Track and Field Blogs - Justin Kopunek

12^th IAAF World Championships in Athletics – Berlin, Germany 2009

Preview of Day 2 – 16 August 2009

Day 2 features, among other events, finals in the Men’s 100m and Women’s Shot Put. The action starts at 4:05 AM Eastern Standard Time, but not finals take place until the afternoon. The women’s heptathlon also wraps up on Day 2 with the Long Jump, Javelin, and 800m portions of the event being completed. The first two days mostly consist of rounds at championship meets, but Day 2 has been one of the most anticipated days of competition this summer as Tyson Gay and Usain Bolt are expected to face off in a final for the first time in 2 years. That is, as long as both qualify through to the final.

Event Finals

Event: Women’s Heptathlon 2:50 PM EST

Defending World Champion: Carolina Kluft(Sweden) 2008 Olympic Champion: Natalya Dobrynska (Ukraine) 2009 World Leader: : Jessica Ennis (Great Britain) 6587

American Contingent: Diana Pickler, Sharon Day, Bettie Wade

Top International Conteders: Natalya Dobrynska, Jessica Ennis, Tatyana Chernova (Russia), Hanna Melnychenko (Ukraine), Jennifer Oeser (Germany), Lyudmyla Yosypenko (Ukraine)

Outlook: The defending World Champ Carolina Kluft, a dominating force in the heptathlon this decade, will not be present. This means that the reigning Olympic champ, Natalya Dobrynska of Ukraine will be the favorite. Ukraine fields a formidable team behind the Olympic Champ with Hanna Melnychenko and Lyudmyla Yosypenko, who are 3rd and 5th on the world list. Topping that list is Jessica Ennis of Great Britain, who is one of her countries top hopes for gold in Berlin. She is young, but has been setting personal bests in her events all season, suggesting she can easily improve on her world leading mark. Jennifer Oeser will look to grab a medal with a 6442 personal best and the home-field advantage, which should not be overlooked. Russian Tatyana Chernova who won bronze in Beijing and will look to improve on that, especially considering the silver medalist there, Hyleas Fountain of the US, did not qualify for the World Championships. Expect Aiga Grabuste of Latvia and Kamila Chudzik of Poland to be in the mix up top as well. As for US Champ Diana Pickler, she would need to have personal bests in most of the events to sneak onto the podium, but a top 10 finish on an average day would be expected. American Sharon Day was in great position after Day 1 and hopefully keep that momentum on the final day.

Likely Medalists: Multi-event competitions are tough to predict, as the strain put on the athletes causes many DNFs. With so many variables, major disappointments and unexpected performances are commonplace. A no height in the high jump, or fouling your first 2 jumps in the long jump could take someone from the top to the bottom. The Brits have been known to put a lot of pressure on gold medal hopefuls, so how the young Ennis responds to that will be key.

1. Dobrynska 2. Ennis 3. Oeser

Event: Women’s Shot Put 2:20 PM EST

Defending World Champion: Valerie Vili (New Zealand) 2008 Olympic Champion: Valerie Vili (New Zealand) 2009 World Leader: Valerie Vili (New Zealand) 20.69m

American Contingent: Michelle Carter, Jillian Camarena, Kristin Heaston

Top International Conteders: Valerie Vili, Natallia Mikhnevich (Belarus), Nadezhda Ostapchuk (Belarus), Anna Avdeeva (Russia), Lijiao Gong (China), Nadine Kleinert (Germany)

