2005 season comes to painful end

by Chris Galakoutis, August 18, 2005

Nicolas has pulled out of all remaining 100m appearances and has returned to Montreal, closing the curtains on what is arguably the most disappointing year of his career.  

This season was supposed to be the bounce back year after an injury riddled 2004 and Athens disappointment, but that just wasn't meant to be.  Early season Florida training camps were a good start, however a groin pull after his Mexico City race in late May was severe enough to negatively impact preparations the rest of the summer.  

And it showed, loud and clear in Helsinki, as he failed to advance past the 2nd round in the 100m and failed to hang on to what appeared to be a qualifying position for the 4x100m relay final.  

No one feels worse about how it all played out in Helsinki than Nic, and true to form, he put his money where his mouth is, brushing aside injury questions and taking responsibility for his poor performance on national television.  

Apparently that wasn't good enough for some Canadian journalists, who sadly, but predictably, went right for the jugular.  SURPRISE, SURPRISE!  One in particular, whose name rhymes with "harms" and who writes for a western paper, penned a piece with indirect comments such as "just don't have it in you to be a competitor" and more pointedly, "flash in the pan". 

While we have come to expect tough criticism, could they at the very least report the whole story?  Many athletes, including several great ones, have competed while injured.  For that matter, how well would anyone perform if they had to sing for their supper while suffering from say, laryngitis?  God help us if we all had to deal with this bunch.  

Suffice to say that Helsinki was a good wake up call for Nic, injuries and reporters aside.  And that, for the most part, sums up the 2005 season.

galako62904@yahoo.com

Tyler Christopher remporte une médaille de bronze au 400 mètres 2005/08/12 15 h 05

HELSINKI (PC) - Tyler Christopher, de Chilliwack, en C.-B., a battu son record canadien et a remporté la médaille de bronze, vendredi, au 400 m masculin. Il s'agissait de la première médaille du Canada aux championnats du monde d'athlétisme de l'IAAF 2005.

Le champion olympique Jeremy Wariner a conduit les États-Unis à un doublé en 43,93 secondes, le temps le plus rapide au monde cette année. Andrew Rock a terminé deuxième avec un record personnel de 44,35.

Christopher, âgé de 21 ans, le qualifié le plus rapide en demi-finale, a obtenu la médaille de bronze en 44,44 pour battre le temps de 44,69 qu'il avait réussi lors de sa victoire dans un Grand Prix le mois dernier à Paris.

"Le départ a été rapide, la suite a été rapide et la fin a été rapide. Je n'avais jamais participé à une course comme celle-là", a dit Christopher, le premier médaillé canadien aux championnats du monde au 400 m. "Wariner était sur mon épaule et il poussait sans arrêt. Mon départ a été bon. J'ai maintenu une vitesse décente, mais ma poussée à la fin n'a été que de 40 mètres au lieu de 100 m.

"Je suis venu ici pour gagner la médaille d'or et ma détermination m'a peut-être coûté l'argent à la fin, a ajouté l'athlète d'Edmonton. Mais je ne me serais pas rendu aussi loin sans cette détermination. Ce fut une fantastique expérience d'apprentissage pour moi et je ne pourrais pas être plus heureux présentement."

En demi-finale du 800 m masculin, Gary Reed, de Victoria, a battu son record canadien pour la troisième fois cette année en 1:44,33 pour gagner sa course et se qualifier en vue de la finale de dimanche. Wilfred Bungei, du Kenya, a terminé deuxième en 1:44,41 et Youssef Saad Kamel, du Bahrain, troisième en 1:44,90.

Le champion olympique Yuriy Borzakovskiy, de Russie, a réussi le temps le plus rapide de la journée en 1:44,26. Reed, dont l'ancien record national était de 1:44,54, établi il y a deux semaines à Oslo, a eu le troisième temps le plus rapide.

En demi-finale du 1500 m féminin, Carmen Douma-Hussar, de Cambridge, en Ontario, s"est aussi qualifiée pour la finale de dimanche en terminant cinquième de sa course en 4:08,73, aussi le cinquième temps le plus rapide en tout. Les cinq premières de chaque course et les deux temps les plus rapides suivants se qualifiaient. Yuliya Chizhenko, de Russie, a gagné la course en 4:07,26.

