeng of China, and Cuba's Yarelys Barrios.
In the Long Jump, world leader Brittney Reese will be aiming to hold on to her title, not, at least according to history, an easy chore. Only one woman has managed to hold on to here title in successive Championships, and that was Jackie Joyner Kersee, back in 1991, a few weeks before Reese celebrated her fifth birthday. Olympic champion Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil was the leading qualifier at 6.86m.
Semi-final action
The semis in the women’s 400m will give a clearer picture if anyone has what it takes to bring an end to the momentum of the season’s most consistent runner, Botswana’s Amantle Montsho who was on cruise control in last night’s opening round. We’ll also see how far along defending champion Sanya Richards-Ross return from a down year has come. And how quickly Allyson Felix, the three-time 200m champion, will adjust to the rigours of the long sprint’s rounds.
And in the men’s 800m, World record holder David Rudisha and Abubaker Kaki will continue down the road towards their eagerly anticipated showdown in the final – but first have to get through the notoriously brutal semi-final round where only the first two in each of the three heats is guaranteed to advance.
Opening round action
The early morning features the beginning of what many have dubbed THE race of the championships, with history’s three fastest hurdlers, Dayron Robles of Cuba, China’s Liu Xiang, and US record holder David Oliver, setting their blocks for the first time.
While attention today will focus on the world’s fastest 100m men, their female counterparts will also take to the track. As will the women’s metric milers, including two-time defending 1500m champion Maryam Jamal of Bahrain.
The wide open men’s 400m also gets under way which should give a less fuzzy picture of who to watch.
On the infield, competition gets under way with the qualifying rounds in the women's Pole Vault and Shot Put where Yelena Isinbayeva will be looking to reclaim the World title in the former, and Valerie Adams to collect a third straight in the latter.
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