Things to look out for in Osaka: Women's track..
August 22nd 2007 01:30
Having seen what the men have to offer it’s now time to turn out attention to the female athletes being called to their marks from this Friday.
The 100m is set to be yet another Jamaica vs. United States affair but with Marion Jones rapidly fading into obscurity and last years surprise package Jamaican Sherone Simpson failing to make the plane due to injury, the main participants maybe some what unfamiliar.
In the corner of the red, white and blue will be U.S Champion Torri Edwards (10.90) and representing the Caribbean island will be Olympic Bronze medallist Veronica Campbell (10.89).
Like the men’s event this could go down right to the wire.
It is difficult know what to make of the 200m competition this year. American Allyson Felix seems well on course to defend the title she won in Helsinki with her main competition coming from compatriot Sanya Richards (22.43) and Veronica Campbell (22.39).
Richards is the top 400m runner of the last three years and had it not been for a lapse in concentration at the U.S Championships she would be favourite to defend her title.
However not to miss out on a trip to the land of the rising sun completely she gained qualification in the 200m so will have to put up with the unfamiliar position of being the underdog to Felix.
Moving onto the one lap event with Richards and Felix concentrating on the 200m there is no obvious candidate for the gold.
The America contingent Dee Dee Trotter (49.64) Natasha Hastings (49.84) and Mary Wineberg (50.24) have all suffered a dip in form since their U.S championship exploits and will face strong competition from Jamaican Novlene Williams (50.06) and Russian Natalya Antyukh (50.10).
The 800m seems set to be the final stand of 4 time world champion Maria Mutola. However the 34 year old goes into the championships third in the standings behind Ukraineian Yuliya Krevsun (1:57.63) and Russia's European Champion Olga Kotlyarova (1:58.14).
The distance races are dominated by Etheopians with Tirunesh Dibaba attempting the double over 5000m and 10,000m.
Indeed so far ahead of the world are the Etheopians that her only major competition over both distances are compatriots Meseret Defer, the new world record holder (14:16.63) in the 5000m and Mestawet Tufa, the world leader in the 10,000m.
The 100m hurdles looks set to be a straight show down between current American world champion Michelle Perry (12.44) and U.S Champion Virginia Powell (12.45). Both have shown strong form and maybe too much to contend with Compatriot Lolo Jones (12.57), Jamaican Delloreen Ennis-London (12.62) and Sweden’s Susanna Kallur (12.62).
The 400m Hurdles has two americans at the top of the standings - Tiffany Williams (53.28) and Sheena Johnson (53.29) but with strong competition from Russia world record holder and defending champion Yuliya Pechonkina (53.61) and the returning 2003 Champion Jana Rawlinson (formerly Pittman) who recorded a season’s best of 53.46 in Monaco.
In the relays Russia and America will fight it out for the gold medal in each but a strong Belarussian team may threaten in the longer event.
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