"J'ai vu la première course, qui a été lente, donc je m'attendais à un rythme rapide dans ma course", a dit Douma-Hussar, neuvième dans la finale olympique l'an dernier et deuxième aux championnats du monde intérieurs en 2004. "Je savais que les sept premières de notre course se qualifieraient et je suis heureuse d'en faire partie."

Dans les qualifications du saut en hauteur masculin, le double médaillé des championnats du monde Mark Boswell, de Brampton, en Ontario, a égalé sa meilleure performance de la saison avec 2,27 mètres pour se qualifier pour la finale de dimanche. Boswell a franchi 2,24 et 2,27 mètres, les deux à ses deuxièmes essais. Boswell a raté un précieux temps d'entraînement cette année à cause d'une bronchite et d'une pneumonie.

"C'était fantastique aujourd'hui. J'ai eu tellement de difficultés cette année, a dit Boswell. J'ai été très constant et je n'ai pas mis trop de pression sur ma cheville dans ma course d'appel. Je me sens comme si je fais les bonnes petites choses pour être parmi les meilleurs."

Dans la finale du saut à la perche féminin, Yelena Isinbayeva, de Russie, a battu le record du monde en franchissant 5,01 mètres. Monika Pyrek, de Pologne, a remporté la médaille d'argent avec 4,60 m et Pavla Hamackova, de la République Tchèque, a pris le troisième rang avec 4,50 m. Isinbayeva a reçu 100 000 $ (U.S.) en prime pour son record.

Dana Ellis, de Kitchener, en Ontario, a terminé sixième à égalité alors qu'elle a raté ses trois essais à 4,50 mètres. Ellis, qui a établi un record canadien à 4,51 m le mois dernier aux championnats nationaux, a bien commencé en franchissant 4,20 et 4,35 m à ses premiers essais.

"J'ai atteint mon objectif en terme de résultat, mais je voulais franchir 4,50 m ici, a dit Ellis, aussi sixième aux Jeux olympiques 2004. Je ne sautais pas vraiment à mon meilleur aujourd'hui et 4,50 m est pas mal mon meilleur présentement, donc ce n'est pas une hauteur que je peux franchir d'une manière constante encore."

Dans la finale du 50 kilomètres marche masculin, Sergey Kirdyapkin a conduit la Russie à un doublé en 3 heures 38:08. Aleksey Voyevodin a terminé deuxième en 3:41:25 et Alex Schwazer, d'Italie, troisième en 3:41,54.

Tim Berrett, d'Edmonton, qui participait à ses huitièmes championnats du monde, a réussi son deuxième meilleur résultat à vie en terminant 11e en 3:55:48. Il s'était classé septième en 1993.

"La première moitié de la course s'est bien passée, a dit Berrett, âgé de 40 ans. Puis j'ai dû être plus technique dans les 20 derniers kilomètres. J'en étais à mon dernier avertissement avec 10 kilomètres à faire et j'ai été relativement prudent."

Au relais 4X100 masculin, le Canada a terminé cinquième de sa course et a été éliminé. Les coureurs canadiens ont été, dans l'ordre, Richard Adu-Bobie, d'Ottawa, Pierre Browne, de Mississauga, en Ontario, Anson Henry, de Pickering, en Ontario, et Nicolas Macrozonaris, de Laval. Le quatuor a réussi un temps de 38,67 et a raté une place en finale par seulement 0,02 de seconde.

"Nous sommes très déçus, a dit Adu-Bobie. Nous avons travaillé très fort au cours des trois dernières semaines et nos attentes étaient plus élevées. Nos échanges ont été très bons. Nous avons la vitesse et ce n'est qu'une question de tout mettre ensemble."

Les États-Unis ont aussi été éliminés quand ils ont échappé le témoin lors du premier échange. Cela a ruiné les espoirs de Justin Gatlin de gagner trois médailles d'or aux championnats.

Aucun canadien n'est à l'oeuvre samedi. Les Canadiens dans les finales de dimanche sont Boswell, Reed, Douma-Hussar et Jeff Adams, de Toronto, au 200 m en fauteuil roulant masculin.

Big day for Christopher at worlds, perhaps more to come for Canada
Canadian Press, Saturday, August 13, 2005

HELSINKI (CP) - Canada appears to be leaving the best to last at the world track and field championships.

Tyler Christopher won bronze in the men's 400 metres Friday for Canada's first medal at the meet while high jumper Mark Boswell and 800-metre runner Gary Reed advanced to their finals on the final weekend of competition.

In racing to the podium, Christopher set a Canadian record in the 400 for the third time this season.

