Posted: August 6, 2004

Athletics: Fast Races On Tap At Zürich Tonight

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

by Bob Ramsak

It's called the "Three-Hour Olympics," and it's a nickname that rings particularly true for Friday's 76th edition of Zürich's Weltklasse meeting, the fourth of the six-stop TDK Golden League tour. Powered by a budget befitting one of the world's financial capitals, very few athletes who stand to figure prominently at the Olympic Games in two weeks time will be absent, giving fans, prognosticators and bookmakers alike one last look at the Athens-bound elite before the world's attention shifts completely to the Greek capital.

The middle and long distance action begins with the "B" race in the 800, traditionally one of fastest races each season. While the fields aren't yet finalized, four of this season's five sub-1:44 performers are in the field --and eight of the ten fastest-- led by last year's fastest, Wilfred Bungei, the winner of the brutal Kenyan Trials. World record holder Wilson Kipketer of Denmark races for the first time since his 1:43.88 win in Rome, while U.S. medal hope Jonathan Johnson makes his first appearance since emerging victorious from the U.S. trials. Fourteen of the entrants have clocked 1:45 or faster this season.

As for big meet bragging rights, Zürich is tied with rival GL meet Brussels for the most sub-1:43 800 meter performances in history, with eight apiece. But in the 1500, Zürich holds a nine-to-eight advantage in the sub-3:30 department, and all indications point to an increase in that narrow margin this year.

Seven of the ten fastest runners of the year will toe the line, led by world-leader Hicham El Guerrouj (3:29.18) and Bernard Lagat, who raced to wins in Bergen and Paris this summer to capture the first GL wins of his career. Mehdi Baala makes his first start since his 3:31.25 third place finish in Rome while Athens-bound Kenyan Isaac Songok takes his final tune-up. From the list of probable Athens finalists --on paper anyway-- only Ukraine's Ivan Heshko and U.S. Trials winner Alan Webb are notable absentees. El Guerrouj is gunning for his ninth straight win here.

Pre-Olympic quarantines put in place by the Kenyan and Ethiopian federations most dramatically impacts the 5000m, but with seven runners who have covered the distance in 13:05.76 or less this season in the field, a fast race is in store. Kenyan Richard Limo (12:59.37) and Kenyan-born Bahraini Musir Salem Jawher (13:00.59) top the field. Charles Kamathi, the 2001 world champion at 10,000m and a late entrant to the Kenyan team in that event, is in the race as well.

For Saif Saeed Shaheen, Zürich will be his Olympics. The Kenyan-born Qatari won't be in Athens, and after finishing a disappointing 10th last week in the Stockholm 5000 after a late-race fall, he arrives in Zürich to leave his mark in the steeplechase. With a 8:01.97 to his credit this year, the 22-year-old world champion is by far the fastest in the field. Kenyan Olympic squad member Ezekiel Kemboi --8:11.03 this season-- will presumably lead the chase pack that also includes U.S. Trials winner Dan Lincoln.

The women's races are no less dramatic, topped by the 800 meters, where Maria Mutola is going for her 12 straight Zürich win. The reigning world and Olympic champion will have ample opportunity to test her comeback from a hamstring injury after losing two valuable weeks of training in early July. Russians Natalya Lavshuk (1:57.45) and Svetlana Cherkasova (1:57.50), who broke Mutola's win streak in Lausanne, have both dipped under 1:58 this year, while Athens-bound Americans Nicole Teter and Jearl Miles-Clark face by far their biggest challenge of the year. One major player missing from the field is Slovenia's Jolanda Ceplak, who decided late in the spring that she wanted to avoid meeting Mutola until the Olympic Games.

Olga Yegorova was to make her return to the track in her first race in nearly a month to lead the 1500 meter field, but has withdrawn from the meet. She will appear in Athens, however. Canadian Malindi Elmore, who began the Olympic year with a 4:10.42 best, finds herself as the fastest entrant in the field. The 24-year-old Stanford grad finished fourth in Rome's Golden Gala with a personal best 4:02.64, and will be joined here by teammate Carmen Douma-Hussar, the former Villanova star who ran to a surprise bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships last March. Britain's top-two, Paris medallists Hayley Tullett and Kelly Holmes, are in the field as well. For the latter, Zürich could be the deciding factor as to which event --if she decides on just one -- she'll contest in Athens. Judit Varga, whose strong kick propelled her to a surprise win the Paris GL two weeks ago, could pose a threat as well. Suzy Favor Hamilton is a late entry, making her first appearance since pulling out of the U.S. Trials. Despite numerous attempts to lure her to Zürich, defending champion Sureyya Ayhan won't be toeing the line.

Although Team USA Minnesota sent a press release on Thursday saying that Carrie Tollefson would contest the 1500m in an attempt to get the Olympic Games "A" standard, thus allowing Suzy Favor Hamilton to join her on the U.S. team for Athens (Tollefson only has the "B" standard now) she is not listed on the official meeting start list as of Thursday morning, the last update which is publicly available. Perhaps her agent, Mark Wetmore, has managed to enter into the field by now, but RRW could not confirm this by Friday morning.

Kenyan Edith Masai makes her third start in two weeks to lead the field in the 3000. The Athens-bound Kenyan won her last two outings in London and Stockholm in impressive fashion. Sonia O'Sullivan makes her first distance start since July 17, Marla Runyan will tune-up for her second Olympic appearance and U.S. Olympian-to-be Shalane Flanagan will line up for the biggest race of her young career.

Five athletes remain in the hunt for the $1 million Golden League Jackpot: 400m runner Tonique Darling, world high jump champion Hestrie Cloete, discus thrower Virgilijus Alekna, triple jumper Christian Olsson and 400m hurdler Felix Sanchez.

The complete startlists for the Weltklasse are located at: weltklasse.ch.