Gay gets set to emulate Gatlin

Dinesh Weerawansa reporting from Japan

ATHLETICS: Sprinter Tyson Gay, who came to Japan without a single global title, now gets ready to go back to the United States with a golden double.

He accounted for the fastest timing out of all 32 competitors who ran in today’s men’s 200m quarter finals heats of the 11th IAAF World Championship at Nagai Stadium here.

Gay, who humbled world record holder Asafa Powell to win that elusive men’s 100m gold two day ago, is now set for the 200m title as well - just like what his fellow American sprinter Justin Gatlin did in Helsinki - at the last World Championships in 2005.

Gay clocked an impressive 20.08 seconds in winning men’s 200m quarter final heat three worked off under lights today. His team mate Rodney Martin returned a timing of 20.25 seconds to win the first quarter final.

Jamaican Usain Bolt came first in the second ‘quarter’ in 20.13 seconds, ahead of the Helsinki silver medallist Wallace Spearmon (USA - 20.26). Iraland’s Paul Hession was the slowest of the four quarter final winners as he took 20.50 seconds.

Kenya made a clean sweep in men’s 3,000m steeple chase final to take all three medals to Nairobi. Brimin Kiprop Kipruto (8:13.82) won the gold comfortably, while his team mates Ezekiel Kemboi (8:16.94) and Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong (8:17.59) bagged the silver and bronze respectively.

That was not all. There was another gold medal for Kenya, this time in women’s 800m final as Commonwealth Games gold medallist Janeth Jepkosgel accounted for the world’s leading timing this year - one minute 56.04 seconds to take the first place.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s double World 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba announced that she will not be defending her world 5,000m title here.

In a statement given to the Ethiopian Federation (EAF) today, Dibaba said she has not recovered from the women’s 10,000m final on Saturday night. “I waited to see myself in training,” she said. “But after consultations with my coaches and reexamined my health, I have decided not to contest.”

Her decision means that there will be no repeat of her clash with compatriot and Olympic champion Meseret Defar, but the 21-year old said she was confident that Meseret and other members of the Ethiopian team, Meselech Melkamu and Gelete Burka, are capable of continuing the winning streak for Ethiopia.

There was an unusual dancing at the middle when New Zealander Valerie Vili won women’s shot putt gold.

The first thing the burly Kiwi lass did after it was confirmed that her last attempt in the shot had moved her from second to first, snatching the title from defending champion, Nadezhda Ostapchuk of Belarus, was to dance, arms aloft across the track to a television camera, and mouth, “I love you mum and dad.”

It was a message that had to travel somewhat further than Vili’s homeland of New Zealand.

“This was dedicated to my late mum and dad, my dad died recently, and my mum died just before the Sydney Olympics.” Yet, Vili knows even a world champion in athletics would get relatively less publicity in a county that is better known for rugby. “Maybe this’ll knock the All-Blacks off the front pages of our newspapers,” said Vili.

OSAKA, Tuesday