The sprinter from Chilliwack, B.C., who now calls Edmonton home, was timed in 44.44 seconds, improving on the 44.69 he ran at the Paris Golden League meet July 1.

Jeremy Wariner won the gold in 43.93, ahead of fellow American Andrew Rock in 44.35.

Christopher narrowly edged Christopher Brown of the Bahamas, who was fourth in 44.48. Afterwards, the 21-year-old Christopher grabbed a large Canadian flag and struggled around the track with it.

"I was just trying to make it around the lap I couldn't jog, I was walking," he said. "That big old flag I could barely hold that thing up.

"I was soaking it all up. I was enjoying the fans, looking for friends and family that are here supporting me."

Victoria's Reed set a Canadian record for the third time this season, clocking 1:44.33 to win his 800-metre semifinal. Boswell, meanwhile, equalled his season-best performance by clearing 2.27 metres on his second attempt in the high jump qualifying event.

But Christopher was clearly the Canadian star of the day, even though he was critical of his performance.

"I have a lot to learn in my racing," said Christopher. "I have to go back to the drawing board I have a lot of things to fix."

Running in Lane 4 with Olympic champion Wariner on his inside and world No. 2 Darold Williamson of the U.S. on his outside Christopher, blasted through the first 200 metres.

That's when Wariner caught him and then continued to pull away while Christopher tightened up slightly and was passed by Rock.

"Soon as that gun went off I did my thing," said Christopher. "I wanted to get a good split and keep within distance and not back off. I knew that if I had Wariner get up on me and let him get away like I did in the heats, there was no way I could have caught him.

"So I tried to hold on a little longer than I normally do. Well you saw my kick at the end. I didn't really kick quite the way I wanted.

"I was aiming for gold and I think that brought me down to bronze and almost fourth."

It's been a steady progression for Christopher, who won his semifinal heat Wednesday in 45.47, the fastest time of the day. That came after he nearly missed making the semifinals, when he left the blocks too cautiously in Tuesday's opening-round heat and had to scramble to make up the lost time.

Christopher said he was more nervous before the semifinals than for the final and enjoyed a good night's sleep Thursday.

He planned to spend Friday evening enjoying a fine meal with a large bottle of wine. Along with the bronze medal he will receive $20,000 US in prize money.

Reed put himself in position to follow in Christopher's footsteps with his performance Friday.

Running in fifth place at the bell, he moved into contention along the back straight then accelerated on the final bend. Wilfrid Bungei of Kenya could offer no challenge as Reed went by.

"I am in the final now, life is sweet, and now I can't come worse than eighth and that's not bad at 23," Reed said. "You get exhausted doing these rounds there's no way to help that but everybody's tired.

"I feel good now I will go with it and just do what I have been doing. I have good closing speed and I know that I can close with any of these guys."

Boswell has battled chronic ankle problems since winning bronze at the world championships two years ago and has shown little of the form that carried him to a Canadian record of 2.35 metres.

He finished second at the recent Canadian championships at the lowly height of 2.22. Acupuncture treatments followed to keep him active and at the Rome Golden League meeting he received a confidence boost he desperately needed, clearing 2.27, the height he matched Friday.

"I came here to make the final," said Boswell. "That was my biggest goal to make the final because I had so much baggage coming through the season and I just wanted to get that done. I mean, you see big guys go out. The world champion (Jacques Freitag of South Africa) is out.

"That's the kind of sport it is."

Boswell has won medals at the world championship on two occasions - bronze two years ago in Paris and silver at the 1999 championships in Seville.

"I have won a lot of hardware for the country, I mean at world championships, Francophone Games, Pan Am Games, World Cup, I have a lot of medals," he said. "But you have waves in your competition I am just trying to get back on top and ride one of those waves to the top. I am working hard and I will definitely try to secure a medal for my country.

"I think it is going to take a big jump, something over 2.35. I am just going to go to the finals and try my best. I have it in me."

Carmen Douma-Hussar of Cambridge, Ont., also advanced to Sunday's 1,500-metre final by finishing fifth with a time of 4:08.73.

At least three times she was bumped off the track as elbows flew. Her shins and knees bore cuts from competitors' spikes. Still the 2004 world indoor silver medallist was all smiles.

"The whole time was rough," she said. "I started in Lane 1 and I never got out of that position until the last two hundred metres.

"But we all had it rough."

