The Hindu : Sport / Olympic Games : A more competitive field out there now

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Wednesday, Aug 18, 2004

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Sport - Olympic Games

A more competitive field out there now

By S. Thyagarajan

ATHENS, AUG. 17. Competitive athletics at the Olympics presents a fascinating spectacle.

As athletes prepare for an assault on time, distance and height from Wednesday to enter a brave new world, chart a new course in effort and endeavour it is an enchanting experience to imagine what lies ahead.

Clearly, competitive athletics is ensnared in the grim world of doping, more than any other sport. That's a very disturbing factor which both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) pay a lot of attention to. The attempt to eradicate the epidemic is Utopian; but no effort is being spared.

The Kostas Kenteris-Ekaterina Thanou affair looms large hours before the shot putters are set to put the ball rolling at the ancient Olympic Stadium, just for the mood of nostalgia linking the competition to 1896 where it all began.

The athletics world today is made up of a star galaxy from Maurice Greene, Jeremy Wariner to Dwight Philips down to Kenenisa Bekele to Roman Sebrle, or on the distaff side from Ivet Lalova to Elvan Abeylegesse, Paula Radcliffe, and Yelina Isinbayeva, names that evoke fear, respect and admiration.

The dynamics has now changed. It is no more the hegemony of the superpowers, the U.S. and USSR. The spread has gone across the globe from Grenada, Jamaica, Cuba, China, Ethiopia and Kenya, and down to Australia.

Greene confident

Identifying the gold medallist even from among the top-notchers is a guessing game that one would cautiously avoid. It is an accepted fact that the glamour associated with the short sprint has a charm of its own.

Why the 100 metres receives so much focus is that the man attempting to take the crown again is the defending champion — Maurice Greene of the U.S. Can he do it?

Greene, who clocked 9.91s. at the U.S. trials in Sacremento is confident. But his compatriots, Kim Collins, the world champion at Paris, and Justin Gatlin (9.92s) will not make things easy for Greene. The emerging threat has already come in the shape of a wonder boy from Jamaica, Asafa Powell, who had conquered Maurice on more than one occasion in recent months clocking 9.93s.

There is another man lurking around: Shawn Crawford (US) with a time of 9.88s in 100 and 19.88s. in 200 this year.

Daunting presence

The American presence up to the quarter mile can be daunting. Jeremy Wariner posted the best time (44.37s) at the U.S. trials with Otis Harris (44.67s). But beyond that the Africans raise the bar, some like Wilfred Bungai of Kenya clocking 1:43.72s. for 800 metres at Madrid. He may face the challenge from Russia's Yuriy Borzakovskiy.

While Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco will make a last ditch effort for an Olympic gold which he missed at Sydney to Noah Ngeny of Kenya, the focus on long distance is clearly on the Ethiopian marvel, Kenenisa Bekele, who has the best time for 5000 (12:7.35s) and 10,000 (26:10:31s) this year.

The 21-year-old may well be the hero of the Games if his form means anything. In his language, `Amharic', the word Kenenisa means rich. And he can be one as quickly as his hero, Haile Gebrselassie.

Allen Johnson with a best time of 13.05s. can be a master of the situation. But China's Xiang Liu (13.06s) can offer some resistance.

It is difficult to predict anyone pushing the Swede Stefam Holm from the pedestal in high jump. The Swede cleared 2.36m. at Eberstadt on July 18. In pole vault, the Americans can be said to have recaptured their tradition with Toby Stevenson clearing 6m this year.

Almost similar is the scene in long jump where Dwight Philips jumped 8.6m. Busan Asian Games winner, Hussein Taher Al-Sabee of Saudi Arabia, who has a national record at 8.35m, is a competitor to watch.

World and Olympic champion Virgilyus Alekna of Lithuania is the towering figure in discus having accomplished a throw of 70.97m in Rethimno on June 23. Hungarian Robert Fazekas can cause a few ripples here.

Though ranked fifth in the season's list with 82.88m, Japan's Koji Murofushi is among the favourites for a medal in hammer, but whether there will be any worthwhile opposition for Jan Zelezny of Czech in javelin remains to be seen.

The decathlon is expected to be the clash of titans, between Tom Pappas of the United States and Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic who has a tally of 8842 points.

With Marion Jones getting embroiled in a drug-related controversy, the sprint field for women remains a grey zone. If anything, the European Cup winner, Ivet Lalova from Bulgaria with a best time 10.77s in 2004 may emerge as a favourite, while more prominent Jamaican girl, Veronica Campbell, who clocked 22.18 in Kingston on June 27 is the best bet for 200.

One of the highlights in 200 metres is the presence of the 44-year old Merlene Ottey, who is figuring in her seventh Olympics since Moscow. The Jamaican born Ottey will now represent her adopted country Slovania with her season's best time of 22.90s.

Tonique Darling of Bahamas (49.15s), Minique Hennagan (49.56) and Sandya Richards (49.89s) of the U.S. should figure prominently for the quarter mile. But from then it is the Africans again.

With Maria Mutola back in the fray, to look beyond her in the 800 metres will not be easy.

The 100m hurdles will be memorable not merely for viewing the world champion Perdita Felicien of Canada who has the season's best of 12.46s. but for the fifth Olympic appearance of U.S. stalwart Gail Devers who timed 12.55s.

One event that fascinates everyone is the women's pole vault. The U.S. superstar Stacy Dragila defends her Sydney gold, but it will be a tough task against the Russians, Yelena Isinbayeva and Svetlana Feofanova, whose rivalry itself is extraordinary. They beat each other for weeks before Isinbayeva regained the initiative for a World Record of 4.90m. on July 30 in London.

Anju's hopes

Long jump is one event where India prays for a medal for Anju Bobby George. How well this World Championship bronze medallist will tackle the triple Russian challenge of Tayana Lededeva (7.33m), Irinia Simagina (7.27m) and Tatyana Kotova (7.00) apart from the bid by Marion Jones, who could win only a bronze in Sydney, remains to be seen. Marion's qualifying mark at the U.S. trials was 7.11m.

World champion Carolina Kluft of Sweden will be the golden girl in the heptathlon, facing some challenge from Russian Svetlana Sokolova (6594) and Britain's Kelly Sotherton (6406).

Any assertive prediction of a medal for India will be presumptuous. Yes, Anju George gets the pride of place in this assessment since her 6.70 bronze medal win at the World Championship in Paris projects her as a prospect. But she needs at least one jump of 7 metres or more to be in contention.

"It is a matter of getting everything right in one jump,'' says Anju, in what can be a perfect evaluation of her attempt.

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