Outlook: When you look back at the past year or two and think dominant, names like Bekele, Bolt, Isinbayeva, Vlasic, and Dibaba come to mind. One that should be added to that list is Vili. As much as we all love Nick Willis, Valerie Vili is New Zealand’s track and field star right now. The world list is basically a ranking of her top performances this year, as she holds the top 7 performances. She does not just throw far; she knows how to win, as well. She is undefeated going back over a year and she is the reigning World and Olympic Champion. Vili, does not have the best PR in the field, however. That honor belongs to heavily decorated Belarusian Nadezhda Ostapchuk. The former World Champion and Olympic medalist, although unable to throw over 20m so far this year, is always a threat to get on the podium. Her compatriot, Natallia Mikhnevich, is likely to be ahead of her, however. She took silver to Vili in Beijing and seems primed to repeat that performance in Berlin. The person to stop that from happening may be Anna Avdeeva. At the Russian Championships she threw a monster personal best that puts her in the #2 spot in the world. No other performance of hers from the past has been in that realm, so Berlin will be where we find out if she will be able to duplicate it. Lijiao Gong (China) and Nadine Kleinert (Germany) will be in the medal hunt as well.

Likely Medalists: Chances are it could be a repeat of Beijing, but Ostapchuk is the biggest question mark, as she is capable of moving up, or down dramatically. One this is certain, if Vili does not win, it will be one of the biggest upsets of the championship.

1. Vili 2. Mikhnevich 3. Ostapchuk

Event: Men’s 100m Dash 3:35 PM EST

Defending World Champion: Reese Tyson Gay (USA) 2008 Olympic Champion: Tomasz Usain Bolt (Jamaica) 2009 World Leader: Tyson Gay (USA) 9.77

American Contingent: Tyson Gay, Michael Rodgers, Darvis Patton, Monzavous "Rae" Edwards

Top International Conteders: Usain Bolt (Jamaica), Asafa Powell (Jamaica), Daniel Bailey (Antigua and Barbuda), Richard Thompson (Trinidad and Tobago), Michael Frater (Jamaica)

Outlook: In what is going to be a heated US vs. Jamaica competition in the sprinting events during these 9 days, this race will be the lighter fluid. Gay and Bolt have not faced each other in a final since the 200m final in Osaka and Bolt is a different runner now. It seems that Gay, although the world leader, is entering as the underdog in this bout. His best chance to defend his title is to have a flawless start. Bolt has had some sloppy starts this season in the 100m, which seems to be the only hint of a weakness. Against the rest of the world, a poor start is inconsequential, but Bolt will need to get out well against Gay. Beyond the top two, Asafa Powell seems like the obvious choice for third, but the former world record holder has a history of under-performing at Global Championships. On top of that, as of right now the JAAA (the USATF of Jamaica) has banned Powell and his training partners for not reporting to mandatory Pre-Worlds camp. It will be a shame if he is not present in the first round, but will help the US 4x100 out greatly.

In addition to Jamaica, the rest of the Caribbean will be well represented in this event. Trinidad and Tobago’s Richard Thompson is the 2008 Olympic silver medalist, but has yet to break 10 seconds this year. Expect his to be a factor if he makes the final. Daniel Bailey (Antigua and Barbuda) is having a breakthrough year, running 9.91 You can not count out the rest of the Americans in the field, even though Olympic Bronze Medalist Walter Dix became injured in Eugene and did not qualify. Michael Rodgers has show he can carry his 60m talent the extra 40m this year, dropping his PR from 10.06 to 9.94. Darvis Patton could also place well, as he was a finalist in Beijing.

Likely Medalists: To not pick Bolt over Gay would be stupid, but this is the closest match-up Bolt has seen in over a year.

1. Bolt 2. Gay 3. Bailey

Preliminary Action to Watch For

The first rounds of the Women’s 800m and 100m and Men’s Steeplechase are in the morning session on the track, as well as, Women’s Javelin and Men’s Long Jump Qualifying rounds. The Men’s 400H and Women’s 400 have their semi-final rounds in the afternoon. After the sweep in Beijing, it will be great to see if all 4 American 400m hurdles can make the final. The Men’s 100 and Women’s Shot Put also have rounds in the morning which will determine the field for those event’s finals later in the day. The Women’s 20k Race Walk final will also go off in the morning of Day 2. Check back on Flotrack for interviews and other coverage of Day 2 and the Day 3 preview.