Dana Ellis of Kitchener, Ont., finished tied for sixth place in the women's pole vault. She cleared her opening height of 4.20 metres on her first attempt and then 4.35 also on her first but missed three times at 4.50.

Her Canadian record is 4.51.

"I felt great I don't know what happened," she said. "I guess because 4.50 is pretty much my personal best, I have been consistent at it so I shouldn't say it doesn't feel comfortable."

Edmonton's Tim Berrett ended up 11th in the men's 50-kilometre walk while competing in his eighth world championship.

"I was aiming for the top 12 all year, so I managed to creep under that," he said. "Time-wise it wasn't quite what I was looking for it but I certainly went for it in the first half, paid a little for it in the second half - so did most of the rest of the field - and I slowed down a bit."

The Canadian men's 100-metre relay team missed qualifying for Saturday's final by 0.02 seconds. The foursome of Richard Adu-Bobie, Pierre Brown, Anson Henry and Nic Macrozonaris finished fifth in the second semifinal in 38.67 seconds.

Macrozonaris was edged out by the anchor runner from the Dutch Antilles and threw his baton down in disgust.

Australia earned the final qualifying place with a time of 38.65 seconds.

"I am very disappointed, I think we are all very disappointed," said Henry, the Canadian captain. "We expected to be in the final for sure. We were ready. Everything up to this point had been going well. It just didn't happen for us."

Canada finds medal form
Christopher claims bronze in 400 metres
 
Alex Hutchinson
The Ottawa Citizen; with files from The Canadian Press Saturday, August 13, 2005

After a week of near misses and nice tries, Canadian track and field athletes had a day to remember at the IAAF world championships in Helsinki yesterday, culminating in a bronze medal for Edmonton's Tyler Christopher in the 400 metres.

With three athletes qualifying for tomorrow's finals, including a national record for 800-metre runner Gary Reed, the Canadian team was already exceeding expectations for the day. But the highest hopes were reserved for Christopher, an unheralded 21-year-old competing in his first major championships.

"Honestly, and I know he feels the same way, I will be disappointed if he does not get out of here with a gold medal," Christopher's coach Kevin Tyler told an Alberta newspaper on Thursday.

After Christopher crossed the line in a new Canadian record of 44.44 seconds, pushing 2004 Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner of the United States to a personal best of 43.93, it would have been hard for either Christopher or his coach to be disappointed.

"I'm extremely happy with my performance," Christopher said after the race. "It started fast, continued fast and finished fast. I've never been in a race like that. Wariner was on my shoulder and just kept pushing and pushing."

Christopher's ascent has been rapid since he narrowly missed the Olympics last year, achieving the qualifying standard only after the deadline imposed by the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Yesterday's race marked the third time this year he has broken the Canadian record.

The medal was Canada's first of the championships other than demonstration events such as the wheelchair javelin, in which Jacques Martin of Sherbrooke won gold on Thursday. Defending champion Perdita Felicien in the 100-metre hurdles and veteran middle-distance runners Kevin Sullivan and Diane Cummins had all narrowly missed advancing to the finals earlier in the week.

Reed, 23, is another emerging star who turned heads in June when he kicked past Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy, a Russian noted for his fast finish, to set a Canadian record at a meet in Oregon. He broke that record yesterday by almost half a second, running one minute 44.33 seconds to win his semifinal.

"It's definitely a good feeling for me to be in the final. I've felt all year like I belong there," he said.

He will take the third-fastest qualifying time into the final, where he'll try to follow Christopher to the podium. According to his coach, Wynn Gmitroski, he is versatile enough to follow a fast early pace or wait for the final sprint in a slower race.

"I think either which way it goes, it's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time and being patient to strike when things get fast," Gmitroski said.

Reed was optimistic about his chances. "I have good closing speed and I know I can close with any of these guys," he said. "And now I can't come worse than eighth."

Joining Reed in finals action tomorrow will be high-jumper Mark Boswell and 1,500-metre runner Carmen Douma-Hussar.

Boswell equalled his season's best jump in yesterday's qualifying, clearing 2.27 metres. Although well off his Canadian record of 2.35 metres, it marks a return to form for the two-time world championship medallist, who has been plagued by injury and illness for the past two years.

Douma-Hussar is a 28-year-old who broke through to the top levels of the sport last year, winning a silver medal at the world indoor championships and placing ninth in the Olympic final. She qualified with the fifth-fastest time.

