THE past year will be remembered as the year of the “Lightning” Bolt that struck at the Beijing Olympic Games. Usain Bolt certainly stunned the world with his world record-breaking performances in the 100 and 200 metre sprints. Next year‘s world championship meeting in August in Berlin will be the highlight of the world athletics calendar and will surely deliver another round of explosive performances from the sprinter.
The question is: How much faster can Bolt still go? Then the question is also asked whether defending world champion Tyson Gay will be able to bounce back or will Asafa Powell be the dark horse to content with?
Bolt has been hinting at competing in the 400m and a Bolt, Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merrit race might just blow some life into the sport again.
Suddenly Michael Johnson‘s 43.18-second record does not seem that impossible to better.
From a South African point of view it is hoped that Khotso Mokoena can continue his fine form in Berlin, while our medal hopes will also rest on the shoulders of LJ van Zyl (400h), Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (800m), Juan van Deventer (1500m) and javelin throwers Robert Oosthuizen and Justine Robbeson.
Some other highlights of the past year were the performance of Kenenisa Bekele who won all of his five 5000m finals. In Beijing, Bekele won in rampant style sprinting away from the competition. In doing so he completed a unique 5000m/10000m double. In the high jump Stefan Holm ended his career by winning eight of nine indoors competitions as well as gaining his fourth world indoors gold in Valencia.
In the long jump Mokoena did South Africa proud by claiming silver in Beijing with a 8,24m leap. This was close to 10 centimetres behind the winner.
Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva returned to her record breaking performances this year.
First 5,03m in Rome, then 5,04m in Monaco and finally the 5,05m mark in Beijing.
Her best jumps were so good that she would have cleared the bar even if it had been set at 5,10 or 5,12.
In the Beijing marathon Samuel Wanjiru (Kenya) won gold in a fast 2:06:32.
World leader Haile Gebrselassie, who had recorded the world‘s leading time of 2:04:53 in Dubai in January, did not want to risk it and run in what he feared would be poor air conditions in Beijing. He opted to compete in Berlin later where he won his third consecutive Berlin Marathon with a second straight world record 2:03:59, cutting 27 seconds off his 2007 mark and becoming the first man to go under 2:04:00.
In the women‘s 800m, the find of the season was Kenya‘s Pamela Jelimo. It should not have been possible in this day and age that a teenage athlete, who tries a new event, ends up not only Olympic champion but also owner of the greatest ever seasonal record in the event. However, that is exactly what Jelimo achieved this season. Six times this season she recorded times between 1:54 and 1:55.5.
This year will also be remembered as the year when Maria Mutola bowed out of the sport with honour, by claiming fifth spot in the Beijing final in a personal best of 1:57.68.
Some important dates on next year‘s local calendar to remember: Jan 23: Yellow Pages I (Potchefstroom); Jan 30: Yellow Pages II (Pretoria); Feb 6: Yellow Pages III (Durban); Feb 20: Yellow Pages IV (Port Elizabeth); Feb 27: Yellow Pages V (Stellenbosch); March 6: Yellow Pages VI (Germiston); March 13, 14: SA senior championships (Stellenbosch); March 27: SA Youth and Junior Champs (Pretoria).
International: March 28: World cross country championships (Amman, Jordan); July 8-12: World Youth Championships (Bressanone, Italy); Aug 15-23: World senior championships (Berlin); Sept: 12-13 World Athletics Final (Thessalonika, Greece); Oct 11: World half marathon championships (Birmingham, England).
source: theherald.co.za
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