That world record sprint by Jamaicans

Dinesh WEERAWANSA

The 13th edition of the IAAF World Championship, which concluded at the Daegu Stadium, South Korea last Sunday was a resounding success. The nine-day world athletic extravaganza brought mixed feelings to many of the world's leading athletes. Nevertheless, the 203-nation event had its own share of a rich treat of track and field with several new records, including a unique world record in men's 4 x 100m realty final.

Though many anticipated at least a couple of more world records to be shattered, it took to the last event of the 2011 World Championship to produce the only world mark in Daegu. Nevertheless, it was a brilliant effort by Jamaica's 100m men's relay team, spearheaded by the world's fastest man Usain Bolt, that ran a magnificent 37.04 seconds to set a new world record.

Bolt belt down the home straight in splendid isolation, nothing to beat but the world record 37.10 Jamaica had set in winning the 2008 Olympic final. He flashed across the line, the time flashed up - 37.04 world record. Ironically, Bolt got two individual World records in Berlin two years ago but Jamaica missed the World record in the relay. Here, his individual performance was marred by his disqualification in the 100 metres and he won the 200 in a 'mere' 19.40, just the fourth-fastest performance ever. In Daegu, Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, 100m gold medallist Yohan Blake and Bolt had closed the championships in the best possible way - a World record.

But it was the United States that bounced back and reestablished their position as an invincible force in world athletics. The mighty Americans, who ended on top of the final medals standings with 12 gold medals, accounted for eight of the 17 world's leading performances for 2011 registered in Daegu. All in all, a total of 166 athletes achieved their personal bests while 341 competitors accounted for their season's best performances during the last edition of the IAAF World Championships. There were several multiple medallists who emerged in Daegu with Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot, who took top honours in the 5000 and 10,000m, the lone double champion. American Allyson Felix notched four medal finishes, a pair of golds in the relays and individual silver (400m) and bronze (200m). Her compatriot Carmelita Jeter collected three, gold in the 100m, the 4x100m Relay, and silver in the 200m.

The USA finished on top of the final medals tally with 25 medals, including 12 golds. Russia finished second with 19 medals, including nine gold. In the third place was Kenya with seven gold and 17 in all. Jamaica pocketed nine medals, including four gold while Germany, Great Britain & Northern Ireland each won seven medals apiece. In all, athletes from 41 countries took home medals. It was a pity that the hosts South Korea could not win a single medal, despite the home advantage.

Besides' the world feat by the Jamaicans, three new IAAF World Championship records too were established in Daegu. More importantly, all those three feats were achieved by women. New Zealander Valerie Adams (21.24m in shot put), Russian Maria Abakumova (71.99m in javelin throw) and Australian Sally Pearson (12.28 seconds in 100m hurdles) set new World Championship records on their way to gold.

That's not all. There were four new Continental records established at the Daegu World Championship - by Sunette Viljoen of South Africa (68.38m to win the bronze in women's javelin throw), Fabiana Murer of Brazil (4.85m to win women's pole vault gold), Andres Chocho of Ecuador (three hours, 49 minutes and 32 seconds to finish 11th in men's 50km race walk) and Brazil's 4 x 100m women's relay team which clocked 42.92 seconds in heats. From Sri Lanka's point of view, it was another participating experience, apart from the Sri Lanka record established by the country's leading middle distance runner Chaminda Wijekoon. The soldier from Welimada joined the elite club of athletes who broke their respective countries' national records during the IAAF World Championships in Daegu. Though over 2,000 athletes from 203 countries took part at the World Championships, only 41 of them could establish new national records for their respective countries. The Asian Championship gold medallist Wijekoon achieved this memorable feat during his quarter final heat of the men's 1,500m, returning a timing of three minutes and 39.61 seconds to better his own Sri Lanka national record. Incidentally, Wijekoon became only the second Sri Lankan athlete to enter a semi final of an individual event in the 28-year-old history of the IAAF World Championships.

The only other Lankan athlete to enter a World Championship semi final was sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe. On both occasions, Jayasinghe not only made it to the finals but also secured medals for Sri Lanka. It was way back in 1997 that Jayasinghe gave Sri Lanka its first ever medal in the IAAF World Championship history, finishing behind Zahana Pintusevich of Ukraine to secure women's 200m gold medal at the Athens 1997 Championships in Greece. Exactly ten years later in Osaka 2007 Championships that Jayasinghe bagged another medal for Sri Lanka, a bronze, in her pet event. Thus, Jayasinghe continues to remain the only Sri Lankan to win a medal in the three decade long World Championship history. It was Jayasinghe's first World Championship medal that inspired the sprint queen to give Sri Lanka's first Olympic medal in 52 years in Sydney 2000.

It was Jamaican Bolt did the biggest mistake in the entire IAAF World Championships when he came off the blocks a couple of one hundredths before the starter in the men's 100m final. Undoubtedly the biggest blunder in his life cost him the golden opportunity of completing that elusive sprint double.

The other biggest upset in the Daegu 2011 World Championship saw world record holder and defending World Champion Yelena Isinbayeva turning completely off colour in women's pole vault final to finish a poor sixth. Reigning World indoor champion Fabiana Murer became the newly crowned queen of pole vaulting when with a clearance of 4.85m she added an even more cherished title to her collection of medals.

A cat and mouse battle saw her defeat Martina Strutz who raised her German record to 4.80m while Russia's third placed Svetlana Feofanova who has a full set of medals from past Championships, collected another bronze with a season's best 4.75m. Murer on a tense night of action produced an almost faultless performance which stretched her to the limit of equalling the Brazilian and Area record of 4.85m she set when winning the Ibero-American title in June last year.

The pressure on that occasion was incomparable to that experienced at global level against a field which included the world's greatest ever vaulter Isinbayeva who was determined to regain the title she lost in Berlin two years ago when no-heighting. Sadly it was another night the Russian will quickly try to forget and after a tactical decision to pass after a first time failure at 4.75m she bowed out in sixth position with a best of 4.65m.

That saw Murer instead of fighting off the challenge of the World record holder finding herself in an intense confrontation which at the conclusion developed into a mind game with Strutz.

All in all, it was yet another highly successful international athletic event in South Korea after the 1986 Asian Games, 1988 Soul Olympics and 2002 Busan Asian Games. South Korea will now be preparing to host the next edition of the Asian Games in Inchon in 2014 while the next edition of the IAAF World Championships will be unveiled in Moscow, Russia in 2013.