Also yesterday, Dana Ellis of Kitchener, Ont., cleared 4.35 metres in the pole vault, but missed at 4.50 metres and finished in a tie for sixth. Earlier this year, she set a Canadian record of 4.51 metres.

Edmonton's Tim Berrett, a veteran of eight world championships, finished 11th in the men's 50-kilometre racewalk.

The only jarring note in a day of Canadian celebrations was the failure of the men's 4x100-metre relay team to qualify for the eight-team final. Missing by just 0.02 seconds, the team matched their agonizing ninth-place finish from the 2004 Olympics.

"We know it's time for us to move on," said Ottawa's Richard Adu-Bobie, who ran the leadoff leg, handing off to Pierre Brown, Anson Henry and Nic Macrozonaris. "We're capable of being in that final."

Adu-Bobie, who just finished his first year at the University of Florida, had the second-fastest reaction time from the starting blocks out of all the leadoff runners and put the team in a good position that they held until the final exchange. Macrozonaris was edged by the anchor runner from the Dutch Antilles, leaving Canada fifth in 38.67 seconds.

After three weeks of preparation at a training camp in Berlin, the team's exchanges were smooth, Adu-Bobie said -- smoother at least than the American team, which dropped the baton at the first exchange and was eliminated.

No gold for Gatlin

The U.S. gaffe cost Justin Gatlin his shot at winning three gold medals at the championships after he had already won the 100 and 200 metres.

"I thought the exchanges were great," Adu-Bobie said. "We just needed to run a little bit faster."

Mondiaux d'athlétisme: Macrozonaris éliminé en quarts de finales du 100 m
Sunday, August 07, 2005

HELSINKI (PC) - Aux championnats mondiaux d'athlétisme, à Helsinki, en Finlande, le sprinter lavallois Nicolas Macrozonaris a été éliminé en quarts de finale du 100 mètres.

Septième de la troisième vague avec un temps de 10 secondes 48 centièmes, le Québécois a échoué dans sa tentative de se classer pour les demi-finales.

Macrozonaris s'était qualifié de justesse pour les quarts de finale, terminant quatrième de sa vague, alors que seulement les trois premiers passaient assurément à la ronde suivante.

Son temps de 10 secondes 40 centièmes avait été suffisant pour se classer dans les huit coureurs supplémentaires qui obtenaient le droit de passer en quarts de finale.

*************** 

Kevin Sullivan avance au 1500 mètres, Macrozonaris échoue au 100 mètres
à 21h28 HAE, le 6 août 2005.
 
HELSINKI (PC) - Le vétéran Kevin Sullivan a connu une excellente fin de course pour avancer à la ronde suivante du 1500 mètres, samedi, couronnant ainsi une journée somme toute encourageante pour la délégation canadienne aux Championnats du monde d'athlétisme. La seule note discordante de cette journée inaugurale s'est produite lors des préliminaires du 100 mètres masculin. 

Le Lavallois Nicolas Macrozonaris a dû se contenter de la huitième position de sa vague quarts de finale, l'excluant ainsi d'une place en demi-finale. Macrozonaris a fait stopper le chrono à 10,48 secondes.

Le Torontois Pierre Browne a terminé au cinquième rang de sa série, en 10,50 secondes, et il n'a pas pris part aux quarts de finale.

"J'ai réussi à faire juste trois courses cette saison, une au Mexique, une autre aux championnats canadiens et la dernière ici, a indiqué Macrozonaris.

"C'était très difficile pour moi parce que j'avais une blessure à l'aine, ce qui a nui à mon entraînement."

Malgré tout, le Québécois de 24 ans n'a pas été incommodé à Helsinki.

"Je n'ai pas ressenti de douleur durant mes courses, mais la forme n'était pas là, a-t-il dit. Mon plan était de venir ici et courir pour atteindre une certaine vitesse. On pourrait dire que j'aiguisais mon crayon pour le relais."

L'athlète d'origine grecque se concentrera maintenant sur les préliminaires du 4x100 mètres de vendredi.

Le Lavallois Jarek Kulesza et le Montréalais Hank Palmer pourraient également participer au relais.

Slow and slower
August 7, 2005
Pathetic showing from Canadians in 100m heats
By ROB LONGLEY, TORONTO SUN
 
HELSINKI -- They came off the Olympic Stadium oval with shrugged shoulders and empty explanations.

Nic Macrozonaris and Pierre Browne were as different (and indifferent) as could be from the likes of Donovan Bailey, Bruny Surin and the Canadian speed heroes of yesteryear.

