Wariner has that diamond sparkle. Richard's doesn't.
August 8th 2007 15:30
For his efforts he was rewarded with a 1 carat Diamond by the meeting organisers for setting the new meet record.
Only Harry Reynolds (43.29) and Wariner’s advisor Michael Johnson (43.18) have stopped the clock faster over the one lap distance.
The Texan beat fellow American Keron Clement into second place by over a second with Clement also running a personal best of 44.48 in the near perfect conditions for sprinting.
With the world championships just over three weeks away Wariner is the hot favourite to defend the world championship he won in wet conditions in Helsinki two years ago.
And the world record? Michael Johnson set the mark at the Seville world championships in 1999 and it would certainly be fitting if Wariner eclipsed that in Osaka.
Fitting yes but expected most definitely not – I think we will have to wait at least one more season for that magical mark to be erased from the record books.
Having said that however I have no doubt that Wariner is the most talented athlete ever over the distance.
Michael Johnson possessed a 200m personal best of 19.32 whilst Wariner has to make do with a 20.19 fastest clocking.
A good 400m coach will tell you that your potential 400m time should be your 200m time multiplied by 2 and added to 2.5 seconds.
The 2.5 seconds is used to show the speed reserve which is the difference between your 200m PB and what you would expect to go through 200m in a 400m race.
Still with me? Well Johnson may hold the world record but he could have ran almost a second faster if the theory is even vaguely correct - somewhere in the unheard of low 42s high 41s area.
Wariner however is much closer to his theoretical potential and will almost certainly go even faster.
It’s only a matter of time.
Elsewhere at the meet Allyson Felix upset world number one Sanya Richards over the one lap distance and setting a new PB of 49.70 in the process.
Both Felix and Richards are not racing over 400m in Osaka but will likely be part of the USA 4x400m relay team which will be heavy favourites to win the gold.
This is the latest chapter in a turbulent season for Richards.
Last year she recorded the fastest time in the world that year of 48.70 and was unbeaten all season over the quarter mile.
However it is a different story this year with her 4th place finish at the US trials preventing her from progressing to the world championships at least for the moment.
There are rumours circulating that Mary Wineberg who finished third at the trials and has a spot on the USA 400m team will be forced to relinquish her position so that Richards can go in her favoured event.
Whilst the 400m is clearly the poorer if Richards does not attend it seems unfair that an individual athlete should suffer for Richards to be afforded the opportunity.
(The above image is from Wikipedia and used in accordance with the GNU Free Document License)
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