At the IAAF world championships, which began yesterday, it was visibly evident that the strut is long gone from our country's top men sprinters.

Widely suspected when Bailey, Surin and Glenroy Gilbert retired within 12 months of each other a few years ago, the reality was exposed in startlingly slow efforts here.

Montreal's Macrozonaris, racing for just the third time this year, was fourth in his preliminary heat, crawling home in a time of 10.40 seconds. That somehow was good enough to advance to the quarters, where the one-time future of Canadian sprinting finished last in 10.48.

Toronto's Browne was fifth in his prelim, clocked in a deplorable 10.50.

Those efforts clearly didn't sit well with Gilbert, now the Athletics Canada sprint and relays coach. Acknowledging that the bar has been set high, Gilbert said efforts like yesterday expose an inexcusable lack of preparation.

"It's a huge legacy to try to fill and I think our sprinters would be best to etch their own path," said Gilbert, who won Olympic and world championship gold as part of the men's 4x100 relay team. "But at the same time, I'd expect them to compete better than they did (yesterday). I think that both could have been better prepared.

"I mean, this is the world championships ..."

Instead, both sprinters rationalized their efforts to being out of top form, an unacceptable concept to champs like Bailey and company who would have been livid with such results at the biggest non-Olympic stage in the sport.

"I didn't have it, that's the way I have been all year," said Browne, the two-time defending Canadian champion. "I haven't been training that well. It's part of the sport."

It wasn't supposed to be that way for the 25-year-old, who was proclaimed the future of Canadian sprinting after winning a bronze medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Nor for Macrozonaris, who was bronzed with the Great Greek Hope handle after a 10.03 effort in 2003 and back-to-back Canadian championships of his own in '02-03.

The Macro-man, soon to be 25, turned micro yesterday, admitting his success may have come too early.

"Obviously when a young guy runs 10.03 and beats the world record-holder at the time (Tim Montgomery), it's bound to change a little bit," Macrozonaris said.

"It was a fast turn in my life and maybe I slipped a little bit.

"I remember Donovan said once, 'I don't like athletes who make the national team just to get the uniform.' That's the way I feel as well ... this is disgusting."

As has been the norm lately, the showcase event of the meet shapes up as a showdown between some fresh American shooters. Justin Gatlin is the lead dog now, followed closely by Shawn Crawford. Both breezed comfortably into today's final two rounds.

"This is when the young guys are gonna step up," said Gatlin, a winner of both his heats. "To not have legends like (former U.S. star Maurice Greene) in the field gives you a chance to come here and make a name for yourself."

With their inability to step up, the Canadians, meanwhile, are in danger of making a name for the wrong reasons.

"All our sprinters have got to sit back and figure out whether they want it," Gilbert said. "They've got to figure out if they're willing to prepare to go after it."

Mondiaux d'athlétisme: Macrozonaris se qualifie pour les quarts du 100 m
Saturday, August 06, 2005
 
HELSINKI (PC) - Aux championnats mondiaux d'athlétisme, à Helsinki, en Finlande, le sprinter lavallois Nicolas Macrozonaris s'est qualifié de justesse pour les quarts de finale du 100 mètres.

Il a terminé 4e de sa vague, alors que seulement les trois premiers passaient assurément à la ronde suivante.

Son temps de 10 secondes 40 centièmes a malgré tout été suffisant pour se classer dans les huit coureurs supplémentaires qui obtenaient le droit de passer en quarts de finale.

© La Presse Canadienne 2005

Ethiopians sweep 10,000, Canadians advance at track worlds
WebPosted Sat, 06 Aug 2005 09:00:13 EDT
CBC Sports

Ethiopia's gold medallist Tirunesh Dibaba, No. 204, and her elder sister Ejegayehu Dibaba, right, who took the bronze medal, pose together after the women's 10,000 metres at the world track and field championships in Helsinki on Saturday.

With 400 metres to go in the gruelling long distance race Dibaba, who captured the 5,000-metre title as a 17-year-old at the 2003 worlds in Paris, sprinted the final lap to win the gold medal in 30 minutes, 24.02 seconds.

Countrywoman Berhane Adere took the silver medal in 30:25.41, while Dibaba's older sister Ejegayehu won bronze in 30:26.00.

Crowd favourite Paula Radcliffe of Great Briatin, who was attempting to win gold in both the 10,000 and marathon, led for most of the race but finished ninth in 30:42.75. The world record holder in the marathon will compete in that event later in the championships.

Canadian athletes fared well in their respective events on the opening day of the worlds.

Kevin Sullivan and Nathan Brannen advanced to the 1,500 semfinals, Dianne Cummins moved on to the 800 semis, Jason Tunks qualified for the discus finals and Jessica Zelinka sits eighth after four events in the heptathlon.

Nicolas Macrozonaris of Laval, Que., failed to qualify for the semifinals of the men's 100 metres in what is considered one of the most talented fields in recent years.

All of the top contenders advanced to Sunday's semifinals including Olympic champion Justin Gatlin of the U.S., Olympic silver medallist Francis Obikwelu of Portugal, defending world champion Kim Collins of St. Kitts and Nevis and reigning 200-metre Olympic champion Shawn Crawford of the U.S.

The 100 m final will also take place on Sunday.

Macrozonaris did advance to the quarter-finals by placing fourth in his morning preliminary heat with a season-best time of 10.40 seconds, but couldn't match the strides of his competitors in his afternoon heat, finishing seventh.

Obikwelu won the heat in 10.19, followed by Crawford in 10.25 and Britain's Jason Gardener in 10.31. Macrozonaris posted a 10.48.

Toronto's Pierre Browne, the only other Canadian entered in the men's 100, failed to advance from the morning's preliminary heats. He placed fifth in his heat with a time of 10.50.

The fastest man in the quarter-final heats was Darrel Brown of Trinidad and Tobago in 10.11. Five men from that heat posted times under 10.20 and earned spots in Sunday's semifinals.

Heptathlon heats up, Canada's Zelinka shines

The heptathlon competition featuring world and Olympic champion Carolina Kluft of Sweden and former champion Eunice Barber of France is turning out to be the battle track experts expected.

Kluft, who is competing with a heavily-taped ankle, had a slow start to the day. She finished second to Barber in the 100 hurdles and finished tied with two others for third place in the high jump.

"I was not confident about my foot and I was not able to push hard on it. If you are not confident it is impossible to be at your best," Kluft said.

The Swede then came back with a monster throw of 15.02 in the shotput and beat Barber by 0.31 seconds in the 200 m.

With the final three events scheduled for Sunday, Barber leads Kluft 3,973 points to 3,971.

Canada's Jessica Zelinka put in a solid performance in her first major international meet. The native of London, Ont., stands in eighth place. She is currently ranked 14th in the world.

Shot put shocker

Day 1 offered a major upset in the men's shot put competition when three-time world champion John Godina of the United States failed to make the final.

Godina's best toss of the day was measured at 19.54 metres, putting him 17th overall. Only the top 12 athletes advanced to the final, scheduled for later Saturday.

American Adam Nelson was more than happy to take over in Godina's absence. Nelson finally won the world title that has eluded him four times.

Nelson, who finished second at the last two Olympic Games and world championships, threw a winning toss of 21.73 metres on his first of six throws.

Rutger Smith of the Netherlands was second and Ralf Bartels Germany edged out Olympic champion Yuriy Bilonoh of Ukraine to take the bronze.

There were no Canadians entered in men's shot put.

Canadians on track

Back on the track, Cummins of Vancouver placed seventh in her quick seven-athlete preliminary heat, but her time of 2:01.71 gave her the 14th-fastest time among the 24 runners who advanced to Sunday's three semifinal heats.

National team veteran Sullivan ran a tactical race in advancing to the semifinals of the men's 1,500 m. The 31-year-old native of Burlington, Ont., came in fourth in his heat in a time of three minutes, 36.80 seconds. Mehdi Baala won the heat in 3:36.56.

"I knew the last 300 [metres] that I was going to be able to come home hard," Sullivan told CBC's Ron MacLean at trackside. "That's the best I've finished all year, so I think I'm coming into shape at the right time."

Sullivan said the blustery conditions caused some problems on the final lap of the race, especially because he got boxed in on the inside lane.

"... I didn't want to leave myself too far back so I had to make an aggressive move and move outside and take the chance of running a little extra distance to make sure I got through [to the semifinals]."

Sullivan will have company in Monday's semis as Brannen of Cambridge, Ont., also advanced after finishing eighth in the third heat of the day. His time of 3:40.69 was fast enough to pull him through.

In men's 100 m wheelchair, Daniel Normandin of Laval, Que., who was a last-minute addition to the Canadian team, finished fourth in the final in a time of 14.84. Colin Mathieson of Winnipeg was sixth in a time of 15.15.

In the field, Tunks, a six-time Canadian discus champion, finished second in his qualifying group with a throw of 64.02 metres to advance to Sunday's final.

Tunks, a native of London, Ont., is ranked sixth in the world in the discipline. His longest throw of the season – 66.59 metres – came at an international meet in Holland earlier this year.

"A throw like that would probably medal here but to find ideal conditions like I had there they are not going to be at this stadium," he said. "I am capable of throwing 65-66 metres, which I have done all year. So we will see. Hopefully I can relax and have some fun with what I am doing."

Gerd Cantor of Estonia had the biggest throw in Tunks' group at 65.76. Gold medal favourite Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania was tops in the other group with a toss of 68.79. Lars Riedel of Germany had the second-best toss in the group at 66.22.

In the first medal event of the competition, defending world champion and former Olympic champion Jefferson Perez of Ecuador captured the gold, winning the 20-kilometre walk ahead of Francisco Fernandez and Juan Manuel Molina of Spain.

22 juin 2005 - On se demandait où il était passé. Depuis les Jeux olympiques d'Athènes, il y a 10 mois, le sprinteur Nicolas Macrozonaris s'est fait très discret. Le jeune homme affirme avoir pris du recul pour mieux redémarrer.

Rencontré lors du lancement d'une nouvelle gamme de suppléments alimentaires de son ami et mentor, Bruny Surin, Macrozonaris semble revenir de loin. La belle assurance à laquelle il nous avait habitués a cédé sa place à cette incertitude que l'on observe habituellement chez les athlètes habités par le doute.

« Les derniers mois ont été très difficiles, a d'abord lancé « Macro ». J'ai été victime d'une série de petites blessures mineures (pied droit, aine) qui m'ont tout de même ralenti. Je me suis souvent entraîné malgré la douleur, au point où je n'étais pas capable de manger sans vomir le tout après un effort soutenu. »

Sur la défensive

Macrozonaris parle ainsi pour convaincre. Il dit qu'il aime toujours son sport. Il veut faire taire ses dénigreurs qui lui reprochent un certain laxisme dans le suivi de sa préparation.

« Ceux-là ne savent pas de quoi ils parlent. Le sprint est un sport très dur, très exigeant. On ne peut pas comprendre tant que l'on n'a pas couru dans des épreuves internationales. » Du même souffle, Marcozonaris reconnaît avoir été affecté par la pression médiatique et populaire à laquelle il a été soumis à l'approche des Jeux d'Athènes.

« J'ai pris un peu de recul. J'avais besoin de respirer. C'est une chose d'être sous les réflecteurs pendant la saison et au moment des épreuves. C'en est une autre bien différente en dehors de ce cadre. Ce n'est pas facile ».

Fragile

Le doute devient encore plus présent en abordant la question des Championnats canadiens d'athlétisme (14 au 17 juillet, à Winnipeg) et des Championnats du monde (6 au 14 août, à Helsinki).

Sera-t-il prêt? « Je l'espère. Je ne suis vraiment pas sûr d'y arriver. Je ne veux pas seulement courir. Je veux être compétitif. J'ai participé à un meeting à Mexico, en mai. Je m'y suis classé deuxième (10,34 s) derrière le Trinidadien Mark Buroz, champion mondial junior, en 2003. J'ai bien couru, mais sans plus. »

Le printemps dernier, il s'est rendu trois fois à Gainesville, en Floride, pour s'entraîner. D'ici aux nationaux, Macrozonaris espère s'incrire à deux rendez-vous pour mesurer son degré de préparation. Si tout va bien, on devrait le voir à l'oeuvre à Rome, le 8 juillet.

Macrozonaris dit avoir appris de ses expériences de la dernière année. Il sait qu'il connaîtra de bonnes et de moins bonnes journées. Il sait aussi que le succès ne sera pas toujours au rendez-vous.

Parlant de succès, le Lavallois a admis avoir ressenti un petit pincement au coeur en voyant Asafa Powell courir les 100 m en 9,77 s, la semaine dernière, à Athènes.

Non pas par jalousie, mais surtout parce qu'il était conscient qu'au lieu d'être assis dans son salon en train de chercher une solution à ses ennuis, il aurait pu se trouver, lui aussi, sur cette piste.

source:  Radio-Canada